History Main / DeafComposer

* Not a fully blind artist, but apparently the director of ''Film/HouseOfWax1953'', André de Toth, had only one eye and thus couldn't see any of the film's 3-D sequences.

* In an episode of ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'', a nature photographer ''à la'' Matthew Brady comes to town, and is secretly losing his vision. He takes Sully on as a local assistant, pretending to teach him the basics of photography but actually using his eyes to frame the photos.

* Czech composer Bedřich Smetana wrote most of his greatest works (including the symphonic suite ''Má vlast'' and the opera ''The Bartered Bride'') after becoming completely deaf later in life. Ironically, his loss of hearing freed him from many of his career obligations, which gave him more time to compose.

* Alicia Masters in ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' is a blind sculptress. She creates amazingly detailed and more impressively ''accurate'' {{sculptures}} of people the FF have met just by hearing them described.

* ''{{Series/Probe}}'''s "[[Recap/ProbeNowYouSeeIt Now You See It...]]": John Bolt is a sculptor who had gone blind many years ago. He now works out of a junkyard, manufacturing kinetic sculptures that mostly work on electricity. He says he hates rich businessmen and only sells the worst of his creations to them (for inflated prices) because he hates them. He refuses to sell to Austin, though, since Austin merely [[TheGadfly annoys]] him.

* The ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' episode "Portrait of Francine's Genitals" is about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an abstract painting of Francine's vulva]]. Naturally, Stan gets upset about people looking at it and only comes to terms with how it inspires other people with its beauty. He even goes to visit the painter's widow and learns that he was blind, so even ''he'' didn't actually see the subject of his painting...[[FromBadToWorse he painted by touch]].

The Deaf Composer trope refers to any creator who enjoys composing, cooking, painting, singing, sculpting, or some other creative activity, yet they can never experience it first-hand because they suffer from a loss of one (or more) of the senses most closely tied with their art or have a unique biology that won't allow them to experience their creations. This usually results in or from SenseLossSadness, though it may just be that the Deaf Composer has found a way to compensate à la {{Disability Superpower}}s or found a workaround than enables them to keep creating despite their disability. They may pursue this passion either out of a love of it or as a means to [[BecomeARealBoy compensate for their disability]].

[[folder: Anime and Manga]]

* Alicia Masters in ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'' is a blind sculptress. She creates amazingly detailed and more impressively ''accurate'' sculptures of people the FF have met just by hearing them described.

* Jürgen Klausvonschwitz, the blind FashionDesigner of ''WebVideo/BrandonRogers'''s videos can barely go about his day without getting himself or his employees injured, but is nonetheless passionate about his craft - to varying degrees of success.

A Deaf Composer enjoys cooking, painting, singing, sculpting, or some other creative activity...which they can never experience first-hand because they suffer from a loss of one (or more) of the senses most closely tied with their art or have a unique biology that won't allow them to experience their creations. This usually results in or from SenseLossSadness, though it may just be that the Deaf Composer has found a way to compensate à la {{Disability Superpower}}s. They may pursue this passion either out of a love of it or as a means to [[BecomeARealBoy compensate for their disability]].

While this can be PlayedForLaughs with the Deaf Composer also being a LethalChef (or just amazingly bad for non-cooking arts), it can just as easily be PlayedForDrama with the character struggling with their TragicDream. Interestingly, they may not necessarily be ''bad'' at cooking, painting, etc., making quite competent creations. However, these may suffer from being [[TechnicianVersusPerformer by-the-numbers and uncreative]] due to the lack of all required senses, while other times it's that very same drawback that gives them such a unique and passionate perspective they blow rivals out of the water.

This trope is named in honor of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven, who in the later years of his life continued to compose despite becoming mostly deaf (he didn't ''start'' deaf, however). [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Being an alien spy probably helped.]]

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* Mark Stroemer the bass guitarist of Music/TheKillers suffers tinnitus due to being too close a pyrotechnic explosion while performing on stage in 2013. As such he rarely plays live shows anymore, and most of his work with the band is in-studio only, partially to prevent further hearing damage.

* ''Series/MasterChef'' Season 3 winner Christine Ha was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOipaGDSBTQ blind]].

* Bender in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is a robot with no taste receptors, yet he avidly enjoys cooking and sharing his creations with his biological friends ([[LethalChef much to their dread]]). [[RuleOfFunny For the sake of humor]], he often ''almost'' manages to cook properly. The first time he cooks, he seems to be doing fine; but he finishes by adding a gigantic "dash" of salt, [[UpToEleven and then he pours salt in all the drinks, too]].

* ''{{Film/Proof}}'' is about the tribulations of a blind photographer played by Creator/HugoWeaving.

* In ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations 2'', the motivation behind the murder that Jeff Masters was falsely imprisoned for was that [[spoiler: one of the chefs in the pastry competition Masters held years ago had lost his sense of taste and was competing for "The Angel's Recipe", a book of unreleased pharmaceutical treatments, in which he would find the cute for his ailment. Another chef discovered his secret and used it to blackmail him, eventually resulting in his death.]]

