Silence sounds like.............

Silence, no longer exists for today's child.  We live in a world that has constant sound.  Even at night  I can hear the pitch of electronic devices humming along; in order for me to sleep I must completely turn off the power to items like printers, computers, dvd players and coffee makers. I find that most children today no longer make distinctions between this "invisible sound" and others in their environment.  I often play a game in Kindermusik with my Imagine That (ages 3-5) and Young Child (ages 5-7) classes.....we lie on our bellies, count to three and put our listening sticks up (pointer and middle fingers are extended and put over our lips).  I ask them what they hear and I will always get responses like:  mom's talking in the waiting area; a truck or car just drove by or a motorcycle.  What I never hear as a response is the air-conditioning unit, flourescent lights (which buzz loudly), a classmate breathing or the wind blowing through the windows. 

This has caused me to think about my own childhood.....I grew up in the country (am quite thankful for that) before air conditioning was standard for a home and well before the age of electronics. So, I can say that when it was quiet.....trust me - there was silence! I remember laying in my bed at night listening to the sound of crickets, bullfrogs or a fly buzzing in my room.  Sounds were fascinating to me and I loved to listen. 

Listening and hearing are quite different from each other.....as we hear stuff all day long it becomes a familiar sound and our brain does not even register it, in otherwords we no longer distinquish between the sounds of our environment and new sounds that enter.  A good example of this is when you move into a new living space, especially when moving from the country to the city or vice versa, you cannot sleep at night because there are different sounds and your brain registers each one. 

Listening is the intentional focus and concentration of the sounds.....along with all the qualities of that sound.  It is my belief that children can learn to listen, but because we live in a "noisy" society it is a skill that needs to be taught.  In Kindermusik class we teach this intentional listening.

Here are some suggestions to help foster an ability to listen in your child:
1. Plan a ten (add more as your child's ability increases) minute period of time within your day, find a quiet place to sit with your child and listen.  Just listen, do not talk just listen.  Then after the time period, talk about all the sounds you heard.  If your child is young, pictures work well...your child can point to the picture of what he or she hears or hold it up. 

2.  Attend live concerts,especially informal ones with acoustic instruments (acoustic is important, because children hear electronic sounds all day long).   

3.  Encourage your child to listen to different sounds and describe them with words.  Words used could be expressed in terms of colors, hard, soft, full, tingy, brassy or woody. 

4.  As your child becomes a better listener, make listening challenges more difficult.  For example, when filling a glass with water determine it's fullness by listening.  The pitch of the water filling the glass will ascend (go up) the challenge is to listen closely enough to know when the glass is full.