History Main / DeafComposer

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

* Cartoonist James Thurber was legally (but not fully) blind as the result of a shooting accident, leading to his famous lumpy-looking art style.

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 a 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]].

* In ''Manga/Classi9'', [[TropeNamer Beethoven]] lost his hearing very early in his life. Like his real-life counterpart, it doesn't stop him from composing, but he does appreciate help to write his music. He also comments that operas are the only type of musical works he can still enjoy as they consist of music and plays.

* 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.
* Maya Lopez aka Echo, who originated in ''Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}'', is a deaf musician and actress; skills made possible by her adoptive muscle memory, similar to Taskmaster or Finesse.

[[AC:FanFiction]]
* One ''Series/BattlestarGalactica1978'' and ''Series/RedDwarf'' crossover fanfiction had the Cylons reprogrammed into avid bakers set on providing the galaxy with quality baked goods. Since they lack taste receptors, they force Baltar to be their taste tester. [[HumiliationConga Their bread is horrible.]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* Poked fun at in ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'', in the scene where they pick up Beethoven; they carry him off the piano mid-song and he continues playing (that is to say, he mimes that he's still playing the piano).

* The [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] biopic ''Film/ImmortalBeloved'' contains a small deconstruction. 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).

* The Literature/{{Discworld}} book ''Discworld/SoulMusic'' mentioned that most composers have gone deaf by the time they die, this being the gods' idea of a joke. The joke is on the gods, of course. Deafness doesn't prevent a true composer from hearing the music; it prevents them from hearing the distractions.

* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber,'' Random's wife Vialle is a talented sculptress who happens to be blind.

* Several chefs on ''Series/{{Chopped}}'' have created dishes with mystery ingredients they can't taste due to allergies or other dietary restrictions (e.g., a Kosher chef cooking prosciutto or a vegetarian Chef cooking meat). When one chef got through two rounds despite being allergic to ingredients in both, his competitor worried about how well he might do when he could actually taste the food.

* In an episode of ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'' a nature photographer ''a la'' Matthew Brady comes to town, who 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.
* Spoofed in ''{{Series/Psych}}'' 's ''Series/TwinPeaks'' tribute episode, in which Dual Spires's local photographer reveals that he's secretly blind. Shawn discovers that the man's house is filled with [[RoomFullOfCrazy photographs pinned to every available section of wall]]... and they're all completely out of focus, with awful lighting, framing and composition, depicting nothing in particular, and several are hung upside down. This manages to be humorous, tragic, and creepy all at once.

* Ned the Piemaker in ''Series/{{Pushing Daisies}}'' owns a pie shop (hence: the Piemaker title), and manages to stay afloat by buying rotten fruit on discount and using [[BackFromTheDead his powers]] to revitalize them. But if he touches them again, they would return to their original rotten state, so he can never taste his own creations.

* On ''Series/ProjectRunway'', season 9 and All Star Season 2 contestant Anthony Ryan Auld is color-blind, but was often praised for his color choices.

[[AC:TabletopRPG]]

* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' has an...odd example with the skill "Torso Awareness," which [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext makes you aware of your torso so you can wear shirts]]. You can only learn this ability from gnomes, who [[WaddlingHead lack torsos]].

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* 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.]]

* 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.
* As mentioned in the trope description, [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] suffered from deafness later in his life. The cause of this disability has been argued, with such possibilities as lead poisoning, syphilis or even his habit of dunking his head in cold water to stay awake being cited. Didn't stop him from creating masterpieces, however.
* 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.]]

* French composer Gabriel Fauré was forced to retire from most of his professional obligations a few years before his death as his hearing loss (and other health problems) became too severe to work through, but he continued to compose; his most notable composition from his final years was his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24pV-0CUCYY String Quartet in E minor,]] and he had to refuse an offer by four musicians to perform it for him while he was on his deathbed as what little sound he could still hear was horribly distorted.

* John Bramblitt is blind. He's also a painter. On [[DailyPlanet Jay Ingram's]] last show on Daily Planet, Bramblitt painted Ingram perfectly after only touching his face - he even got the colors right. You can see a collection of his paintings [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWmalXfWNLc here.]]
* Dame Evelyn Glennie who was the percussionist for the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony is deaf. She once gave a Ted talk about her experiences, [[http://www.ted.com/talks/evelyn_glennie_shows_how_to_listen.html online here.]]

* The [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] biopic ''Immortal Beloved'' contains a small deconstruction. 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).

* Gregory House from House MD. As the canonical Wounded Healer, his medical genius bestows a second chance at life to almost all of his patients, while his own prolonged state of misery evidences that he himself is unable to enjoy life.

->"''Deafness doesn't prevent composers hearing music. It prevents them hearing distractions.''"

* The [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] biopic ''Immortal Beloved'' contains a small deconstruction. 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 premitted to tap out the tempo before each movement--and the musicians were ordered to ignore any direction he happened to give beyond that).

* The [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] biopic ''Immortal Beloved'' contains a small deconstruction. 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 preformance of his Ninth Symphony, Beethoven was allowed to stand with the working conductor, but he was only premitted to tap out the tempo before each movement--and the musicians were ordered to ignore any direction he happened to give beyond that).

* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'', Random's wife Vialle is a talented sculptress who happens to be blind.

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 is true of any vampire cook in ''VampireTheRequiem''. Since the curse of undeath also makes any food or drink that isn't blood taste absolutely horrible ''and'' forces them to puke it up in short order, they can cook to their heart's content, but not only will they be unable to eat it, taste-testing is impossible.

* In ''Film/TroubleWithTheCurve'', ClintEastwood plays an aging baseball scout who is slowly losing his eyesight. Nevertheless, he still manages to cope with hearing the ''sound'' of the ball hitting the glove/bat.

* Lou Schiemer, one of the presidents of Filiation, is colour-blind. This goes far toward explaining the odd colour choices in some of their shows, particularly the infamous pink Kzinti.

This trope is named in honor of Music/LudwigVanBeethoven, who in the later years of his life continued to compose despite becoming mostly deaf. [[BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy Being an alien spy probably helped]].

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

* Ned the Piemaker in ''Series/{{Pushing Daisies}}'' owns a pie shop (hence: the Piemaker title) but due to his powers, he is never able to eat his fantastic creations. he manages to stay afloat by buying rotten fruit on discount and using his powers to revitalize them. But this means that if he was to touch the fruits again (i.e. when eating them), the fruits go back to being rotten.

* 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]].

* John Bramblitt is blind. He's also a painter. On [[DailyPlanet Jay Ingram's]] last show on Daily Planet, Bramblitt painted Ingram perfectly after only touching his face - he even got the colors right. You can see a collection of his paintings [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWmalXfWNLc here]].
* Dame Evelyn Glennie who was the percussionist for the 2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony is deaf. She once gave a Ted talk about her experiences, [[http://www.ted.com/talks/evelyn_glennie_shows_how_to_listen.html online here]].

* Ned the Piemaker in ''Series/{{Pushing Daisies}}'' owns a pie shop (hence: the Piemaker title) but due to his powers, he is never able to eat his fantastic creations.

* The [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] biopic ''Immortal Beloved'' contains a small deconstruction. 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.

* The [[Music/LudwigVanBeethoven Beethoven]] biopic ''Immortal Beloved'' contains a small deconstruction. In an early scene Beethoven is conducting a performance of one his compositions, 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. TruthInTelevision, sadly enough-- Beethoven could compose just fine without his hearing, but conducting and performing were another matter.

* In XXXHolic, [[SupremeChef Watanuki]] turns out to be unable to remember the taste of his food.
* Played with in MedakaBox as an android who, understandably has no tastebuds, has won a cooking contest.