Research on "signed music"

Signed music is not the same as ASL interpretations or translations of audible songs. Instead, it derives from the shared experiences in the culture of deaf people.

image from Clemson Architecture, Arts and Humanities video

The sister of Clemson ASL professor Jody Cripps, Janis Cripps, is a signing musician. The professor describes signed music as:

“wholly autonomous from the auditory experience. While it is pleasing to the eyes, just as conventional music pleases the ears, it has parameters that are completely different from musical forms hearing audiences are used to, such as audible pitch. It falls along a continuum, but is distinct from signed language poetry and dance."

How is signed music different from dance or poetry? How does it relate to deaf culture? Cripps explains in the video below.