It pays to listen

Sound can boost creativity

Sound, the most primal of the senses.

It’s our early warning system.

Hard wired into our DNA.

The unusual rustle of a bush.

Cortisol released.

Heart rate accelerates.

Fight or flight.

Wings flap and bird takes to the skies.

This time for our ancient ancestor, it wasn’t a sabre-toothed tiger.

Sound Connections

Being able to hear helps us importantly to connect with the world.

It helps us to respond to speech, connecting us emotionally and intellectually.

Helen Keller who relentlessly championed the deaf and the blind once said.

“Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people”.?

Communication though is not the only benefit of being able to hear.

The sheer beauty of music in all its forms and genres brings joy to humanity.

And the pleasures of cinema, TV, Theatre, Radio and of course Podcasts.

Good Vibrations

Sound is a vibration that travels as an acoustic wave, carried through a medium such as a gas, liquid or solid.

Hearing translates these vibrations into electrical signals that the brain can interpret.

We can discern small differences in loudness (intensity) and pitch (frequency)?

The scope of sounds we hear ranges from 20Hz (cycles/second) to 20,000Hz

This normal range of frequency exposure varies from person to person.

Which sometimes leads to people missing bits of information.

Or as my wife sometimes proclaims, “You didn’t tell me that!”

Giving someone a really good listening too.

As previously mentioned, listening to my wife is an important exercise!

Recent brain science research informs us that listening is fundamental to learning.

We prefer certain kinds of info and filter out info that’s not interesting.

My coach training has helped me not to filter out stuff.?

It’s such a generous act to lean in, pay attention and listen to another human.

Being able to hear things between the words, catching emotion and nuance.

Letting the speaker share what is really going on for them.

I’ve had the honor of hearing things that people have never shared before.

Very humbling honest truths, ideas, dreams, passions, worries and concerns.

It really does pay to listen.

Music to my ears.

Music has had such a profound effect on my life.

From a very early age I can remember the gravitational pull towards our family ‘Radiogram’

With it’s huge soft speaker covered with a crochet like material.

All sorts of music flowing from the bassy wooden cabinet.

Glen Miller, Sergio Mendes, Billy Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Burt Bacharach when ‘DJ Pa’ in da house.

Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Motown, when my older brother or sister were in charge.

Records for me, Teddy bears picnic, The Laughing Policeman, Little White Bull (still love!)

As I got older and grasped the record stacker, the eclectic mix of my tune choice was very interesting.

Then came my first forays into my own musical ownership.

The Monkees, Elton John, Early Ska, Wizard, Bowie, Queen.?

Then moving through the musical gears, rock to prog.

Free, Bad Company, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Santana, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis.

Changing lanes.?

Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Isley Brothers, Aretha Franklin, James Brown.

Soul & Gospel which led to the Disco, Funk & Jazz Funk.

Earth, Wind & Fire, Brass Construction, War, Chic. Norman Connors, Gil Scott Heron, Parliament.

A bit of Punk and New Wave.

Jam, Pistols, Clash, Damned, Elvis Costello, Police, Squeeze, Talking Heads.

And the Reggae.?

Aswad, Dennis Brown, Clint Eastwood & General Saint,?

The gentle discovery of Classical.

Rachmaninov, Boyce, Barber, Puccini

The journey continuing through all the genres

Electro, House, Garage, Acid House, Techno, Drum’n’Bass, Balearic, Ambient.

Blues, Jazz, Be-Bop, Samba, Latin, Afro, Country & Folk too!

And lots of other obscure kinds of tunes.

Sound Affects

Sound travels well in water, our bodies are 70% so were great conductors of sound.

It can psychologically affect our moods and emotions in such a profound way.

That piece of music that lifts us or makes us sad.

The roar of the crowd in a packed stadium on a cold winter’s night.?

Bird song in a beautiful forest, at the very start of a spring morning.

The sea crashing on rocks or gently bubbling over pebbles.

All very enjoyable when we notice them.

But sound can also have a negative effect on us.

The distress of a loud bang.

A very loud person talking on a phone in a confined space.

Trying to block-out the nasal tones of Nigel sitting at the next desk.

Subway carriages that seem to screech metallic mayhem.

And of course, the sound of chalk on a blackboard, I shudder as I type this!?

Creatively Sound

Sound, such a powerful way to highlight parts of a story.

The acclaimed Netflix series, Criminal: UK uses sound in an incredible way.

Set within the walls of an interrogation room with a remote viewing suite.

An acoustic palette utilised during each episode is quite extraordinary.

The claustrophobic environment and emotional tension is ramped up and down.

It’s almost like you are there in the rooms with people accused of heinous crimes.

‘Star Wars’ sound architecture is embedded in everyone experienced any of the films.

Starships that vroooooom and whoooooosh.

Lightsabers humming and blasters ‘pew pew, ppppp pew pew’

And of course, the roar of Chewbacca attempted by many an office wannabe ‘Wookie’

The sound designer Ben Burt was responsible for Chewie’s soundscape.

Dog, camel, lion, tiger, seal, badger, and walrus sounds cleverly blended together.

But the key element was Tarik a black bear?from a zoo in Jan Jose, California.

Sound design really does play a huge part in the images that we see.

Hyper-Observing Sound

Take some time to have a real listen to the environment that you are in.

Have an intense listen for ten minutes.?

How many sounds can you make out?

Can you add sounds together to make something different?

Does a certain sound trigger a memory?

What sounds would you put on your all-time top 10 of memorable moments?

The crunch of autumn leaves, a whole audience laughing or the crackling of an open fire.

So, pay real attention to sound, infact, Hyper-Observe and then log the experience in your creative data bank.

Because if you’ve got stuff in your head that others don’t have in theirs, you will create things that others won’t.?

Input In = Output Out?

It really does pay to listen!

**************************************************************************

If you would like to know more about Hyper-Observation, Creativity Coaching or Mentoring then please get in touch.

(+44) 07879 424410?

[email protected]

do-be-do.net?

#hyper-observer?#hyp-ob?#do-be-do?#boostingcreativity?#creativity #creativeindustry #creativitycoaching #creativeelder #creativecoach #creativitycoach #boostyourcreativity

*************************************************************************