Sandman’s Castle is an eerie, shamanistic piece of music that riffles between soft, textured tones and an absolute crescendo of drumming. It’s an incredible soundscape, especially considering it’s delivered by a single musician, on a single instrument. And also - that musician is deaf.

{Watch it here}

Dame Evelyn Glennie has been profoundly deaf since childhood, but has toured the world as a solo percussionist, won Grammy awards, and was awarded a Damehood by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to music. Her TED Talk, How to Truly Listen, has been watched 6.8M times.

We think of music as simply soundwaves hitting our eardrums, but Glennie’s creative work and visceral performances show us how to listen with our whole bodies. Science experiments in labs demonstrate that visual cues - even as small as drumming your fingers - have an enormous impact on how we perceive music.

is a composer with NAME and NAME. He composed Sandman’s Castle for Dame Evelyn Glennie, an elite musician who also happens to be profoundly deaf.

Science experiments have shown that music is a full body experience, involving all our senses. That’s why dancing or watching live performers can enhance - or even change - how we perceive music.