Blind musicians
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Blind musicians are singers or instrumentalists who are physically unable to see. In many cultures, blind people have become musicians in disproportionate numbers.
Why music is a popular profession among the blind
Several theories have been advanced as to why the profession of musician is a popular one for the blind. There has long been a folk belief that blind people hear better than sighted people, and that therefore the blind have an advantage when performing music. Some recent studies have supported this belief. For example, research has shown that blind musicians are more likely to have perfect pitch than sighted musicians [link] Similarly, a paper published in Nature in 2004 found that people born blind or who went blind early in childhood were better able to recognize variations in pitch than were sighted people. People who went blind later in life had no advantage over those who could still see. The research team believed that this suggested differences in early brain development between those with sight and those who lost their sight in their early years. Specifically, they thought that in those blind from childhood the visual cortex, usually used for processing visual images, might be used for processing [sound] and other sensory input instead.[link]
Another theory points to the fact that blind people often have limited employment opportunities, in part because many jobs are difficult to do without sight, and in part because the blind often experience discrimination which prevents them from working at those jobs which they could perform. In many cultures, musical performance is one of the few jobs perceived as an acceptable profession for the blind. Thus, according to this theory, blind people have often turned to music because it has been one of the few ways in which they could earn a living. [link]
These theories are not mutually exclusive, of course: both biological and social factors may be responsible for blind people choosing to become musicians. Indeed, they may reinforce each other. The fact that blind people are perceived as musically talented means that blind children are often encouraged to take up music. This, in turn, adds to the number of blind musicians, which adds to the perception that blind people are musically talented, and so on.
Resources for blind musicians
Historically, many blind musicians, including some of the most famous, have performed without the benefit of formal instruction, since such instruction relies extensively on written musical notation. However, today there are many resources available for blind musicians who wish to learn Western music theory and classical notation. Louis Braille, the man who created the braille alphabet for the blind, also created a system of classical notation for the blind called Braille music. This system allows the blind to read and write music just as the sighted do. The largest collection of Braille musical scores is located at the Library of Congress.[link] Outside the U.S., the largest collection of braille music scores is stored at the National Library for the Blind in England. [link]
Computer technology and the Internet make it possible in theory for blind musicians to be more independent in composing and studying music. In practice, however, most programs rely on graphical user interfaces, which are difficult for the blind to navigate. There has been some progress in creating screen-reading interfaces for the blind, especially for the Windows operating system. [link]
Today there are also several organizations devoted to the support of blind musicians. The National Resource Center for Blind Musicians, located in Connecticut, has an extensive website. [link] The Music Education Network for the Visually Impaired is a group of students, parents, teachers, and professionals devoted to musical education for the blind. [link]
The image of the blind musician
The image of the blind musician is an important touchstone in many cultures, even where the influence of the blind on music has been limited. The idea of Homer, the blind poet, for example, has had a long existence in Western tradition, even though its basis in truth is uncertain. Similarly, in his book Singer of Tales, Albert Lord explains that in Yugoslavia he found many stories of blind musicians, but few current musicians who were actually blind. [link] Natalie Kononenko had a similar experience in Turkey, though one Turkish musician of great talent, Ashik Veysel was in fact blind. [link]
The popularity of the idea of the blind musician has inspired several artists. John Singer Sargent painted a 1912 canvas based on this theme.[link], and Georges de la Tour has a whole series of paintings devoted to blind musicians. [link]
Though the idea of blind musicians may be even more prevalent than their actuality, it remains true that at many points in history and in many different cultures, blind musicians, individually or as a group, have made important contributions to the development of music. Some of these contributions are discussed below.
Blind musicians in China
Court musician was a traditional profession for the blind in China in antiquity. The first musician mentioned in Chinese sources, Shi Kuang, was a blind performer in the 6th century BC. The Guilds of Blind Musicians and Fortune-Tellers which were still around in China during the middle of the 20th century, claimed to have existed as far back as 200 BC. More recently, groups of blind buskers have continued to perform in Zuoquan County, and presumably in other areas as well.
One of the most popular musical works in China, "Erquan Yingyue (Moon Reflected in the Second Spring)", was composed in the first half of the 20th century by Hua Yanjun, better known as "Blind Ah Bing." [link] [link]
Biwa Hoshi in Japan
In Japan, Heike Biwa, a form of narrative music, was invented and spread during the Kamakura period (1185-1333) by traveling musicians known as biwa hoshi, who were often blind. These musicians played the biwa, a kind of lute, and recited stories, of which the most famous was The Tale of the Heike. The musicians were sometimes known as "blind priests" because they wore robes and shaved their heads, though they were not, in fact Buddhist priests. [link]
Bandurists and lirnyky in Ukraine
There is a very strong tradition of blind minstrelsy in Ukraine. At least from 1850 to 1930—and probably well before that as well—the majority of itinerant musicians in Ukraine were blind. Music was seen as a social-welfare system for those who could not work at other occupations, and as such it was not an occupation open to able-bodied individuals. The wandering blind minstrels were divided into two groups—bandurysts, or kobzars who played bandura, a transformed old-Slavic gusli with an attached lute-like handle, and lirnyks, who played the lira, which was a crank-driven hurdy-gurdy.
