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Read on to discover more about blind pianist Ethan Loch and his finely-tuned sense of hearing…<\/strong><\/p> It\u2019s a sound that most performers know \u2013 or at least aspire to know \u2013 well. There\u2019s the polite smattering that ripples around a room like a stone thrown into water, or the impromptu percussive burst that fills an auditorium. But, as Ethan Loch explains, there are many other types of applause \u2013 the pianist can often identify individual clapping styles within the audience.<\/p> This has nothing to do with vanity or need for praise (although who doesn\u2019t like to know they\u2019ve been well received?).\u00a0 It is because Loch has a highly developed sense of hearing. As the 19 year-old concludes his recital at Budleigh Music Festival<\/a><\/strong>, St Peter\u2019s Church erupts with rapturous excitement. Since 2005, the event has been a highlight for this Devon town, which counts Richard Rodney Bennett<\/a><\/strong> and Hilary Mantel<\/a><\/strong> among its former residents. Loch cannot see the standing ovations, but he can hear each one. Unfolding his white stick, which has been stored on the keyboard\u2019s music stand, the pianist moves centre stage, beaming.\u00a0<\/p> As a child, Loch \u2013 who was born without sight \u2013 remembers playing notes on the piano<\/a><\/strong> and listening intently to the overtones. These are present in most sounds, but generally we hear single frequencies, and the majority of Western classical music is based on a given harmonic series \u2013 with the exception of works such as Georg Friedrich Haas\u2019s 11,000 Strings,<\/em> which is scored for 50 pianos tuned in microtones<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> For example, most people would play \u2018middle C\u2019 on the piano and hear a single note (it\u2019s slightly different with wind instruments<\/a><\/strong>, where each note is an amalgamation of the harmonic series). Loch realised he was hearing multiple partial sounds and became fascinated by the experience. He also discovered each pitch triggered different movements in his body, known as hearing-motion synaesthesia<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p> \u2018If I lean like this, that\u2019s a B, or like this \u2013 it\u2019s a C,\u2019 Loch explains, demonstrating the changing positions from a chair in the vestry. He stands up suddenly: \u2018That\u2019s F natural.\u2019 There are many types of synaesthesia \u2013 sensory crossover \u2013 with an estimated 150 forms in existence. Musicians are generally associated with sound-colour synaesthesia, which can manifest as a link between a key signature and a particular shade. Ligeti<\/a><\/strong> described \u2018major chords are red or pink, minor chords are somewhere between green and brown\u2019, while Scriabin<\/a><\/strong> associated colours with the various harmonic tones of the scale. In his autobiographical Recollections<\/em>, Rachmaninov<\/a><\/strong> recorded a conversation he had with Scriabin and Rimsky-Korsakov<\/a><\/strong>, who both maintained that D major is golden-brown.\u00a0<\/p> \u2018I\u2019ve never experienced sight,\u2019 explains Loch. \u2018It\u2019s almost as if my brain has converted a visual synaesthesia to something physical.\u2019 You might expect this understanding of sound to translate into a dance-like performance, but his Chopin<\/a><\/strong> Polonaise and Debussy<\/a><\/strong> Pr\u00e9ludes were restrained to the end, with all focus given over to the music. That\u2019s intentional, because, as the connections are completely instinctive, you can\u2019t choose the movement associated with each note. \u2018It\u2019s very jarring,\u2019 Loch explains. \u2018It doesn\u2019t often fit the shape of the music. When I was younger, I did used to move synaesthetically and the result was ridiculous \u2013 I don\u2019t think it works on stage at all.\u2019\u00a0<\/p> Ethan Loch… an astonishing sense of hearing<\/h2>
How did Ethan Loch learn to play the piano without sight?<\/h2>
How does Ethan Loch’s hearing-motion synaesthesia work?<\/h2>