1. In search of the sound object (Part 2 of 2)
Intention
Reduced listening is not a natural way of listening, you make the choice to do it or not. You have to have the intention of listening in a reduced state. Reduced listening is not listening for frequencies and amplitudes as this removes the listener.
Listening functions and Modes
There are four listening modes: perceiving, hearing, listening, and comprehending. We move freely through the listening modes in no particular order. The modes do not have a hierarchy.
Perceiving is subjective because we focus on the activity of the listener. Perceiving is passive, and concrete because the listener is unaware of the meaning of the sounds. I take a walk and a variety of sound waves enter my ear and I perceive them. However I take no note of the sounds, assign no meaning, nor do I give one sound more or less value than another.
In listening, the focus shifts from the listener to the object. I objectively listen to the sound of rushing, gurgling, crashing and spraying to discover the cause of the sounds. I passively register that these sounds are cause by the lake. The listening is concrete as the sounds are an index of a real event.
Hearing is subjective and abstract. I focus on sounds in this moment; I focus on the sonic qualities of a particular wave. Hearing is subjective as I focus on my listening, what I hear; abstract as I assign value to sounds based on what I give my focus to; individual waves or the lake as a whole.
Comprehending is where we assign meaning. Again turning back to the lake, take note of how fast the sound of the wave is as it hits the rocks and the strength of the spray. I can give meaning. I interpret the signs that the lake fierce today, a storm might be coming soon.
The Hearing Intention
So hearing intention could be objective- listening for cause, or subjective- listening for meaning. But the intention was always subjective- focused on the listener. Reduced listening is about shifting the intention from listener to object. To describe the sound object not the listener interpretation -cause or meaning- of the sound. That is how do we describe the sound itself?
The Heard Intention
Heard Intention is the listener ability to decided on the intention of the sound. Where the sound has no intention such as mechanical sounds or have intention such as to communicate. Music turns 1st category sound (sounds without intention) in to 2nd category sounds (sounds made to communicate).
Epoch
A way of understanding our perception to help us able to remove the sound object from the wider sonic environment. Epoch is our perception of our choice to hone our focus on the sound object which reaches us at the ear.
How can you develop tools to help every person to listen to sounds, when he / she is validating every form of perception open to all humanity? I have to break with this and my perception, I have to ignore my Ego (what I think about the sound) to reach the sound object.
