Welcome to my world

[jmerring]

Hi. I am not one to toot my own horn (pun not intended), but I wanted to show you that, even if we all can't be symphonic players; we disabled still try our best. I hope you enjoy the article:

http://www.makingmusicmag.com/features_ ... ?pageid=49

Cut and paste the url, if the link does not work directly.

Best regards to all,
Jim

[scottw]

Thanks for sharing this, Jim! Many of us are dealing with a myriad of physical problems, yet manage to show up every rehearsal and performance ready to contribute. Sometimes it is a little discouraging when we try to play something we might have had little difficulty with in past years but now have to work harder to get it right. I have lost a significant amount of my hearing and, while hearing the music is blessedly still okay, I struggle to hear the spoken word of the conductor [you all know the soft-spoken ones!] and need to ask frequently, "What's up next?", or "Where does he want to start?". I can only imagine what you are going through not even hearing the music! Yes, the support and encouragement of your section is crucial and much appreciated, I am sure.
Hang in there and, above all, enjoy what you are doing! We are blessed to be able to do what we love.

[Rick F]

Hi Jim,

Very Interesting article. I'm amazed at how someone with no hearing can find the right pitch. Jim has no trouble getting the correct interval.

Thanks for sharing.

[windshieldbug]

Make no mistake; symphonic players (like myself, ferinstance) are subject to these same whims of fortune...

[DLThomas]

Thanks for sharing the link and article. It reminded me of this event in my community:

"Deaf Awareness Gala -- Sunday, September 28, 2008, Myrna Loy Theatre, Helena, Montana. Featuring flute soloist Susan Sperry and other deaf artists presenting musical, storytelling and visual art performances. Free to the public."

The flute soloist had a drug reaction and lost her hearing only recently. She has double cochlear implants. She, too, continues to find solace and grace in her music.

Dave Thomas

[tbn.al]

We have two severly hearing impaired players in our church orchestra, an 83 year old sax player with 90% loss due to age degeneration and a 30 something bassoon player with double cochlear implants. I constantly marvel at how well they play considering their disabilities. There are times of course when their problems get in the way of the music but we have all learned tricks to help them contribute as much as they can and more than we ever expected. They are such a blessing to us. We have to find a way to make it work because we really can't imagine our orchestra without them. We used an odd quintet two weeks ago, Clarinet, English Horn, Bassoon, Double Bass and percussion. I doubled the Bassoon part softly in her best ear on trombone which helped with the pitch. It wasn't perfect, but good enough that only a handful of the members(9,000) even know she has a problem. IMHO disabled folks generally give more than they get.

[jmerring]

I am amazaed and pleased at all of these responses. I especially liked the one about helping the bassoonist. That is the kind of help I receive. The band makes allowances for me and if there is a part that I just can not play up to my (or their) standards, it's usually doubled somewhere and covered. They seem to like my sound, because every time I make any attempt to withdraw from the band (for their sake); I am politely told to sit my a** back down and keep on doing it.

Enough about me; I was astounded by the others featured in the article. They overcame very great difficulties to get back to where they were (or near enough).

Lastly, I politely disagree; I receive from the band (the memorable moments from music I already have played and know), far more than I give, but I guess it might be a mutual situation. I am just glad that I can still do it.

Thank you all,
Jim

[sailn2ba]

Hey, if you folks are talking about acoustic neuroma, I'm a survivor. In my opinion the Cyberknife, as used at Stanford U hosp is the most effective, lowest side-effect procedure available. . . and it's not highly publicized.