"Face The Music"

Music has a calming effect on our lives. What if you weren't able to hear the music? When you are hearing impaired, your ablity to enjoy the music you used to hear clearly changes.

It doesn't mean you can't face the music you once included to be a part of your life. Yet, if you can't hear at all, does that mean your appreciation of music has to stop? I've heard of several deaf or hearing impaired people who participate in music, despite their handicap.

Shawn Dale Burnett is the only deaf man who had a top ten ht on MTV in 1987. Shawn is the first deaf owner of his own record company called S. D. B. Records. He is the inventor and creator of Deaf Music.

Shawn's shows include his drums, multi-complex sound systems, light shows that move to the beat of the drums. He uses a fog machine and a snow machine along with balloons.He makes his own kind of music!

When I listen to music I use it as a buffer. I get lost in the music. It helps me escape from the normal everyday moments in my life.

I believe music should be available for all of us to hear. In one incident, one summer when I was attending a beach concert in Northern California, in order to get front row seats, we had to wait in line for a long time. A few hours later a group of deaf people arrived in a bus. The promoters were going to let the deaf people sit in the front center area.

After some discussion coming from the hearing people the promoters placed the deaf people to the right side, in the front. As I witnessed this, while standing in line, I began to wonder how everything would turn out. I think it was a fair compromise. The interpreter was still able to translate for the deaf people. The deaf people, after all, had traveled to see this show from some distance, and the other people had been up since early morning waiting in line to see the show.

For hearing or for the hearing impaired we must all overpass the obstacles in our daily life. If we need to push a little bit harder to make our dreams become real, then we should. The end result would be worth any struggle we might have to make along the way.

I'm grateful for all the innovative composers and musicians I've surrounded myself with, such as, Lennon and McCartney, Simon and Garfunkle, or Stevie Wonder, to name just a few. They have helped to make me the enlightened person I am today. It just goes to prove that Facing The Music can be a positive action for all.

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