How did Beethoven play the piano if he was deaf?

Answer 1

Ludwig van Beethoven made music when he was deaf by feeling vibrations and hearing the music in his head. He didn't become deaf until later in his life, so he had Music Theory well established in his mind and 'ear' well before that happened. If he had been totally deaf from birth, he would never have been able to write music, or to have a career as a pianist/musician.

Answer 2

One does not have to hear in order to compose music on paper. The music was in his head ... he wrote down what he heard inside his brain.
He could hear the music in his mind. When he went deaf, he only used the music's paper and not sitting on the piano like when he could hear.

Answer 3

Actually, Beethoven cut off the piano legs so that the piano was resting on his lap, therefore, he could feel the vibrations the piano makes.

Legend has it that Beethoven cut off the legs of his piano so he could lay the instrument flat on the floor and hear the vibrations through the floor.

However, it was common for pianos of this time to have removable legs, as often musicians had to carry their instruments to court to entertain the nobility. Whether Beethoven used this ability to remove piano legs as an aid to hearing the vibrations remains a matter of conjecture. Much of the subtle qualities of the sound would have been lost. It is more likely that, like any true musician, he could hear the sounds clearly in his head.

Answer 4

It's possible for many trained musicians to compose music without ever actually needing to hear it through an accomplished understanding of music theory. Beethoven would've known what chords sequences and intervals were aesthetically pleasing because he had spent almost his entire life listening to and reading music. Many classically trained composers and gifted musicians are able to achieve this even to this day.