"Listening"

"Listening looks easy, but it's not simple. Every head is a world." -- Cuban Proverb

The act of listening is essential to appreciation of radio, oral history, forensic audio, folklore, music and sound art, but what is listening? Is it a natural ability to be nurtured, a skill to be taught, or a state of mind? Listening is fundamental to sound creators, practitioners and audiences; how do our institutions support the development of listening and provide opportunities to foster the listening experience? Is listening a dying art, or has our approach to listening evolved as society becomes more media rich?

Speakers will include professionals from the radio, audio production, music and sound archiving industries, plus representatives from academe, the arts and private collectors.

"If we have listening ears, God speaks to us in our own language, whatever that language be" - Mahatma Gandhi

Call For Papers

Papers should be approximately 20 minutes in length and will be considered for publication in the annual ASRA journal. Please forward an outline to matthew.davies@afc.gov.au or contact Matthew Davies on 02 6248 2037.

Suggested topics include:

• Learning to listen - listening as an acquired skill.
• Listening in research - using sound recordings as primary research material.
• Listening for inspiration - how does listening foster creativity?
• Listening and imagination - why does radio have the best picture?
• Listening and emotion in music and sound art.
• Listening and language.
• Noise and other barriers to listening.
• Oral and written traditions - differences and similarities.
• Listening, conflict and reconciliation.
• Hearing and listening v. seeing and watching.
• Listening and technology.
• Not listening.