Blind Musicians and Ear Training
Musicians who are fully blind and reproduce music solely by ear have an entirely different musical perspective than musicians who read music. They rely heavily on their sense of touch in addition to their innate hearing ability. The three musicians listed above were all born fully blind and have gravitated toward music from having a heightened sense of hearing and channeling that into the ability to retain and reproduce sounds. Cole and Kuha’o display an advanced ability to control their instruments with their hands. When watching them play, there is a heavy focus on how their hands guide them and control the instrument. It is impressive to watch them reproduce sounds by listening to a musical piece one time and utilizing their other senses to gain control and a heightened understanding of what they are doing.
Cole Moran is a twelve-year-old boy from Michigan who was drawn to the sound of his father’s guitar at a young age. He tended to gravitate toward the areas of his house where his dad would be playing music, and instantly fell in love with the guitar and harmonica when he first laid his hands on them. Him and his father created a musical duo called “Blind Wind”, which Cole says is what defines him and his life. Cole’s outlook on his life and the gift he was given has been a blessing to him and his family and he uses every chance he gets to make positive moments through his music.
Kuha’o Case began playing piano less than three years ago. He has the ability to reproduce any piece of music after hearing it one time. The link embedded in his name above brings you to a video of him listening to Phantom of the Opera for the first time, followed by him playing it to a T. It is incredible to watch the way he goes about reproducing this piece, as he displays intense focus on feeling the keys and gaining control over the piano.