The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1922-06-02
Kansas Wonder Girl Is in Class
With Helen Keller and VIII
letta Higgins.
FEELS" MUSIC WITH FEET
Baking Angel Food End Writing on
Typewriter Among Her Other Ae-
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Diff
cult Classical Music.

Olathe. Kan.-After % years In the
dim world Of those who are sghiless.
deaf and dumb, Miss Helen May Mar
tin In finding her way out. She has
chosen the least reasonable" nlethod |
Of expression imaginable for ,ne So af- |
fiicted. Ills music
Before large audience In the Meth. |
odist church here. Miss Martin played |
what Is probably the first piano re-
cital In the history of the world to
have been given by person With
neither sight nor hearing. Il cannot
now he said that she Is without speech.
for she articulates even unfamiliar
names accurately and understandingly.
The iDtricacy Of the method by
which a person whose sensations ARE
practically limited to those of heat and
cold, pain and taste enters whole
new world is not comprehensive to
the normal person. Mis- Martin might
possibly have been taught to place her
myers on certain of the piano keys
ana press them down by note. but that
would not explain her ability TO grasp
n.y. bpi hlidttNtf llt StuSt Is tldt
tells her when she is about to make
mistake in time TO avert it. She never
has heard, and as never been able to
recognize objects. For few years
after birth she was able to distinguish
between light and darkness, bht never
more. For 20 years there has not even
been that travesty on sight.
"Feels" Her Music.
Miss Martin is able to feel her
music best by placing the ball of her
foot against the bottom of her upright
piano. her mother, Mrs Helen May
Martin. says.
At the church, however, she did not
want to risk soaring the instrument
she was using, so she got approximate
iy the same result by holding her left
foot under the soft" pedal.
Gounods March Pontificai." the
Don Giovanni" minuet of Mozart,
Morrison's familiar Meditation. +"
Lang's equally familiar Flower Song"
the first two movements of Beetho-
ven's Moonlight" sonata, and CARR.
Jacobs Bonds A Perfect Day" were
the numbers used. The precision with
which the young woman picked her
notes cut Of completely blank space
struck them, and managed ritards
dynamics, and pedal were marvellous
All the pieces were taken deliberately
of course, hat the distortions, tha,
would haveN been evident had she
learned entirely by rote were absent.
In the second movement of tn,
sonata the rhythm is not simple. Ru
neither was II too much for Miss Mar
tin. AT the end of her program. sh,
repeated the Flower Song" for al
encore.
Experiments with the piano were he
gun good many years ago by tn
young womans mother, but only in tn
last few years have they been PRESSED
Never has there been available
teacher who understood both tn
methods used for the sightless an
those for the deaf. Miss Audre
Granger. who sat on the platform wit
Miss Martin, Is by coincidence he
first and latest teacher. When Mis-
Martin was small girl. Miss Grange
was with her for short period. an
now she is completing the work begu
then.
Has Other Accomplishments.
In addition to repertoire of Z
piano pieces. Miss Martin has many
the accomplishments of the averal
girl. She reads Braille, and now iearr
her plano music by leading the not,
In point" for each hand separated