Listening connects us to our acoustic environment. “Listening is directing attention to what is heard, gathering meaning and deciding on action”, “we listen in order to interpret our world and experience meaning.” (Oliveros, Quantum Listening). The fields of soundscape composition and acoustic ecology focus on “the interrelationship between sound, nature and society” (Westerkamp, H. 2002), “its particular aim is to draw attention to imbalances which may have unhealthy or inimical effects.” (Schafer, 1994)
There is constantly sound happening around us, and an omnipresence of music which Cage emphasised through silence. Listening connects us to a heightened sense of awareness of our sonic environment. It can tell us about culture, wildlife and biodiversity, and the everyday sounds of our environment. Throughout our lives, through a deep listening practice we can learn to listen better and more deeply – finding ways to connect with all sounds which we may possibly be able to hear, thought included. This expands into Quantum theory and “listening to more than one reality simultaneously.”
I disagree with R. Murray-Schafer’s “aesthetic moralism” as Marie Thompson put it, and Pauline Oliveros was another key figure who was more resistant to the negative judgement of sounds that Schafer became known for. I think that Schafer’s desire to control the noise of our environment is tied to white environmentalist viewpoints of “white men wanting to preserve nature for their enjoyment” (Loach, M. 2023. pg. 90) which focus on maintaining the status quo, rather than calling for any real change.
References:
Oliveros, P. (2010) Quantum Listening.
Westerkamp, H. (2002) ‘Linking soundscape composition and acoustic ecology’, Organised Sound, 7(1), pp. 51–56. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771802001085.
Loach, M. (2023) ‘It’s Not that Radical’. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited.