Listening and Love: our sonic birthright

Hummmmmmm…..gasp!
Whisper…screech!
Crinkle….crinkle…crinkle…
Footsteps…stomp!
La..la…la…
Whooooshhhhhh
Brrrrr………………….

Whispers close to an ear. Shouts far away. Sirens and chirps. Claps and caws. Paper rustling closely like the wings of a bat or bird. Sighs, laughter. Running, thumping, cries and low humming…Distant calls and sonic intimacies…

Last summer (time flies!) I facilitated a workshop with students at a nearby college. We split into two groups and I asked one group to sit in a circle with their eyes closed and simply listen to what the second group offered. The other half of the group created a sound world for the seated people.

Before the exploration began, the sounding group decided what kind of world they wanted to create: a beach, a playground, a forest—you get the idea. The only rule was to not use words: the soundscape was to be created by their voices and bodies only.

The people who sat in the small circle (there were three) simply listened with their eyes closed to their peers who created the soundworld for them.

What emerged was a delightful, intimate, and insightful listening experience: a small piece of shared theater. It was also a completely unplugged experience of stereo, of quadrophonic sound, of Spatial Audio, of Atomos….but all analogue—our sonic birthright.

I learned this exercise from a workshop I did years ago in Meredith Monk’s Tribeca home: her work-living loft in way-downtown Manhattan. The workshop was facilitated by Pablo Vela and Katie Geissinger from her ensemble. I still love the exercise because it’s fun, joyful, and a simple exploration infused with the power of listening.

How will we listen to each other today?

Many thanks to composer and creative instigator, B.P. Herrington for inviting me out to work with the students at Lone Star Cy Fair.

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