As a musician now turned cookbook author and teacher, I listen to my food as I cook and bake. It's a different kind of music and the silence allows the breath between phrases. Without it, I cannot hear the sizzle of the fat in a crust, the heartbeat of an apple pie as the filling boils and hits the bottom of the upper crust.
I live in NYC where it’s never really quiet, which I don’t mind. I like city sounds!
What I do mind is the unnecessary background music and programming noise everywhere you go--in elevators, CNN at the airport, music at the hair salon...how hotels have the TV set already turned on when you enter your room. Society’s collective fear of silence these days is really bonkers!
I've always wondered if the omnipresence of 'muzak' and the proliferation of music playlists and streaming have created a kind of climate crisis in music where we have too little silence, thereby dulling our sense of perception and discernment to the experience of listening. It's hard to want to compose more music when it seems that there's already SO MUCH sound that's out and about.
My fave John Cage story is when he goes into the soundproofed anechoic chamber to experience true silence. But when he comes out after half an hour he complains to the engineer that it wasn't soundproofed because he heard two sounds--a low one and a high one. Yeah, says the engineer. The high sound is your nervous system. The low one is your blood circulation.
Yes. One great book, if you don't know of it, is "The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want" by Garrett Keizer (a Vermonter, as it happens). Good book about the world's noise. Carry on! We appreciate it.
Beautiful ode to silence. I am an extrovert by nature and have had to learn how to appreciate silence and recognize it’s uses and power.
Although I am a strong small government advocate, I feel that unnecessary noise is an infringement on my rights. Cars, motorcycles, music should all be liable to police enforcement and significant fines.
I always thought people did a real disservice to their pets when they left them locked inside with a radio playing. A double prison, they're kept from moving, and hearing.
As a kid, my father was an aircraft engineer in the Royal Air Force so I grew up around airfields and fast jets. There were none noisier than the Blackburn Buccaneer in the 70s/80s. Noise pollution... what’s that? (No pun intended). Using Google maps I’ve just measured and it seems that from our apartment window to the centre line of the runway in Gibraltar, where we lived for 3 years, is 470ft. You probably had more traffic in LA, but fast jets taking off in reheat late at night was probably louder. Truth is, it was awesome and like you I can sleep anywhere. That said, don’t listen to loud music anymore or attend rock gigs. I just find the sound quality appalling and if the music is too loud I think it becomes harder to listen to the nuances in the music. I think there’s a sweet spot. Loud enough but not too loud. Maybe I’m just getting old!
“All of humanity's problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone." - Blaise Pascal
As a musician now turned cookbook author and teacher, I listen to my food as I cook and bake. It's a different kind of music and the silence allows the breath between phrases. Without it, I cannot hear the sizzle of the fat in a crust, the heartbeat of an apple pie as the filling boils and hits the bottom of the upper crust.
I live in NYC where it’s never really quiet, which I don’t mind. I like city sounds!
What I do mind is the unnecessary background music and programming noise everywhere you go--in elevators, CNN at the airport, music at the hair salon...how hotels have the TV set already turned on when you enter your room. Society’s collective fear of silence these days is really bonkers!
I've always wondered if the omnipresence of 'muzak' and the proliferation of music playlists and streaming have created a kind of climate crisis in music where we have too little silence, thereby dulling our sense of perception and discernment to the experience of listening. It's hard to want to compose more music when it seems that there's already SO MUCH sound that's out and about.
My fave John Cage story is when he goes into the soundproofed anechoic chamber to experience true silence. But when he comes out after half an hour he complains to the engineer that it wasn't soundproofed because he heard two sounds--a low one and a high one. Yeah, says the engineer. The high sound is your nervous system. The low one is your blood circulation.
Here in Vermont, we're a bit spoiled. A distant neighbor's barking dog can, on a bad day, feel a little rude. The nerve!
Anyway, silence is a gift, a privilege, and full of possibility.
Yes. One great book, if you don't know of it, is "The Unwanted Sound of Everything We Want" by Garrett Keizer (a Vermonter, as it happens). Good book about the world's noise. Carry on! We appreciate it.
Charlie
Brilliant, insightful piece, Ted. I have nothing more to say, which is all to the good.
I have always liked Robert Fripp's aphorism "Music is the cup which holds the wine of silence."
https://www.dgmlive.com/news/winesilence-cups-music
Sssssssssssshhhhh!
I'm channeling John Cage: and I too " . . . have nothing to say, and I'm saying it.'
Beautiful ode to silence. I am an extrovert by nature and have had to learn how to appreciate silence and recognize it’s uses and power.
Although I am a strong small government advocate, I feel that unnecessary noise is an infringement on my rights. Cars, motorcycles, music should all be liable to police enforcement and significant fines.
Great topic! I use Sound Print to find restaurants where the Wife and I can hear each others words:
https://www.soundprint.co/
I always thought people did a real disservice to their pets when they left them locked inside with a radio playing. A double prison, they're kept from moving, and hearing.
As a touring musician, my quiet time is of extreme importance to me (and my sanity). Great article.
As a kid, my father was an aircraft engineer in the Royal Air Force so I grew up around airfields and fast jets. There were none noisier than the Blackburn Buccaneer in the 70s/80s. Noise pollution... what’s that? (No pun intended). Using Google maps I’ve just measured and it seems that from our apartment window to the centre line of the runway in Gibraltar, where we lived for 3 years, is 470ft. You probably had more traffic in LA, but fast jets taking off in reheat late at night was probably louder. Truth is, it was awesome and like you I can sleep anywhere. That said, don’t listen to loud music anymore or attend rock gigs. I just find the sound quality appalling and if the music is too loud I think it becomes harder to listen to the nuances in the music. I think there’s a sweet spot. Loud enough but not too loud. Maybe I’m just getting old!
Restaurants are terribly noisy. Even if the food is good, the experience would be so much better if they were quieter.