What is listening?  It is certainly more than hearing, for so much of what we CAN hear is outside of our awareness.  Those of us living in the city will become accustomed to the sounds around us including the hum of traffic, the clicking of pedestrian crossings, the neighbours’ arguments and even the startling sound of sirens.  If, however, a noise is added or subtracted then we are more likely to be aware of it – so it is that we hear the kookaburras, the crows or the occasional heavy truck.  Or perhaps we feel a flush of relaxation and warmth as our unconscious mind picks out the sound of our loved ones car approaching home.

My mother used to have us list all the things we could hear when we were outside, going for a walk in the bush or riding the ferry across Sydney Harbour.  I think she had a two-fold intention, firstly to check her children’s hearing and secondly to help us learn to listen.  As a child I remember being amazed at just how much I could hear when I really listened. 

Today I am at the coast, quite near the beach, but the traffic noise from cars using a main road during the school holidays is muffling the sounds of the ocean.  I can hear the crickets – ah – by listening a little longer I can hear the crickets further down near the creek, they come in just ‘off the beat’.  And so, I notice that as I relax and turn down my self-talk I can hear more and more detail.  I look forward to the time later this evening when I will be able to hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach teasing me into committing to an early morning walk and swim.

In the beginning a string player listens for pitch and tone.  Or that is what you may fondly imagine as a string teacher.  For a child it may simply be the ability to have some control over making a noise for which they will not be scolded and so they pluck and bow with gay abandon.  For the adult the sound may be excruciating as they compare their sound with the many concerts and recordings they will have build up in their personal database of memory.  As the student improves we may say that the player is refining their listening skills but I wonder if it would be just as true to say that they allow themselves to hear more – more of the quality of sound, accuracy of pitch, energy of the rhythms and musicality of the phrasing?

Indeed the experience of ‘hearing more’ was something that I was aware of as I progressed in my experience especially when it came to playing in and conducting orchestras.  The initial shock of trying to hear one’s own sound amongst the noise of all those other members of the group gradually became a pleasure as I was able to differentiate the sounds of all the different instruments and often the individual players.