Deaf And Dumb Lady's Idea Of Music
A lady who graduated from the Institution at New York some years ago,
was questioned as to the capacity of the deaf to enjoy music; she wrote:
"I think all deaf persons have an idea more or less vague of musical
sounds. It comes to all who cannot hear through the sense of touch. The
vibrations of the chords of a piano, when strongly played, are
sufficient to produce real enjoyment by means of feeling to one who can
touch the case merely. The soft, tremulous notes, even convey an
impression through the nerves, similar, I fancy, to that which others
obtain through the ear. But the real music for us comes through the eye.
The rippling of waves, the tremulous vibration of leaf and blossom and
twig, all these sights make for us a harmony perhaps as perfect as the
most finished orchestra."