Listen! Better?

              What could be the most important element that any sound designer will use when creating new effects or developing a new character from scratch? Listening techniques.  Why is listening so important for the creator of new effects and technique?  Don’t we listen naturally?  Is there a way to improve our ability to listen so that we can “hear” more?  “Listening is the process that takes the information that we hear and makes meaning from that sound.”  You live in a conscience state for most of a twenty-four hour period, but are there ways to harness a stronger awareness of the sounds around you?  Through training can we learn to interpret these sounds faster and break them down into other possibilities? What are some exercises that anyone can do to improve their ability to not only “hear”, but interpret?  

            As I understand, there are many ways to improve ones hearing capabilities.  Down below are some that have been recommended to me.  They might seem simple and even elementary but don’t be fooled! Through practice and concentration of simple activities, one can begin to break through the casual “normal” everyday patterns and begin to adjust their sense to new levels of interpretation.

Simplify man! 

           Our ears, like everything else working for our bodies, can get tired.  “Listening fatigue” can be a serious, but easily corrected, condition in which our ears are not listening as sharply due to over use, strain, or sudden spikes in volume.  Give those ears a change and a chance.  Turn off or turn down your music.  Take a break and listen to some silence or put yourself in a calm quit environment.  You can leave your headphones on, just turn of the music and listen to nothing. 

Keep note of what you hear. 

           A system such as journal keeping or using your phone to take notes of what you hear and how you hear it can be beneficial to look back on.  I understand that by listening and describing the sound, then coming back to that same spot to reinterpret that sound in the description of acoustics properties can be very beneficial especially to audio students.

Learn to dissect what you listen to.

         Either in movies by listen to the development and structure of the sound design or effect, or by listening to music and breaking down by instrument and technique.  Learning to casually listen and decipher will strengthen the ability of being able to reconstruct a variation later on. 

"5 Ways to Listen Better." Julian Treasure:. Web. 6 Sept. 2014.