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Overcoming Adversity

May 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Joanna Cazden and Scott Wilkinson

Saving Grace

Of all the abilities for a musician to lose, hearing is probably the most devastating. In some cases, hearing loss is caused by disease or injury, but for most musicians, it is the result of too much exposure to loud sounds, such as rock bands and even orchestras.

Kathy Peck, bassist for the punk band the Contractions in the 1980s, lost a significant portion of her hearing and developed tinnitus (ringing in the ears) as a result of the tremendously high levels at which the group played. She went on to found Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (H.E.A.R.) and continues to host its information and referral Web site as well as consult for the San Francisco Symphony.

Beethoven, of course, composed powerful works after becoming deaf. Percussionist Evelyn Glennie currently tours the world, performing skillfully with orchestras by feeling the vibrations through her feet. But these are exceptional artists. Peck emphasizes the need for all musicians to preserve whatever hearing they have, using custom-molded earplugs and in-ear monitors (see “Say What?” at http://onstagemag.com/ar/performance_say/index.htm for details on in-ear monitoring).

Once hearing loss becomes significant, hearing aids are the best way to compensate. But just like adaptations for mobility and visual impairments, hearing aids for musicians are not yet problem-free.

Musician and audiologist Jillian Barrett sees many musicians in her practice. “A lot of people in their late 20s and early 30s come into the office complaining that their hearing isn't as good as it used to be,” she says. “It takes more effort for them to hear and enjoy music the way they want.

“Now hearing tests are designed for the frequency ranges important to speech perception, and they use pure tones,” says Barrett. “Music encompasses a wider frequency range, and different aspects of the signal are important. Current test procedures are just not designed to catch mild, subtle degradation. So these folks test ‘normal.’”

Barrett recognizes that her musician clients' complaints are real, and she is frustrated with the lack of attention they receive from hearing-aid companies. In particular, she'd like to see these companies offer a hearing aid that provides signal processing rather than amplification — what she calls signal clarification. For instance, such a device might alter the reverb or control the attack and release parameters that contribute to recognition of different instruments. “No one offers a hearing aid designed with real signal manipulation, so that a person could hear music the way they wanted to without as much effort.”

If a musician has a measurable loss, they may need amplification as well as signal processing specific to music. But hearing aids, like the tests, are built for speech. “The ‘music’ presets available in some hearing aids are really only tweaks to the basic speech profile. The high-end models, which cost thousands of dollars, do have more bands of EQ, more ability to customize, and more memory for presets. But there is still little signal above 7 kHz.”

Barrett believes that the stigma of wearing hearing aids may be lessening. “These young people who need signal clarification more than amplification are also the folks who walk around all day wearing iPod earbuds or a Bluetooth earpiece for their phone,” she points out. “This generation doesn't mind all that bionic stuff. They are a ready market that manufacturers aren't paying attention to yet.”

Things Have Changed

Music can be a challenging occupation for musicians who have disabilities. But those musicians are steadily solving the problems with a mix of mechanical ingenuity, creative technology, collaboration, and public advocacy. They challenge manufacturers and developers to stay committed to access, and the results are worth the trouble.

As Jaeger says, “Music is an important outlet. I forget everything when I am playing. I even forget my pain for a while. It is very therapeutic.”

Peck concurs, saying, “It's extremely important not to give up your music, no matter what happens to you. Even if you have to change the way you make music or stop for a little while, don't deny it. It's not just your career — it's your creativity, something deep inside that must be expressed.”

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Joanna Cazden is a singer and speech pathologist who has written about vocal health and technique for EM and Onstage magazines. Scott Wilkinson was a technical editor for EM for ten years and writes the “Tech Page” column.

SIDEBARS

RESOURCES

GENERAL

Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines
www.ada.gov

International Technology and Persons with Disabilities Conference
www.csun.edu/cod/conf/index.htm

Universal Design
www.udeducation.org

MOBILITY

Artists, Musicians, Composers Against Paralysis
www.nexstaraudio.com/content/view/3/4

Coalition for Disabled Musicians, Inc.
www.disabled-musicians.org

SIGHT

Abletec
http://abletec.serverheaven.net

Blind Producers
www.blindproducers.com

Dancing Dots
www.dancingdots.com

MIDI Mag Listserv
http://midimag-subscribe@midimag.org

HEARING

H.E.A.R.
www.hearnet.net

MUSICIAN CONTACTS

Jillian Barrett www.audsquad.com

Rick Boggs www.rickboggs.com

Veronica Elsea www.laurelcreekmusic.com

Greg Harry www.3-7-12.com

Donald Jaeger www.disabled-musicians.org

Gordon Kent dbmusic@cybernex.net (email)

Mike Mandel mjmandel@nyc.rr.com (email)

Bill McCann www.dancingdots.com

Kathy Peck www.hearnet.net

Dave Pinto www.yesaccessible.com

Don Taylor www.nexstaraudio.com

MUSIC OCR

One way to get printed music into a computer is to use music OCR (optical character recognition) software. Using MusicXML (Extensible Markup Language), a data-format standard, some music OCR programs can create files that Lime and Goodfeel can translate into Braille music. Here are some music OCR programs to consider:
PhotoScore (www.neuratron.com/photoscore.htm)
SharpEye (www.visiv.co.uk)
SmartScore (www.musitek.com)