Sounds

I was going through Brain Pickings (an wonderful blog recommended by Johnny Redox at Broke N' Ballin') and came across a post discussing sound. Within the post is an insightful video that, after watching it, really got me thinking.

I love music. It helps me sleep, helps me work, and calms me down when I’m stressed or sad. It is magical. I’m listening to it as I’m writing this post. But really… what is music? It is sound. Although, I think the more appropriate question is: what is sound and can it all sounds be considered music? As the video explores, sound is something that we are exposed to every day. Footsteps, cars honking, birds chirping—they are all sounds that impact our lives.

"We all live in a kind of super-saturated audio environment."

The various speakers of the video state:

“Listening to all this random, disparate noise and sound that’s going on around us right now … when you actually tune it in and listen to it, you hear pitches that are like singing together, you hear harmonies, you hear weird textures. It’s about paying attention to the individual components more than the overall effect. The more differences you perceive, the better your life is.”

The natural sounds of our lives can be considered musical in many ways. As the quote states, sounds are layered and textured—much like songs. There are different pitches and harmonies as well. When we go about our daily lives it is difficult to take the time and actively tune into all of the different sounds we hear. I turned off the radio to experiment with the notion of attempting to perceive differences in sound: I hear the faint hum from my computer, the clacking of the keys as I’m typing. I can hear the wind rustling the leaves of the trees around my house.

But are these sounds music?

Everyone has a different definition of what is considered musical, but to answer the question, I would prefer to think about what music means to me. In my opinion, music is a combination of sounds that have the ability to evoke emotions. Music is specifically constructed to do this—but can natural sounds produce the same effect? Personally, I believe they can. Upon reflection, there are many sounds that fill me with happiness, tranquility and nostalgia. Both songs and specific sounds can bring me back to a specific period of time.

"Sound can be beautiful."

For example, I was obsessed with the album “X&Y” by Coldplay when I was in eighth grade. Whenever I hear any of the songs from the album I can place myself in various moments of that eighth grade year when I was listening to it: posting to my Xanga, drawing, chatting on AIM, etc. I’m overcome by nostalgia. The sound of the ocean can also take me back in time. Just by hearing the movement of the waves transports me back to when I was seven and exploring the beach for the first time.

There are so many ways in which we are connected to the world, and as the video explains, sound is one of them. I don’t think there is a right answer to whether or not sound and music can be considered the same. However, sound plays a large role in what makes up most music. Natural sounds individually as well as music can both evoke emotion—and that emotional response is a large reason why I listen to music. Overall, I believe the sounds that surround us can be just as artistic as music itself.

For fun, take some time try to differentiate the sounds you hear. What are they? Are there any sounds that bring you back to a certain time in your life?

Until next time!