summary of the sound of music part 1
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The Sound of Music Summary Part 1 in English
Life doesn’t always go our way. Often we may face challenges and disabilities. How we respond to these challenges is important. We may develop a negative attitude and cynical outlook or become absorbed in all the problems and misfortune we are experiencing or we may rise above our problems and turn any challenge into an opportunity. Deborah Cowley in her biographical feature Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing It writes about the achievements of the multi-percussionist, Evelyn Glennie who overcame her handicap of hearing impairment with great determination and confidence.
The feature describes how, under the able guidance of Ron Forbes, Evelyn Glennie found a way out of her problem by developing an ability to sense music through different parts of her body. Part II is an effort to understand Indian classical musicians and instruments especially the origin of shehnai and shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan. Shehnai replaced pungi which had an unpleasant sound. Pungi’s tonal quality was improved by a nai (barber) and was played in the chambers of the shah (emperor Aumangeb); hence it was named as shehnai.
The Sound of Music Summary Part 1 in English
In the biographical feature Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound without Hearing It Deborah Cowley gives an account of percussionist Evelyn Glennie, a Scottish musician, who has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12. Instead of yielding to the handicap, Evelyn pursued her dream developed her ability to hear through the rest of her body. She eventually made her way to the Royal Academy of Music in London. Evelyn Glennie, who can play more than a thousand instruments to perfection, a most sought after musician internationally.
Evelyn’s mother came to know about her daughter’s deafness when at the age of eight, the latter was to give her performance on the piano in school but could not hear her name being called. For quite a while Evelyn managed to conceal her growing deafness from friends and teachers. But by the time she was eleven her marks had deteriorated. When her deafness was confirmed at the age of eleven, the headmistress of her school suggested that she should be sent to the school for deaf children. But Evelyn was not the kind of girl who could be discouraged. Once, when she was dissuaded by the teachers from playing upon a xylophone, Ron Forbes, a great percussionist, came to her rescue. He saw great potential in her and guided her how to sense music through different parts of her body without listening through ears. This proved to be the turning point. She leamt to open her body and mind to the sounds and vibrations. After that she never looked back. She had mastered the art of interpreting different vibrations of sound on her body.
Evelyn did not look back from that point onwards. She toured the United Kingdom with a youth orchestra and by the time she was sixteen, she had decided to make music her life. She joined the prestigious Royal Academy of Music and scored the highest marks in the history of the Academy when she gave an audition for it. Afterwards, she moved from orchestra to solo performances. At the end of her three-year course at the Academy, Evelyn had bagged most of the top awards.
With her unfaltering determination, Evelyn became the world’s most sought-after multipercussionist with a mastery of some thousand instruments, and hectic international schedule.
Despite her lack of hearing, Evelyn not only speaks flawlessly, but has also managed to learn French and basic Japanese. According to Evelyn, she can feel music pouring in through every part of her body – her skin, her cheek bones, even her hair. She can feel the vibrations of instruments penetrate into her body through her bare feet. In 1991, she received the prestigious ‘Soloist of the Year Award’ presented by the Royal Philharmonic Society.
A person with humane attitude, Evelyn gives free concerts in prisons and hospitals. With her efforts, she secured a significant place for percussion instruments in orchestra. Infact, Evelyn Glennie is a great inspiration for all those who suffer from physical disabilities. She makes them believe that if she could do it, so can they.
The Sound of Music Summary Part 1 Title
The Sound of Music is an apt title for the two features that narrate the inspiring success stories of two talented musicians – Evelyn Glennie and Ustad Bisillah Khan. The title also alludes to the famous movie with the same name. The subtitle Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound Without Hearing It makes the readers wonder how Evelyn Glennie can listen to the sounds of music without actually being able to hear them. It leaves them eager to learn how Glennie developed sensitivity to the sounds of music despite her deafness. She could sense the sounds and vibrations of music through her skin, her hair, her cheek bones, her feet – in fact, through every part of her physical frame.