* One case in ''VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigations 2'' involves two pastry chefs who are losing their ability to taste.

* Jürgen Klausvonschwitz, the blind FashionDesigner of ''WebVideo/BrandonRogers'''s videos can barely go about his day without getting himself or his employees injured, but is nonetheless passionate about his craft - to varying degrees of success.

Contrast CreativeSterility, where a character is unable to create art (or procreate) not because they lack the corresponding senses but out of a lack of creative spark. Compare BlindMusician, for visually impaired music artists, and HookHandedPianist, for amputee musicians. Opposite of DreamCrushingHandicap, where it becomes physically impossible to follow the dream.

* Lou Schiemer, one of the presidents of Creator/{{Filmation}}, is color-blind. This goes far toward explaining the odd color choices in some of their shows, particularly the infamous pink Kzinti.

A Deaf Composer enjoys cooking, painting, singing, sculpting, or some other creative activity...which they can never experience first-hand, because they suffer from a loss of one (or more) of the senses most closely tied with their art or have a unique biology that won't allow them to experience their creations. This usually results in or from SenseLossSadness, though it may just be that the Deaf Composer has found a way to compensate à la {{Disability Superpower}}s. They may pursue this passion either out of a love of it or as a means to [[BecomeARealBoy compensate for their disability]].

* ''Film/ImmortalBeloved'': This [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] biopic shows some of the realistic downsides of being a deaf composer. In an early scene, Beethoven is conducting a performance of one his compositions (the ''Emperor'' Concerto), but loses track of where the orchestra should be, and begins giving out erroneous instructions to the orchestra. This confuses the musicians and seriously mars the performance, especially when an enraged Beethoven orders them to start over from the beginning. TruthInTelevision, sadly enough--Beethoven could compose just fine without his hearing, but conducting and performing were another matter, and he was ultimately forced to retire from both pursuits (during the performance of his Ninth Symphony, Beethoven was allowed to stand with the working conductor, but he was only permitted to tap out the tempo before each movement--and the musicians were ordered to ignore any direction he happened to give beyond that).

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* Discussed in ''WebVideo/TrueFacts About the Cuttlefish'', about the cuttlefish's incredible color changing skills despite the animal being colorblind:
-->''"Like a lactose intolerant cheese maker, the cuttlefish is unaware of its own gifts."''

* ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'': Larry 3000 is the TeamChef, and loves creating all manner of sophisticated and advanced dishes, despite being a robot with no sense of taste. It doesn't bother him, since he's a machine and thus has no compulsion to eat, and sees cooking as an artform. Unfortunately, his efforts tend to be wasted on Tuddrussel, who considers fine dining to be "sissy food", but it's a smash hit with every other character who eats it.

* There are several famous blind sculptors. That actually makes sense if you think about it because although they can't see their artwork, they can still use their sense of touch to feel it. However, blind Italian sculptor Felice Tagliaferri deserves special mention for his re-creation of a famous 16th-century statue which he wasn't allowed to touch.

* English composer Music/RalphVaughanWilliams served in the Royal Artillery during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, and his time surrounded by loud and powerful guns resulted in his going completely deaf later in life; but his hearing loss didn't stop him from composing concert pieces and film scores right up to his death in 1957.

* Pete Townshend lost a good deal of his hearing over years of touring with [[Music/TheWho one of the most famously loud rock bands ever]]. He now takes various precautions to keep his remaining hearing strong and to prevent himself from going entirely deaf, [[CoolOldGuy and he still composes and tours]]. He has done a series of [=PSA=]s warning aspiring musicians to protect their ears and once did a commercial for foam earplugs. Roger Daltrey similarly admitted that he had lost his hearing, and Music/NeilYoung's got tinnitus, but says it's gotten better over time as he protects his ears now.[[note]]He's also got hyperacuity, which may be due in part to his age and contributes to his frustration with the sound quality of digital music; since he can hear sounds above and below normal frequency, he can also detect when they're absent.[[/note]] Music/{{Sting}} started wearing hearing aids but doesn't like them because they let him hear things he never could before, including "people talking a lot of shit." Unfortunately, hearing aids don't come with a BS filter.

* [[https://www.chelsiehill.com/ Chelsie Hill]] was an aspiring dancer who became a paraplegic after a car accident during her senior year in high school. Rather than giving up on dance, she simply moved to promoting adaptive dancing for people in wheelchairs, and started an organization called the Rollettes to inspire other women who use wheelchairs to do the same.

* There are several famous blind sculptors. That actually makes sense if you think about it because although they can't see their artwork, they can still use their sense of touch to feel it. However, blind Italian sculptor Felice Tagliaferri deserves special mention for his re-creation of a famous 16th-century statue which [[http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/02/21/uk-italy-blind-idUKTRE71K1YR20110221 he wasn't allowed to touch.]]