Spring is in the air, at least in many parts of the country, and so is the music of nature. Where I live, it seems like there is a musical movable feast of ever-changing birdsong, as many different species hang out here for a while on their migration to who knows where.

If you haven’t done so in a while, this may be a good time to give your ears a “spring cleaning.” It’s another take on an “ear cleaning,” which might also be contextualized as a “hear” cleaning. In this case, though, it’s more about paying conscious attention than about the physical condition of your hearing apparatus.

In only a few moments, you’ll find your SQ, your Sound Quotient, is greatly enhanced, as you begin to pay more conscious attention to the sounds that surround you. This is especially true of the natural world of birds, bees and weather, but also true for the complex soundscapes of urban environments.

The ideological patron saint of sound awareness and our environmental soundscape is Dr. R. Murray Schafer. If you haven’t read his book, The Tuning of the World, let me encourage you to do so. It is one of the most mind-opening and delightful books I know of.

When I was first introduced to Schafer’s work in l976, I knew I had encountered a soul mate of the sound domain. His book was out of print for many years, and I’m happy to say that I believe that all my letters, and letters from folks in my workshops, had a hand in getting this classic back into print.

Taking a Look at the Record: Dr. Sound’s Self Coaching Note

But it’s not just the natural world that deserves your attention. This is a good time to take note of your CD collection. What have you been listening to lately ... and how do you listen? In the past week, how many hours—or minutes—have you spent “really listening” to music, with your full attention, compared to just having music playing in the background as you go about other activities?

You may want to write down your daily sound diet. This is similar to how some coaches suggest you monitor what you eat, or how often you take a stress break, or even a stretch break. Most people are amazed at how unconscious they’ve been in this regard. A separate “sound inventory” should be done for mechanical sound-makers in your home or office. For instance, I never cease to be amazed at how many loudly ticking clocks I find in homes, offices and meditation rooms, that the individual was completely unaware of. And yet, their heartbeat and breathing rate was very much aware of these surreptitious entrainment devices. We can follow up on what you discover once you complete the inventories.

Taking a Look at the Record: Part Two

To complete this month’s installment, I’d like to share a bit of an epiphany I experienced recently. As you may have gathered, many of the subjects I cover in these monthly newsletters arise from very topical and current situations in my own life. A case in point involves listening to the incredibly pure tones of the Rhodes electric piano, which is the primary instrument on Chakra Suite. On January 4, 2005, I was amazed at how similar some of the Tibetan and Japanese bowl tones were to the sound of this instrument. If you listen for yourself, especially with headphones, you’ll hear what I’m hearing.

In each case, “the tone’s the thing,” to paraphrase Shakespeare, and the tone plays upon the keynotes of your own “human instrument” in a similar manner. This should not be all that surprising; Harold Rhodes invented his keyboard to be a healing instrument. It is essentially a plychromatic series of 73 tuning forks (tone bars) that are struck by a little hammer connected to the keyboard. Then the electrical impulse is transduced through the amplifier and speakers.

When I first recorded Chakra Suite using this instrument in 1975, the (then) state of the art analog recording equipment included an unnatural amount of tape hiss. When I re-recorded Chakra Suite in l988 using the latest digital recording equipment, the sound was a lot more like what I was hearing live, as well as in my mind’s ear. On January 4, 2002, I was guided to re-master the recording using the latest digital software upgrades. The result was transcendent. The clarity and three-dimensionality took my breath away.

Over the years, many people have only listened to this album as background music. Let me suggest that if you listen to it as “foreground” music, in a meditative context, it will transport you to a wonderful place of harmony and inner peace. Listen to the spaces “between” the tones ... and as with the bowls, listen for the furthest away sound. In addition, listening deeply like this provides an effortless ear cleaning and mind cleaning that is a perfect complement to the suggestions above.

Until next time, stay tuned, and be at peace!

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© 2005 by Steven Halpern. Steven Halpern is an award-winning composer, producer and recording artist who has touched the lives of millions around the world. He is currently celebrating his 30th anniversary and invites you to visit him at www.stevenhalpern.com.

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