Deep Listening Essay

Sound affects a person in very significant ways. As any film student can tell you, the quickest way to change a viewer’s emotions is to choose the correct music, ambience, and sound effects to add to a scene. Even with this knowledge, we are still strongly affected by the soundtracks of movies. Clearly, sound is something to take note of, not just in passing, but in depth.

Oliveros(2003) distinguishes the concept of hearing and listening. Hearing is the involuntary act of having sound waves interact with one’s eardrums and converting them into electrical signals which are interpreted as sound by the brain. Listening is actively acknowledging and attempting to make sense of the sounds. To listen is to think about the things you hear. (The ear makes it possible to hear and to listen section, para. 1 & 3)

Deep listening is a step beyond listening. The idea to not only pay attention to a sound or sounds, but to stop doing other things, and lose oneself in sound. To properly engage in deep listening is to listen not only to musical and speaking sounds, but to all sonic formations that are audible. Oliveros(2003) considers deep listening to be a form of meditation due to its ability to expand consciousness and facilitate creativity and has created sonic meditation exercises and led deep listening meditation retreats with the goal of teaching people how to practice deep listening. (Deep listening is a form of meditation section, para. 1-3)(An interview with Pauline Oliveros, para. 21)

Deep listening takes practice and focus to accomplish successfully. When the mind is able to focus on nothing but sounds, the sounds can be ‘seen’ in a new way and the mind can expand. Sound has depth that we often overlook and deep listening is the way to explore it.