Deaf Related Topic Paper
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School
University of North Florida *
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Course
ASL-3514
Subject
Arts Humanities
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
docx
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5
Uploaded by CoachBat4035
Deaf Related Topic
Lexie M McBride
UNF
ASL3514: Deaf Culture
Professor Stultz
3/10/24
Deaf Related Topic
Music in the Deaf Community
All throughout the Deaf community there are many different personalities, identites,
likes, and dislikes. One category that is widely debated in the Deaf community is music. For
some Deaf people, music plays a big artistic role in their culture, and others not so much. There
will be four different sources based on music and Deaf culture that will contribute to this
discussion of how they interlock.
There are a few different ways for Deaf people to experience music, such as vibrations, dance,
sign language, and rhythmic instruments. (Clancy, M. (2021, October 11). Over the course
of history, Deaf people have come up with unique ways to experience music. A specific
example of this are Deaf performers. Music is not only heard, but also seen through these
performances. ASL interpreters may perform at a concert interpreting for the hearing
performer, or the performer may be Deaf themselves. An example of an ASL interpreter
who performs is Amber Galloway – Gallego. (Elaine, R. (2017, October 23). She states
that she researches about the performer and the type of words they use in their lyrics for
weeks before attending the performance to interpret. Galloway – Gallego claims that this is
a result of her desire to be able to gain a deeper understanding of the artist’s music
intention. Sometimes emotion in music may be hard to understand from another person’s
perspective (hearing
or
deaf) so using the beat, the bass, and the melody helps to further
the understanding.
Sound is a very interesting aspect of the brain and how it is received is amazing. The brain also is
responsible for processing emotion while relating it to sound. The nucleus accumbens,
amygdala, and cerebellum are all in charge of this process. (Elaine, R. (2017, October 23).
Deaf people can be emotionally attatched to music just like hearing people, only instead of
paying attention to the high pitched melody, Deaf people would feel (and potentially listen)
to the bass and lower pitched side of the song. In a recent study, sixety two Deaf and
hearing elementary and middle school leveled children from Midwestern State School for
the Deaf served as participants with the goal of assigning different emotions to twelve film
score excerpts. The results from this were that the hearing children were able to match the
emotions to the music easier than the Deaf children. The Deaf children were also quite
amused at the fact that they were asked to assign an emotion (happy, sad, fear, anger) to a
piece of music. (Darrow, A.-A. (2006). In contrast to this study’s main results, the same
study also resulted that Deaf children enjoy music no matter if they are proud of their deaf
identity or not.
The media has spread many false misconceptions about the deaf community and their
relationship with music. To start off, there is a widely known misconception that hearing
people have created and followed. This misconception/stereotype is that all Deaf people
can not have a life or relationship knowing music. This is untrue, some Deaf people don’t
enjoy music, and some do, it all really depends on the person. Another misconception is
that Deaf people have a deep longing to hear music and sound and wish deeply to
experience that fifth sense. This is also untrue, the Deaf community is fine with the
relationship to music that they have. Some may feel desire to have a strong relationship
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with music, but they are not advocating for the other half of the Deaf community who do
not wish for a relationship with music. This stereotype is used frequently in movies with
Deaf characters. Typically there will be the main Deaf theme with incorporating the idea of
music. This can be a good thing or a bad thing, as the movie “CODA” incorporates music
in a good way. There are other movies however that make the main character Deaf and sad
or lonely. This character may desperately want to hear music and sound. This is not a good
way of incorporating music into a movie because it is not representing the Deaf community
accurately. Many Deaf subjects in a recent study stated that most Deaf people are not as
interested in music as hearing people may believe. (Darrow & Merchant Loomis) For the
Deaf who do enjoy music, in the same study, it was shown that the Deaf subjects to
participate enjoyed when rap was signed due to the fact that the Deaf participants can see
the rhythm of the words. (Darrow & Merchant Loomis). They also stated that his dance can
show the beat of the music, and that is just another advantage of visual representation.
In all, music plays a variety of roles in the Deaf community, those being artistic, stereotypical,
and scientific. The result of this discussion is that some Deaf people enjoy music, whether
it be through vibrations, dance, sign language, or rhythmic instruments, and some Deaf
people do not care for music. It all depends on the individual’s preference.
Bibliography
Clancy, M. (2021, October 11). Deaf people and music: Start ASL
. Start ASL | Learn American Sign Language with our Complete 4-Level Course! https://www.startasl.com/deaf-people-
and-music/ Darrow, A.-A. (2006). The role of music in deaf culture: Deaf students’ perception of emotion in
music. Journal of Music Therapy
, 43
(1), 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/43.1.2 Darrow, Alice - Ann, & Merchant Loomis, D. (n.d.). Music and Deaf Culture: Images from the Media and Their Interpretation by Deaf and Hearing Students
. Elaine, R. (2017, October 23). How deaf people experience music
. Medium. https://medium.com/@rachelelainemonica/how-deaf-people-experience-music-
a313c3fa4bfd