Evelyn Glennie Listens to Sound | NCERT Solution | English | Class IX
Updated: Apr 21, 2022
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THEME
Evelyn is a famous multi- percussionist. She plays a variety of percussion instruments like xylophone, drums etc.
The story of Evelyn Glennie is a inspirational story. It inspires us to overcome our physical disabilities and fulfil our dreams just like Evelyn did.
Although the Almighty God snatched her hearing power, He gifted her the sense of feeling. That is why she was able to express music so beautifully.
This lesson teaches us in spite of all handicaps, we can realize our dream with single-minded devotion and tenacity.
STORY AT A GLANCE
The story begins with the scene at the railway platform.
Evelyn was waiting for the train to go to London to learn music as she has takne admission in the Royal Academy of Music.
Evelyn being a girl of Scotland is very nervous to go to a big place like London. However, she is excited as well because she will learn music from the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Evelyn faced a much bigger challenge that was her inability to hear. Therefore, she felt nervous at the Royal Academy of Music.
Evelyn Glennie’s loss of hearing had been gradual.
Her mother, Isabel Glennie, identified her deafness when she was eight-year-old waiting to play the piano. Her name was called, but she did not move.
When Evelyn was eleven years old her marks has started deteriorating. The Headmistress requested her parents to take Evelyn to the doctor. It was then discovered that her hearing was severely impaired as a result of gradual nerve damage.
Her parents were advised They were advised that she should be fitted with hearing aids and sent to a school for the deaf.
But Evelyn was determined to lead a normal life and pursue her interest in music. When Evelyn saw a girl playing the Xylophone, she wanted to play it too.
Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential.
He took two large drums tuned each drum to different notes. He then instructed her not to listen through her ears, but feel the music some other way.
As Ron had tuned both the drums to different notes, Evelyn could hear higher notes of the drum from the upper part of her waist and the lower notes from the lower part of her waist.
Forbes repeated the exercise, and soon Evelyn discovered that she could sense certain notes in different parts of her body.
Slowly Evelyn started sensing the different sounds through the different parts of her body.
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 auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy.
She gradually moved from group orchestra to solo performances. At the end of her three-year course , she had captured most of the top awards.
If anyone complements Evelyn, she shares her success recipe that if we work hard and we have an aim, a goal then we will certainly achieve it.
She gained expertise in almost one thousand musical instruments and she is acclaimed to be the most popular multi percussionist of the world.
She has a very busy Schedule. She has programmes and concerts all over the world.
The writer Deborah Cowley took Evelyn’s interview which lasted for two hours. Evelyn says that those men having long, bushy beards give her trouble.
When they speak, she cannot see their lip movement which is covered with the bushy beards.
Evelyn says that she not only sees the lip movement of the person’s face, but the entire expression of the face of the speaker to be able to understand what he is saying.
After becoming deaf Evelyn also learned two new languages-French and basic Japanese.
As for Music Evelyn explains that she identifies music as it creates sensation in her skin, in her cheekbones and even in her hair. So every part of Evelyn’s body responds to music.
When she plays the xylophone, she can sense the sound passing up the stick into her fingertips.
By leaning against the drums, she can feel the resonances flowing into her body.
Whenever Evelyn performs, she performs on a wooden platform and she removes her shoes so that she can feel the vibrations of the musical instruments pass through the floor, into her feet and up her legs.
In 1991 she was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist of the Year Award.
Evelyn does charity also. She gives free concerts in hospitals and prisons.
She also takes classes for young musicians. For those children who want to learn music.
Evelyn Glennie has already accomplished more than most people twice her age.
Evelyn’s story is an inspiration to physically disabled people. They feel that they can also achieve their dreams.
Evelyn’s performance is a delight for her audience. She is loved all over the globe.
RECAPITULATION
Her mother, Isabel Glennie, identified her deafness when she was eight-year-old waiting to play the piano. Her name was called, but she did not move.
She took admission in Royal Academy of Music in London to learn music.
The Headmistress requested her parents to take Evelyn to the doctor. It was then discovered that her hearing was severely impaired as a result of gradual nerve damage.
Most of the teachers discouraged her but percussionist Ron Forbes spotted her potential.
She auditioned for the Royal Academy of Music and scored one of the highest marks in the history of the academy.
If anyone complements Evelyn, she shares her success recipe that if we work hard and we have an aim, a goal then we will certainly achieve it.
She gained expertise in almost one thousand musical instruments and she is acclaimed to be the most popular multi percussionist of the world.
In 1991 she was presented with the Royal Philharmonic Society’s prestigious Soloist of the Year Award.
Evelyn’s story is an inspiration to physically disabled people. They feel that they can also achieve their dreams.
Evelyn’s performance is a delight for her audience. She is loved all over the globe.