Good vibrations: Deaf boy to show off keyboard skills

A profoundly deaf Cork boy will showcase his musical talents for hearing impairment experts at a conference this weekend.

Alain Newstead, 12, from Carrigaline, has been learning to play keyboard through sound vibrations he feels through his feet.

The talented youngster is coached by his classically trained teacher Orla O’Sullivan, who is deaf and visually impaired.

He can feel the sounds of musical notes through a wooden board placed beneath a keyboard attached to an amplifier.

Alain’s unlikely progress will feature as part of the Deafblind Ireland conference in Maynooth, Co Kildare, on Saturday, where Ms O’Sullivan features as a guest speaker.

“He is confident, eager to learn and has great potential. Most of all, he really enjoys it,” said Ms O’Sullivan.

Alain’s mother, Eileen Newstead, hopes her son’s progress will inspire others with hearing impairments to explore new avenues of creativity.

“It’s a way for him to communicate and connect with another profoundly deaf person in the world and he adores it.

“It’s really incredible to see his progress. Orla is a wonderful teacher and they have a great rapport.”

She recalled feeling worried and distressed when Alain was five months old to discover that he was deaf.

Six months later, he began learning sign language to communicate with his family, including older sister Rachel, 27, and Alex, 16.

To his mother’s delight, he reacted positively to sound vibrations after she placed his hands on the speakers of the radio when he was young.

Now he is a happy, well-adjusted pupil attending a deaf facility in St Columba’s GNS in Douglas, Cork.

Ms Newstead found Alain’s music teacher through the Cork Deaf Association and she was “blown away” by her ability and teaching methods.

“Orla played a wonderful piece of music and it was incredible, knowing that she was not hearing a note of it,” said Ms Newstead.

Now, Alain has a number of tunes under his belt.

“He is a beginner, but he is note perfect,” said Ms Newstead.

“He has a great sense of rhythm and his deafness has not impaired his ability to learn. We are all inspired by him.”