# La musica prima di ogni suono | Antonio Dominelli | TEDxSpoleto Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDYKY4bqrD4 Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/YDYKY4bqrD4 Generated: 2026-02-18T16:42:48.218+00:00 --- ## Quick Overview Antonio Dominelli, a deaf singer, musician, producer, and performer, discusses his experience of perceiving music through physical vibration and visual cues, emphasizing that music exists before sound, which allowed him to navigate his world and create art despite his hearing loss. **Key Points:** - Antonio Dominelli, deaf since birth, speaks about his unique relationship with music, emphasizing that music is 'before every sound' and perceived through bodily vibration and visual input. - He cites Beethoven's quote, 'Music before every sound,' which resonated with him two centuries later, highlighting the fundamental nature of music beyond audition. - Dominelli describes how, initially, he struggled to articulate his deafness, but later embraced it, using it as a lens to perceive music differently, feeling vibrations through the floor and instruments. - He contrasts the auditory experience of music (hearing 70% of what is intended) with his tactile/visual experience, which he implies is more direct or complete in its own way. - Dominelli mentions composing a song using a reversed process: starting with the visual rhythm/movement (like a butterfly) and translating it into musical structure, using Italian Sign Language (LIS) for input. - He points out that composers like John Cage and Arvo Pärt utilized silence as a concrete material in their compositions, providing a framework for his own experience. - The presentation culminates in a musical performance where Dominelli sings and plays a keyboard, demonstrating how he processes music physically and visually. ![Screenshot at 00:14: Antonio Dominelli is introduced on screen as a singer, musician, producer, and performer, setting the stage for his talk titled 'La musica prima di ogni suono' \(Music before every sound\).](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/YDYKY4bqrD4/00-00-14.jpg) **Context:** This video captures a TEDxSpoleto talk titled 'L'Uomo, Il Genio: Ad motum mutandum' (Man, the Genius: Changing by Motion), featuring Antonio Dominelli, who identifies himself as a singer, musician, producer, and performer who is completely deaf in his right ear and has approximately 70% hearing loss in his left ear. The talk centers on his unconventional yet profound connection to music, which he experiences primarily through bodily vibrations and visual interpretation rather than traditional hearing. ## Detailed Analysis Antonio Dominelli shares his personal journey as a profoundly deaf musician, explaining that music, for him, is felt before it is ever heard. He recounts the difficulty of admitting his hearing deficiency and how, for years, he struggled to communicate this vulnerability. He references Beethoven's quote about music existing before sound, which he felt deeply connected to, especially when experiencing sounds like a distant flute or a shepherd's song through vibrations in the ground or objects. He learned to listen to music through his body, feeling the rhythm and intensity through physical contact with instruments like the guitar or the floor. Dominelli details how he learned to interpret music visually, studying the lip movements of others, and later, how he composed a song in reverse—starting with the visual movement of a butterfly and translating that into musical structure using Italian Sign Language (LIS) as input. He credits composers like John Cage and Arvo Pärt for using silence as a concrete material, which validated his own approach. He concludes by performing a song on a keyboard, demonstrating that his perception of music is visceral, involving the entire body. ### Early Struggles and Acceptance - Unable to tell people he was deaf, which led to feelings of weakness - Eventually confessed his weakness, realizing the sound of a flute in the distance was perceived only through vibration. ### Perceiving Music Physically - Music is felt through the body, especially when touching instruments like the guitar or the floor - Hearing loss means only perceiving about 70% of an auditory experience, but his vibrational sense offers a different completeness. ### Creative Process - Composed a song using a reverse process, starting with the visual movement of a butterfly and translating it via LIS into musical notation - Found validation in composers like Cage and Pärt who used silence as a tangible element. ### Performance - Concludes the talk by performing a song on a keyboard, demonstrating how he translates physical and visual input into musical expression. ![Screenshot at 00:01: Title slide for TEDxSpoleto event, featuring the theme 'L'UOMO, IL GENIO Ad motum mutandum'.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/YDYKY4bqrD4/00-00-01.jpg) ![Screenshot at 00:14: Introduction slide for speaker Antonio Dominelli, identifying him as a singer, musician, producer, and performer.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/YDYKY4bqrD4/00-00-14.jpg) ![Screenshot at 01:18: Dominelli on stage explaining his initial difficulty in communicating his hearing loss to others.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/YDYKY4bqrD4/00-01-18.jpg) ![Screenshot at 02:22: Dominelli explaining how music travels into his body through vibrations, not just sound waves.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/YDYKY4bqrD4/00-02-22.jpg) ![Screenshot at 07:09: Dominelli performing a song on a synthesizer while singing into a headset microphone.](https://ss.rapidrecap.app/screens/YDYKY4bqrD4/00-07-09.jpg)