Is our modern world de-sensitising us to the sounds of nature

Apr 11

“Music of Nature, is what one hears or feels when one is fully immersed in nature, awed by what one is observing. It is much more than sound”. Hazat Inayat Kahn (1882 - 1927). Sufi musician and mystic.

Music is similar to nature - both produce vibrations that vary in frequency, tempo, pitch, volume and rhythm…

are the sounds of our modern world so loud that we have lost the ability to tune into the natural world?

Can you hear the sounds of the natural world that are around you that we are a part of, or, are the sounds of our modern world drowning out all the sounds of the natural world? The cars, trucks, bikes, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, planes, building noises just to name a few that are around us most of the time. It’s pretty hard to hear a bird, animal, insect or wind over the top of all of that.

When was the last time that you took time out to sit with the sounds that surround you? Even in the middle of town or a big city, there are sounds of the natural world. Could you, have you, would you, try and tune into those sounds and see what pleasure they may bring you?

I lay in bed one night listening to a cricket outside my bedroom window. The cricket produced a beat that was like a metronome, it never missed a beat, it went on for hours. I fell asleep listening to that cricket keeping time all through the night.

I wonder what makes the cricket keep going, what is the reason for the beat, where is the cricket (I have never seen it), is it a mating call or just something that crickets do? The next night the cricket was there keeping time again, so once I established that rhythm in my head, I let it go and listened to another cricket’s sound, a bit further away, that cricket was in a higher pitch and a totally different rhythm. There was the deep sound of the first cricket with one beat like a metronome or a base drum, then the next cricket with a very different rhythm and tone. The subtleties of these insects are what some of the great composers listened to to create their wonderful symphonies. Beethoven was well known for taking off for weeks at a time and sitting in nature. His 6th Symphony ‘Pastoral’ is full of sounds of the natural world, birdsong, babbling brook and thunderstorms. Follow the link here to a great read (and listen) by Classic FM “20 great pieces of classic music inspired by nature and gardens”

In our modern world we put ‘buds’ in our ears and walk around with them shutting all sounds out, in our homes there are also white noises from our machines, fridges and the T.V.

I’m wondering if by having all of these noises bombarded at us all the time, we are becoming de-sensitised to the subtle sounds of the natural world. What do you think? It’s not an easy thing to do, to focus on the sounds coming from the natural world and shut out all of those sounds (as well as our mind). As I’m writing this I can hear my fridge much louder than anything outside, I have to make a conscious choice to tune into what is happening outside and tune out from the fridge.

So, when was the last time you sat in nature, in silence and focused on only listening to the natural sounds? Not looking at your phone or talking to a friend, but really alone - alone and listening.

On the weekend I sat and listened and tried to find silence in nature, but it’s rarely ever silent. I have been giving myself the challenge to deeply listen to the more subtle sounds, the ones that aren’t so ‘in your face’, the gentle sounds, like the wind when it starts in the distance and then it’s quite exciting when it finally comes very close and the plants start to respond by moving and making a noise and then once it has flowed through everything settles down once again. Or the birds way off in the distance calling to each other.

I love listening (and watching) the little wrens splashing and playing in the bird bath, flicking the water around as they sing out in joy to each other. Taking turns to have a bath and then flutter off into the distance. some of the natural sounds are not so subtle - The sound of the ocean is so loud it’s hard to hear anything above the roar, water is such a force of nature.

Can you listen without naming? Just listen to the tune, the rhythms, the spaces in between, the tones. Can you just listen to them without naming the bird or insect or whatever made the sound.

I’m researching the comparisons between nature and music and I’m finding it so fascinating. They are the two things in my life that I love and to find that they are so entwined makes me feel uplifted and excited and also a little stupid that I didn’t realise it before. I mean, how could I have missed this fact? Are you as surprised as I am? So many great musicians have named their compositions after nature (that should have been a big hint), like Vivaldi and the “Four Seasons”. Debussy’s La Mer which was inspired by the sea. Odysseys concert “Every tree speaks” to name a few. It’s like a lightbulb has just gone on inside of me and I have awakened to this wonderful fact.

this is what has stirred my curiosity about being de-sensitised to the sounds of nature in our every day lives. there is a whole layer of music being performed, all around us, every day and most of the time we never hear it. how much beauty are we missing out on? i think if we become aware and take the time to focus, even a little bit, even once during the day it will help us to slowly gain control over what we are choosing to hear.

Today I was sitting in my office at work and in the distance I heard a Magpie cry out, not a usual Magpie song, but a sorrowful distressed sound that went on and on for quite some time. I stopped what I was doing and listened, I mean really listened to what the Magpie was saying, and I found tears well up in my eyes and my heart went out to that little bird that was upset by something. We don’t have to know exactly what they are saying, but by tuning into them you can feel them.

Then I got to thinking of how much beauty, sorrow and support we are missing out on by our busy lives and our busy minds…

Maybe you could challenge yourself to:

sit in silence before going to bed and listen to what natural sounds are around you
close your eyes and turn your head from side to side, changing the volume of the sounds around you
create a simple tune from the sounds that you are hearing
just once through the day, even in town, focus on the natural sounds that surround you