Hi! and teaching listening in schools

[e.qu...@hotmail.com]

Hi everyone,

It's really exciting to have been introduced to this group. I'll try
and be more active on here but have just moved house and currently
have no internet at home so am restricted to cafe's.

Anyway, I've just been reading through all of your previous posts and
found it really interesting to see how much listening is being
integrated into everyday learning in schools. I also looked up Roger's
link to "Minute of listening" which looks like a really good project
in making listening a conscious activity in schools. I really liked
Stephanie's blog about active listening, connecting listening to music
to events and exploring the more intuitive-learning side of listening.
Also the idea of teaching English with drums.

I am a member of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, which
advocates, amongst other things, teaching listening in schools. You
may know of a book by Murry Schafer called "101 Exercises in Listening
and Soundmaking" which is a fantastic resource of exercises and games,
there are also many educational resources, lesson plans, videos etc on
the WFAE educational website -http://www.acousticecology.org/edu/
educurriculum.html

****I am very keen to start giving listening workshops in schools but
have limited workshop-giving experience, so firstly,if anyone lives
near Scotland and is willing to help me out with this, to allow me to
sit in on some lessons or workshops that you are already doing or
point me in the direction of some useful resources, it would be much
appreciated.*****

I am feeling quite aware at the moment of the potential for
"listening" to become another "subject" in schools. I'm not meaning to
sound negative in any way but there is a definite need to "keep
listening" and not to objectify sound and listening as has happened
with visual culture.

For this reason I think it is extremely important to keep approaching
the "subject" of listening in as many different perspectives as
possible, from listening and discussing to sound-making and music and
everything else in between.

Keep up the good work people! :D If you have websites/blogs that give
an example of the work that you have already been doing (something
like Stephanie's blog), maybe send them to me/post them up on here and
I will try to compile a website that somehow exhibits all of these
different methods and ideas.

Ok, that's me for now,
I'm looking forward to hearing back from you!
Emma

[Mark Smulian]

Hi Emma
Thanx on that website, there is a lot of really interesting stuff there.
As a musician it has struck me more and more over the past few years how it is 'understood' the we need to 'listen' to music.
I see also in this group that music and listening are naturally linked to one and other.
Listening to one and other it seems...or would appear is much harder.( in general and not in this group of course)
Musicians over the years learn to 'relate to many instruments playing different notes at the same time. It is a coherent event and not a mess or babble of voices...all of us who listen to music, and that seems to be most of the peoples on this planet hear the 'whole' musical event...but not necessarily the individual instruments that create this 'whole'.
When more than one person speaks at the same time the result is the opposite of the harmony created in music, it is generally impossible to understand what any body is saying. In music we all play our individual voices in order to create one voice...we work s a team, so to speak...when we talk it is about being heard...it is individualism and not 'groupism'...can I say that ? :-)

So I am wondering how this can help us to help one and other learn to listen better.
Is it possible to talk and listen at the same time?...I don't know.
Or do we try to appreciate that talking has it's own melody;its own rhythm and timbre, colour and shape...but we are singing a 'solo'?
I throw all this out as I think we have to be careful of grouping listening and music as part of the 'same' thing.
I understand that no one is saying that, I am looking for ways though that we can bring music into the mix with all its power to help learn to listen more productively.
So I throw these thoughts out in the hope that we can generate some more ideas.

Please don't misunderstand me, my life experience has shown me that music/sound is one of the most powerful and influential energy sources that surrounds us..it can, I believe change every bodies world for the better...At the same time I think with some 'throwing around of ideas' we may be able to 'exploit' music and sound in other diverse ways together with all the wonderful ways we are hearing about in this group, to enhance our own and others listening skills.
Happy listening to all
Mark

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