Earful - a day of interactivities around listening
On 1 May, the Audio Cultures seminar at the Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media
present a day of public events and activities around listening as a shared space and practice taking place in Project Arts Centre. These will explore aspects of listening as a social and cultural practice to ask what does it mean to listen at the beginning of the twenty first century ?
What is the difference between hearing and listening?
Hearing is a physiological function that emphasizes the ear as receptacle, indiscriminate and automatic in its perceptual field. In contradistinction, the ear as an active transducer and amplifier that emphasizes the mental function of listening makes of it attentive, selective and focused. However, such oppositions require further reflection.
The day will be structured around a number of timetabled events and workshops that
explore related themes through the practice of listening. In addition throughout the day a
series of programmed playlists and recordings that explore the sonic and auditory practices
using archival sources, radio broadcasts, field recordings, sound art and commercial releases.
As part of the Earful day, a site specific work walls have ears will run throughout the
programme using an array of contact microphones strategically placed around the building, listeners will be able to hear the building, its systems and operational functions as part of the mix of soundscapes and the listening activities over the day.
Programme
11.00 11.40 Sound On: an introduction to days events and the walls
have ears installation.
12.00 12.30 iPod Jacking Session bring your iPod for the full
experience. iPod owners carry around an archive of music
and media files. This experiment uses these archives as
sources for mixing and performance.
1.00 2.00 Earful Table Quiz Pit your ears with three others against
another table quiz that challenges your listening skills and all
things auditory. Refreshments served and audible prizes for
the winners.
Booking required, 5 a head email
tablequiz@soundsdoable.com for more information and to book.
3.00 4.00 Sound in Theatre how is sound designed for theatrical
performance ? Philip Stewart, a professional sound designer,
will demonstrate the role of the sonic and its technologies
in theatre spectatorship and reception.
4.00 5.00 Listening Workshop Composer Linda Buckley will
facilitate a listening and improvisation workshop, exploring
new forms of attentiveness to the sonic environment.
This will involve group exercises in singing and listening,
incorporating both acoustic and electronic improvisations,
feeding the product of collaborative exercises back to live
processing in Max/MSP to produce real-time composition.
5.00 6.00 Sound off: some closing remarks and questions and
answers.
Please contact Martin Mc Cabe for further details.
