“The ear hears, the brain listens” – Deep listening in “Lear” (1989) by Pauline Oliveros

 

Oliveros’ song seemed quite intense to me while listening. I felt like the sounds intended to make me aware of something and the melody was very hitting. Yet, I found it demanding listening to it for 25 minutes. Just like I experienced it from other composers we have talked about, I knew she wanted to challenge the listeners’ perception and understanding of music. Actually, I could not make up my mind about what the song aims to demonstrate exactly. I got more into it after having watched her Ted Talk on deep listening. According to her deep listening concerns the way of listening in every possible way including the sounds of daily life, of nature, of one’s own thoughts as well as musical sounds. She differentiates between hearing and listening. While hearing means the physical process, listening requires giving attention to what is perceived acoustically and psychologically. When she talks about deep listening, deep indicates the learning to expand perception of sound to include the whole space-time-continuum of sound. Deep refers to a certain complexity and edges beyond ordinary understanding. It refuses the stereotypical kind of way.

I agree that “Lear” demands deep listening. Still, it is hard to concentrate on the sounds for such a long time. My thoughts tend to flow into another topic in my head. Maybe this is the reason why the song is a good practice on active listening. You have to remind yourself to pay attention and listen closely. Just like Oliveros said: “The ear hears, the brain listens.” So if you do not pay attention and put your mind on it, you will not achieve deep listening. You might still perceive the sounds but you are not able to feel and take them in. In order to connect the sounds to its environment and even beyond, a certain level of awareness is needed. If the song is only heard to, it surpasses your understanding. The unknown parts flow by and are hard to grasp eventually.

The concept of deep listening applies to every aspect of life. It gives you the opportunity to listen in a new way. If you put your mind towards something, you will understand it and be able to connect. Nevertheless, if you only perceive something passively, it will not stick. Just listening with your ears is not sufficient. Of course, deep listening is a process and a journey we all have to go on, it does not just happen to us. It also differs from one to another so that it always involves subjectivity. I think the goal seems to be to feel connected which “Lear” aims to demonstrate. The sounds of not only the instruments but also of nature and daily life mean to demonstrate a unit. This new way of listening enables to not only hear but listen and sense with our body.