Hearing with New Dimension
The 60th Post!
I have been thinking about the dominance of the visual sense and how we rely on it. Let’s use the same process as we did in “What if Seeing Isn’t the Only way to Believe?” In how we listen.
What do you hear right now?
How many layers to the sounds are there?
Are there sounds that are more or less continuous and others that are intermittent?
Are some louder and others more subtle?
What are the qualities of the sounds you are hearing? Harsh, sweet, soothing, startling?
Close your eyes and listen again. What is different as you listen without the visual sense turned on?
Can you imagine the sounds you hear forming g a “symphony” with a range of pitch and layers of lines?
What happens if you close your eyes as you make sound on your instrument? Can you still hear the noises in the environment? Maybe the louder ones? Do some sounds disappear?
Practice tone and scales with your eyes closed. Use the intention of hearing the sound you create in the context of the sounds in your environment.
What is different in how you hear your sound?
Is there anything different in your process of creating the sound? i.e breathing, contact with instrument, effort
Sprinkle playing with your eyes closed throughout your practice to develop the breadth of your hearing. You will begin to hear sounds differently. Many musicians discover they can hear with more depth by practicing this.
Not a musician? Apply this same process in your workspace. Notice what it is like to write or meet as you hear the full sound spectrum.
Does your body feel any different?
Is your breathing any different?
Be curious…
For more on hearing check out the post, What’s in Your Soundscape?