Jacob Miller Smith, Doctoral candidate, Composition & Acoustic Ecology Researcher

Listening With – the theme of 2019’s World Listening Day, calls to attention the need to explore what we are listening with and the importance of not listening for. Particularly unwelcome may be the presence of unpleasant sounds commonly referred to as noise in our environment. These unwanted sounds are just as valid as sounds that many people may prefer. To truly understand a sonic environment they must not be quickly dismissed. Urban sounds —the oppressive roar of a truck engine, the sharp pulse of a coffee shop blender, the late night restless wandering of an upstairs neighbor shape the sonic world in a way that is different than oft-touted calming and natural sounds of wildlife. This begs the question, however, why one should subject oneself to unwanted and stressful sounds.

The point is not to inundate oneself with a barrage of unpleasant sounds but to recognize and accept those sounds as a part of a specific sonic environment, understand their place in it, and perhaps reflect on what they mean for it. This kind of acute awareness can serve to make us tolerate these sounds and allow them to exist as necessary part in an acoustic ecosystem. To dismiss such sounds as noise poses a risk: that of romanticizing sound to the detriment of the observer who wishes to listen with. As I struggle daily with such sounds, I incorporate them into my listening practice and attune myself to them. Thus they become less jarring and hurtful and at the same time I am more aware of their context. In practicing acceptance and understanding of all sounds, I also become more conscious of my own contributions to my sonic environment, whether they be heard as pleasant or not . This is not to say that relaxed and passive listening should be frowned upon, as this is one of many modes to perceive our sonic surroundings. For World Listening Day, let us all explore listening with, and not listening for.

Our sonic environments consist of more than sounds of organic materials and living beings, and sounds we are responsible for. It is important to refrain from romanticizing our sonic environment if we wish to truly understand and hear it.