This morning, my daughter asked me how often I text people.
I responded with the fact that although I text, lately I have been leaving a lot of voice memos.
She was surprised by my response.
I can count on one hand the number of people I am delightedly in perpetual conversation with using the voice memo function on most communication platforms which for me are usually iMessage, IG, and WhatsApp. Some of these voice memo conversations are like an extended game of telephone responding to each other's thoughts and allowing space for thoughtful listening. Deep listening. Sometimes these memos are broken up with links to songs, copy and pasted poetry, artist talks, pictures of tarot card readings, and pictures celebrating the mundane intimacy of daily life. These are all nice added bonuses to the conversation, but what makes this my chosen form of communication is the fact that I get to hear the other person’s voice and unfiltered thoughts- a stream of consciousness that is so completely unique to that person and myself that it suspends the awkwardness of self-awareness.
I am reminded of the pioneering work of Composer Pauline Oliveros, who was central in the development of experimental sound/music. She was integral in developing the concepts of deep listening and sonic awareness. In a nutshell, deep listening is the listening and responding to audial environments in solo and ensemble music scenarios, and although it is intended as experimental music, I think it also applies as a metaphor for meditations on the sounds we hear. And sonic awareness is a kind of intentional audial consciousness at all times to always be listening. The takeaway being there is a difference to hearing vs. listening.
When I think about the voice memo in parallel to Oliveros, I try to really listen to the way the other person’s voice sounds in the recording. Unlike a text, so much nuance is revealed in the way a person pauses, or lingers, or rushes through a silence in between thoughts. Sometimes I can hear the sound of birds, or a car turn signal in the background which adds to further enrich the environmental context. Sometimes I save a special voice memo and replay it until the words and voice become abstract sounds in my earbuds, oscillating-wave-shape-vibrations-of-familiarity.
Janine- Soul Coughing
Deep Hockets- Pauline Oliveros
Crowd of One- Papa M
Look- Timothy Duval
O Superman- Laurie Anderson
Movement Five: Meditation the Brink- Lisa E. Harris
If you want to hear my voice read what I just wrote…