Collaborative performance: Learning from the use of visual and auditory cues by musicians with hearing impairments

Can musicians and non-musicians (with and without hearing impairments) be trained to associate vibration with pitch, and hear differences between such pitches? We first inter-viewed 13 hearing-impaired musicians; few reported relying on vibrotactile information when playing in groups from duos to orchestras. Rather, they use visual cues from other players. We then investigated the effect of auditory and visual information on co-performers’ movement, sound levels when playing, looking behaviour and ensemble synchrony, communication while rehearsing and performing, and musical shaping gestures. Visual cues provided by co-performers’ movements are more communicative than self-regulatory. Looking behaviour and sound production are determined by perceived rather than absolute differences. The strategies used by musicians with hearing impairments to stay in time and in tune (such as advance preparation, visual cues, and auditory cues) are also relevant for musicians without hearing impairments. Vibrotactile technology could be of use to musicians with hearing impairments.