By Lorainia Riverrider
When people find out that I am Deaf, their responses are usually, “Oh I’m so sorry,” or “That’s terrible you can’t hear music.” While Deaf people cannot “listen” to music in the general sense, we are able to enjoy music.
Sound produces waves. These waves vibrate when they move through objects such as ears or speakers. In order for us to listen to music we feel the beat or vibrations. There are many ways to do this. The most obvious is probably to stand close to or touch the speaker. You could also hold a balloon. A balloon is a great conductor of vibration and by holding it, you can feel the vibration easily through it. My favorite way to feel the beat is by taking my shoes off and feeling the vibrations through the floor. I think this way makes it easier to follow the beat and dance.
In order to easily feel the beats, the music must be turned up really loudly. This is because the louder the music is, the more the speaker (or floor) will vibrate and make it easier to feel the beat.