Are the ways Glennie makes connections with others similar to how she learns music, and what do her methods say about listening generally?
Evelyn Glennie is a deaf musician who maintains that the interpretation of music is more important than the translation. She put the example forward that you learn more about a person if you try to look past the physical appearance. She said it is similar to music because you can learn more if you read deeper into it than just looking at the notes. Her words were my introduction to learning to listen. Some things that I noticed in my first day of class were that free-style writing is easier than writing with restrictions, and that this class is going to be interesting for me in regards to how I take risks. Our first lesson required us to listen to an audio recording of some obscure sound and to write our immediate thoughts–what is this sound, or what does it make me think of?
At first, we were allowed to freely write. I noticed that when we got to free write my writing felt more honest, like it was my voice. I think this was possible because I was less hesitant to write. I didn’t feel the pressure of having to share or present my writing to the rest of the class, so I wrote what naturally came to my mind. I’ve noticed that I always write more without restrictions, but most of what I write has something personal invested in it. That is why I usually hesitate from writing a lot if I know I will have to eventually share. I did notice that this class is going to involve us taking risks in different ways–whether it is by trusting in your partner/peers or being unafraid to speak your opinions even if they are different from everyone else’s. What really matters is if you have a strong support for your opinions. So far, I do not have any specific questions about the class but I feel comfortable enough to know that if questions do arise I will be able to ask them. It was an interesting start to an interesting course.
How do you know your friends?
She says it’s shallow
We always see but do we
Also always feel?
She can’t hear her friends
She listens more—interprets
Same thing for music.
Are translation and
Interpretation the same?
Do you hear music?