2. The Sound of Music - NCERT

1 Part IEvelyn Glennie Listens to Soundwithout Hearing ItBBBBBEFOREEFOREEFOREEFOREEFORE Y Y Y Y YOUOUOUOUOU R R R R READEADEADEADEAD God may have taken her hearing but he has given her backsomething extraordinary. What we hear, she feels far moredeeply than any of us. That is why she expresses Music sobeautifully. Read the following account of a person who fought against aphysical disability and made her life a success hour crowds jostle for position on theunderground train platform. A slight girl, lookingyounger than her seventeen years, was nervous yetexcited as she felt the vibrations of the approachingtrain.

2 It was her first day at the prestigious RoyalAcademy of Music in London and daunting enoughfor any teenager fresh from a Scottish farm. Butthis aspiring musician faced a bigger challenge thanmost: she was profoundly Glennie s loss of hearing had been mother remembers noticing something waswrong when the eight-year-old Evelyn was waitingto play the piano. They called her name and shedidn t move. I suddenly realised she hadn t heard, says Isabel Glennie. For quite a while Evelynmanaged to conceal her growing deafness fromfriends and teachers.

3 But by the time she waseleven her marks had deteriorated and herheadmistress urged her parents to take her to a2. The Sound of Music2. The Sound of Music2. The Sound of Music2. The Sound of Music2. The Sound of Musicjostle: push roughlyslight: small andthindaunting: frighteningaspiring musician: aperson who wantsto be a musician2022-2318 / Beehivespecialist. It was then discovered that her hearingwas severely impaired as a result of gradual nervedamage. They were advised that she should be fittedwith hearing aids and sent to a school for the deaf.

4 Everything suddenly looked black, says Evelyn was not going to give up. She wasdetermined to lead a normal life and pursue herinterest in Music . One day she noticed a girl playinga xylophone and decided that she wanted to play ittoo. Most of the teachers discouraged her butpercussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential. Hebegan by tuning two large drums to different notes. Don t listen through your ears, he would say, tryto sense it some other way. Says Evelyn, SuddenlyI realised I could feel the higher drum from thewaist up and the lower one from the waist down.

5 Forbes repeated the exercise, and soon Evelyndiscovered that she could sense certain notes indifferent parts of her body. I had learnt to open mymind and body to sounds and vibrations. The restwas sheer determination and hard never looked back from that point toured the United Kingdom with a youthorchestra and by the time she was sixteen, she haddecided to make Music her life. She auditioned forthe Royal Academy of Music and scored one of thehighest marks in the history of the academy. Shegradually moved from orchestral work to soloperformances.

6 At the end of her three-year course,she had captured most of the top for all this, Evelyn won t accept any hint ofheroic achievement. If you work hard and knowwhere you are going, you ll get there. And she gotright to the top, the world s most sought-after multi-percussionist with a mastery of some thousandinstruments, and hectic international is intriguing to watch Evelyn function soeffortlessly without hearing. In our two-hourdiscussion she never missed a word. Men withbushy beards give me trouble, she laughed. It isxylophone: a musicalinstrument with arow of wooden barsof different lengthspercussionist: aperson who plays thedrum, the tabla, : quality orability that can bedevelopedauditioned: gave ashort performance sothat the directorcould decide whethershe was good enoughintriguing: fascinatingand curiousimpaired: weakened2022-23 The Sound of Music / 19not just watching the lips, it s the whole face,especially the eyes.

7 She speaks flawlessly with aScottish lilt. My speech is clear because I couldhear till I was eleven, she says. But that doesn texplain how she managed to learn French andmaster basic for Music , she explains, It pours in throughevery part of my body. It tingles in the skin, mycheekbones and even in my hair. When she playsthe xylophone, she can sense the Sound passing upthe stick into her fingertips. By leaning against thedrums, she can feel the resonances flowing into herbody. On a wooden platform she removes her shoesso that the vibrations pass through her bare feetand up her is intriguing to watch Evelyn functionso effortlessly without hearingtingles: causes aslight pricking orstinging sensationresonances: echoesof soundsflawlessly: without afault or mistakelilt: a way ofspeaking2022-2320 / surprisingly, Evelyn delights her audiences.

8 In1991 she was presented with the RoyalPhilharmonic Society s prestigious Soloist of the YearAward. Says master percussionist James Blades, God may have taken her hearing but he has givenher back something extraordinary. What we hear,she feels far more deeply than any of us. That iswhy she expresses Music so beautifully. confesses that she is something of aworkaholic. I ve just got to work .. often harderthan classical musicians. But the rewards areenormous. Apart from the regular concerts, Evelynalso gives free concerts in prisons and also gives high priority to classes for youngmusicians.

9 Ann Richlin of the Beethoven Fund forDeaf Children says, She is a shining inspirationfor deaf children. They see that there is nowherethat they cannot go. Glennie has already accomplished more thanmost people twice her age. She has broughtpercussion to the front of the orchestra, anddemonstrated that it can be very moving. She hasgiven inspiration to those who are handicapped,people who look to her and say, If she can do it, Ican. And, not the least, she has given enormouspleasure to COWLEYT hinking about the TThinking about the TThinking about the TThinking about the TThinking about the these questions in a few words or a couple of sentences old was Evelyn when she went to the Royal Academy of Music ?

10 Was her deafness first noticed? When was it confirmed? each of these questions in a short paragraph (30 40 words). helped her to continue with Music ? What did he do and say? the various places and causes for which Evelyn the question in two or three paragraphs (100 150 words). does Evelyn hear Music ?priority: greatimportanceworkaholic (informal):a person who finds itdifficult to stopworking2022-23 The Sound of Music / 21 Part IIThe Shehnai of Bismillah KhanBBBBBEFOREEFOREEFOREEFOREEFORE YOUYOUYOUYOUYOU R R R R READEADEADEADEAD Do you know these people?