Listening - A Reflection

When was the last time you took 30 seconds and listened to the world around you? Or do you look like this statue most of the time.

Lets take a moment now to log our listening. Set an alarm (30 seconds is usually plenty) and have a pen and paper ready write down all of the sounds you hear.

Ready Set Go!

hum of the air conditioner

typing keys

door opening and shutting

footsteps

vibrating phone

door shutting

typing keys

tickle cough

The way we hear the world around us can show us a way to connect with it. Looking back at my list many of those sounds included other people's actions that I could have reacted to.

This summer, my studio is experimenting with listening. We will be logging our observations; how do I hear home, how do I hear my city, how do I hear outside... the list goes on. Taking a minute to understand what we hear is instinctual knowing what to do with this information and why hearing matters is less so. With our observations we will have fun creating stories and soundscape songs.

For singers, one of the things we should be teaching more of is how to listen, engage with a tone, sound, pitch, vibrations and more. This summer will be a fun journey for my singers!

How has listening impacted you as a singer, parent, or teacher? What actions or reactions to a sound have you had? How does exploring listening help you create connections to the world around you?