Feeling the beat: What it's like to be a deaf music fan

Updated

'I don't think bands would know that they have deaf fans. I guess they don't have an understanding of deafness.'

Imagine standing on a stage, in front of thousands of people and translating a rapper into a completely different language, in real time.

If that seems like a completely unrealistic job, it's not. It is exactly what American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter Amber Galloway Gallego does for a living.

"ASL is a foreign language, it's grammatically different than English," she said.

"I'm actually … painting the pictures, more so than just following word by word."

Ms Galloway Gallego has been doing this in the US for more than 14 years. She began simply because she saw a need for it.

"I saw these deaf kids and they were dancing all over the place and signing to the music and I was like 'Whoa, deaf people do love music'," she said.

"For a long time everybody told me deaf people didn't like music."

It's a misconception that many still have today.

Addicted to bass

Emily Addicoat, 20, was born deaf and wears hearing aids in both ears.

She is also a huge fan of music.

Like anyone else she plays it through speakers at home and on earphones while getting around the city.

"Mostly I just feel the vibrations and the beat and sometimes I can hear the music, but it's more about the vibrations for me," she said.

"One time I was on a train and this guy came up to me and said 'you've got good taste in music' … that was the first time I realised how loud my music was."

Audiologist Jane Brew said because sound is vibration it is common for people in the deaf community to experience music in this way.

"The experience of listening to very loud music with very bass-heavy music is a very visceral experience," she said.

"If you've only got very limited hearing or you are completely deaf, that's your way of accessing the sound, that's your way of accessing the music."

The sight of music

Music is crucial to our development as humans ... if we shut an entire minority out that is actually cutting them off of a huge part of our existence as humans. Amber Galloway Gallego

But sight also plays a part in music appreciation, especially for those who have grown up with little or no hearing.

"We do know through brain imaging that someone who has grown up without access to sound, the parts of the brain that would usually light up to sound are maybe lighting up to visual stimulation instead," Ms Brew said.

It is a personal experience that Emily Addicoat can attest to. Live concerts are her favourite way to consume music, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift are among the acts she has seen.

"They're visual — I can see everything. I can also feel the vibrations, as well. I just like it," she said.

She said despite often studying the lyrics before she goes, it can still be hard to catch everything.

"If they play all different tracks and I don't know a particular track, then I don't understand, I have to wait until it's finished until they play a song I know."

Here in Australia, having someone like Amber Galloway Gallego up there on the stage with the performers is very rare.

"I don't think bands would know that they have deaf fans. I guess they don't have an understanding of deafness," she said.

"If bands knew they had deaf fans hopefully they'd have an Auslan interpreter on stage, for access."

Auslan interpreters not common at local gigs

In the US, Amber Galloway Gallego has performed at more the 400 concerts, interpreting a truly stunning array of artists over the years - including Kendrick Lamar, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper and The Black Keys.

Interpreting a whole gig is a lot of work. Ms Galloway Gallego learns all the songs before she goes on stage, "making movies" in her head.

"I hear the song and I start picturing how it's supposed to look and how it's supposed to be conveyed," she said.

"Thousands of songs I've learned.

"I'll walk into a store and I'll hear an artist and I'll be like 'oh, I remember interpreting this'."

Back in Melbourne, it is an experience of music Emily Addicoat has so far only been able to access via social media.

"She pops up in my feed because deaf people are always sharing her videos," she said.

"I think it's great, I wish there was something like that in Australia. I wish I could go to a concert with an interpreter like her."

Story Hunters would like to see more interpreting at Australian gigs. If you agree head to our poll and vote to have one of four Australian artists' tracks interpreted by a local signer.

From there we'll see if we can get an entire show of the winning band interpreted live on stage.

Want to discuss this story? Story Hunters wants your views on the topics we cover and more. Join the Facebook group and tell us what's important to you.

In the meantime, check out Amber Galloway Gallego interpretation the Hilltop Hoods' classic hit The Nosebleed Section in full.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: Amber Galloway Gallego signs Hilltop Hoods (ABC News)

Topics: music, arts-and-entertainment, music-industry, languages, hearing, melbourne-3000, sydney-2000

First posted