Here is another post, just like I promised! Please enjoy. Growing up I had a special love for music. I played the clarinet for several years. Even though there was a great deal of work involved in honing my skills it was work I enjoyed. Nothing was quite as wonderful as listening to a piece the school band performed. One piece in particular still stands out to me now, although it's been several years. The piece is called the Great Locomotive chase. It was a thrilling piece of music and it honestly felt as if a train was speeding by us as we played.
This semester my husband encouraged me to pick my clarinet up again. He wanted me to have something to relax with every week and to enjoy. He knew how much my music had meant to me growing up. My music class is always an interesting challenge. For the most part music is just sound, pleasant sound but nothing distinguishable. Playing my clarinet is always an interesting challenge. I don't hear the sound correctly. So if I'm supposed to be playing softly I don't hear it at all. It's a very odd feeling to be honest. I can feel the air moving out of me and I know I'm pressing the keys but there's no sound to me.
I've had to completely relearn how to play music. My teacher has also had to completely change how she teaches. At the beginning of the semester she would still bring her clarinet to class. She would play hers thinking I would be able to hear the difference between her playing and mine. After a few weeks she realized it wasn't working at all and stopped. She's changed from snapping the rhythm with her fingers to tapping it on my leg so I can feel what I can't hear. Now I regulate my volume by my breath control not the sound. Also I use a metronome that uses a light and an app that shows me how loud I'm playing.
At the beginning of the semester my music class was probably my biggest frustration. It was hard to have to relearn how to be a musician. But now I really enjoy going to my class. While it's a challenge it's an enjoyable challenge. Also the biggest surprise is that I'm actually pretty good. I have a recital coming up in which I'm going to be playing a few Christmas songs. My teacher thought Christmas music would be easiest because I've heard it before, I'm excited to show my family how well I've done this year. I'll make sure to post a video of the recital!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Going to the Deaf Ward
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, things got really hectic and I let it slide. I'm trying to work on it so here is a brand new post. Hopefully I'll have another one up sometime today, so I can start getting caught up.
So as everyone knows I'm a Mormon (if you didn't ummm, wow this is awkward. How did you miss that one?). My Church is a world wide church so our congregations (or as we call them wards and branches) are based on geography and sometimes language. In my local area there is a ward for the Deaf. I've been trying it out and it has been absolutely wonderful! It's a family ward so there are members of all ages. There's also a nice mix of people. Not everyone who goes to the ward is Deaf. Some people are Deaf, others are hard of hearing, and we even have several hearing people. There are people with hearing aids, without any aids, with cochlear implants or other implant devices. It just depends on the person.
It's also nice to see such a mix. Sometimes the person with the hearing loss is the child in the family or the parents or for couples only one of the spouses is Deaf. Before going to the Deaf ward Church was starting to become something I absolutely dreaded. I didn't want to go and sit for three hours completely unaware of what was being said. Also while my Relief Society tried a little but they never found a way to include me or to make me feel welcome.
Now when I go to Church people aren't staring at me if I sign a hymn and I don't sit lost during the service. I understand what's going on and I'm even starting to make some friends. It's really helped that my ASL teacher and her husband go to that ward. Trisha and Brandon have helped so much in smoothing this transition. They've kept an open office policy so if I ever have questions or need to talk I'm welcome to drop by at school. Also as silly as it is, it's nice to have at least one person happy to see you on Sunday! I'm excited for another Sunday in my new ward!
So as everyone knows I'm a Mormon (if you didn't ummm, wow this is awkward. How did you miss that one?). My Church is a world wide church so our congregations (or as we call them wards and branches) are based on geography and sometimes language. In my local area there is a ward for the Deaf. I've been trying it out and it has been absolutely wonderful! It's a family ward so there are members of all ages. There's also a nice mix of people. Not everyone who goes to the ward is Deaf. Some people are Deaf, others are hard of hearing, and we even have several hearing people. There are people with hearing aids, without any aids, with cochlear implants or other implant devices. It just depends on the person.
It's also nice to see such a mix. Sometimes the person with the hearing loss is the child in the family or the parents or for couples only one of the spouses is Deaf. Before going to the Deaf ward Church was starting to become something I absolutely dreaded. I didn't want to go and sit for three hours completely unaware of what was being said. Also while my Relief Society tried a little but they never found a way to include me or to make me feel welcome.
Now when I go to Church people aren't staring at me if I sign a hymn and I don't sit lost during the service. I understand what's going on and I'm even starting to make some friends. It's really helped that my ASL teacher and her husband go to that ward. Trisha and Brandon have helped so much in smoothing this transition. They've kept an open office policy so if I ever have questions or need to talk I'm welcome to drop by at school. Also as silly as it is, it's nice to have at least one person happy to see you on Sunday! I'm excited for another Sunday in my new ward!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)