The bandurists are much better known than the lirnyky, and are an important part of nationalist tradition in Ukraine. According to Natalie Kononenko in Ukrainian Minstrels: And the Blind Shall Sing,[link] bandurists were probably initially sighted Cossacks, who were especially associated with epic songs, or dumas. Lirnyky, on the other hand, were blind church singers organized into guilds who sang religious songs and were associated with beggars. By the middle of the 19th century, the two groups had merged; both sang many different types of songs, all were organized into the same guilds, and all were blind.
The bandurists have a central place in the national identity of Ukraine. Folklorist Izmail Sreznevskyi argued that the Cossack bandurist actually witnessed the great battles about which they sang. This image of warrior-bards singing nationalist epics was quite popular, and there became a tradition that the great ancient singers were veterans valorously blinded in combat. This in turn led to the belief that the bandurist tradition had greatly weakened in the 19th century, since the traditional songs were now sung by people who were more like beggars than like warriors. Kononenko points out that there is no factual basis for this image, and her research showed that the minstrel tradition was still very strong and creative up until the 1930s.
Because of the connection between bandurists and Ukrainian nationalism, the blind singers were often the focus of persecution by occupying powers, according to researcher Mikhail Khay. This persecution reached a height under Stalin in the 1930s, when many forms of Ukrainian cultural expression were crushed by the Soviet Union. Many sources claim that there was in fact a massacre of blind musicians during this period, though this has not been confirmed, and most details of the incident (including year, place, and method of execution) are disputed. It is fairly clear, however, that by the end of the 30s the tradition of blind minstrelsy had largely vanished. Today bandurist songs are mostly played by sighted, educated performers. During her research, Kononenko found only one blind folk performer of the old songs, a man named Pavlo Suprun.
External links
- [Roman Turovsky's site about Ukrainian Music, Instruments and Musicians during the Baroque and Classical eras]
- [Natalie Kononenko’s Home Page]
- “Music From the Shadows” - article in Zerkalo Nedeli (Mirror Weekly)
- * [“Музика з тіні”] - Ukrainian language
- * [“ Музыка из тени”] - Russian language
Traditional Irish musicians
During the 16th, 17th, and 18th century, harpers, pipers, and other musicians traveled around Ireland, providing music for dances and other occasions. As in Ukraine, these musicians often faced persecution — by the English, in this case. And, as in Ukraine, many of the Irish musicians were blind. The most famous of these blind musicians, Carolan, is still well known for his composition, "Carolan's Concerto." [link]
European piano tuners
In 19th century France and England, piano tuners were frequently blind. The first blind piano tuner is thought to be Claude Montal, who taught himself how to tune a piano while studying at L'Institution Nationale des Jeunes Aveugles in 1830. At first Montal's teachers were skeptical, doubting that a blind man could actually perform the necessary mechanical tasks. Montal's skill was undeniable, however, and he was soon asked to teach classes in tuning to his fellow students. Eventually, he also overcame public prejudice, and landed several prestigious jobs as a tuner for professors and professional musicians. Montal's success paved the way for other blind tuners, both in France and in England, where Montal's example and teaching methods were adopted by Thomas Rhodes Armitage. Today the image of the blind piano tuner is so engrained that people in England sometimes express surprise when they encounter a piano tuner who can see. [link] An organization of blind piano tuners remains active in Britain. [link]
American country blues
Blind musicians have made an enormous contribution to American popular music. This is particularly true in blues, gospel, jazz, and other predominantly African-American forms — perhaps because discrimination added to their disability made it doubly difficult for black blind people to find other employment. In any case, the achievement of blind African-Americans in music is extensive. The first recorded gospel Sanctified barrel-house piano player, Arizona Dranes, was blind, as was Ray Charles, one of the most important figures in the creation of soul music. Art Tatum, commonly cited as the greatest jazz pianist of all time, was also blind.
But blind black musicians are still most strongly associated with the country blues. The first successful male country blues performer, Blind Lemon Jefferson was blind, and so were many other country bluesmen, including Blind Willie McTell, Blind Willie Johnson, Sonny Terry, and Blind Boy Fuller, to name only the best known. The figure of the black country bluesman became so iconic that when Eddie Lang, a white, sighted, jazz guitarist, wanted to choose a black pseudonym for purposes of recording blues records with Lonnie Johnson, he naturally settled on Blind Willie Dunn. [link]
See also
- List of famous blind musicians
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