Samuel Threatt
MUS 110 / IN1
Dr. Todd Campbell
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Deaf by Default
During the last ten years of his life, Beethoven was completely deaf. Yet, he continued to compose. His Ninth Symphony was written during these years. It is the symphony that includes a choir and soloists in its last movement. Is it possible that Beethoven's compositions were actually better because of his deafness? Why? Would his style have changed if he had regained his hearing? In what ways?
John Milton wrote Paradise Lost when he was blind, and Beethoven composed his most gorgeous and unexpected music while deaf is an almost herculean feat of creative mastermind. I believe since Beethoven was such a smart and ingenious man. He probably already all the notes and what they sound like in correlation to one another in his mind. Just like your mind works in a dream scenario where you remember colors, shapes, and Sounds. The mine has a unique way of remembering things that it desperately wants to hold onto. And of course then they are the explanation I'll call just well gifts. Maybe Beethoven was just born with the gift of making music. No matter what happened to him. The only problem with that answer is as it comes off as a tad bit supernatural, and not at all based on scientific reasoning. I like to believe personally that like the blind man who can feel colors, and create a beautiful masterpieces even though he was borne without eyes. Beethoven had the ability to see the notes on the page, and in his mind create the sounds and illustrations. No, I didn't read anywhere that Beethoven had a certain sound that was going on in his mind like a ringing or buzzing. So I like to imagine that in his mind he could imagine beautiful orchestras very clearly, and how they could be composed to make the masterpieces that he so painstakingly crafted.

And since I'm going down