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Beethoven Composed some of His Greatest Works While Completely Deaf Despite losing his hearing in his 30s, Ludwig van Beethoven continued to create masterpieces like Symphony No. 5, Symphony No. 9 (“Ode to Joy”), and his Late String Quartets—all without being able to hear them. Born in 1770 and died in1827, Ludwig Van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist, often considered one of the greatest musicians in history. He is notable for helping to transition music from the Classical era (Mozart, Haydn) to the Romantic era (Chopin, Brahms). However, his life took a sudden turn when he began losing his hearing in his late 20s and became almost completely deaf by 40. While the exact cause of his deafness remains ambiguous, some probable causes include, Lead poisoning, Typhus, Autoimmune disease and Nerve damage. Now, the question is, how Did He Continue to Compose Without Hearing? Reports have it that Beethoven used to press his ear to the piano’s soundboard to feel vibrations. It is even rumoured that he tried attaching a metal rod to his jaw to pick up vibrations when playing piano. Many also believe that some of Beethoven’s greatest works were composed when he could no longer hear. Infact, during the Premiere of Symphony No. 9, Beethoven conducted and had to be turned around by one of the musicians so he could see the audience’s standing ovation—because he couldn’t hear their cheers, this moment is considered one of the most moving in music history. Beethoven is proof that creativity is not limited by physical conditions. Stay resilient, Stay unstoppable!

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The Haunted Studio – Sound City  Founded in 1969 and shut down in 2011, the Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California holds a reputation of being the confluence point of Music History and Mystery. The Studio holds a reputation of strange energy and has been reported by countless musicians and engineers to have a “charged” or “haunted” feeling in certain rooms. In 2013, Dave Grohl, in his documentary on Sound City, described the place as “magnetic and spiritual,” claiming that something “non-human” seemed to guide the creative process. There’s also been reports of flickering lights, cold spots, unexplainable equipment malfunction and audio glitches that defy the laws of analog tech. Room 3 is particularly reported to be “The Epicenter of Weird” with many artists including Travis Scott, Rick Rubin, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, and others claiming to have felt  watched or emotionally overwhelmed while recording in the room. A producer once described an experience where a track “recorded itself backwards” without any engineering influence or post-editing; and why there’s no exact explanation for it, it is believed that the strange feelings come from the emotional intensity and age-long creativity that’s been stored in the studio due to the greatness of most pioneering artists that made use of the studio. Some bands are even rumoured to have requested for midnight sessions as it is believed the eerie energy might be at its peak then. Stay Mystic, Stay Creative! @Alaro Basit 

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