When we ask someone to talk about what they have heard, their responses vary greatly depending on the type of listening they employed. According to Chion there are three distinct types of listening:
- causal listening, which focuses on understanding the source of the sound;
- semantic listening, which attempts to understand the meaning of the words; and
- reduced listening, which focuses on the overall sound of the conversation.
1. Causal Listening
Causal Listening is one of the most commonplace among the society. This type of listening constitutes a cause & relation regarding the sound source. When the cause is visible, sound can provide additional information about it; for instance, tapping an enclosed container produces a sound that indicates how full it is. If it produces an echoic sound, it means the container is empty but if it creates lower frequency signals without a reverb effect, it means the container is filled with some substance other than air such as fluid or concrete material.
We must be careful not to overestimate the accuracy and potential of causal listening. It may not be able to provide sure and precise data solely by analyzing sound. In reality, causal listening is not only the most common but also the most easily influenced and deceptive mode of listening.
Causal listening is the most common mode, where listeners are primarily focused on the narrative or story being presented in the audio.
1.1 Identifying Causes: From the Unique to the General
- There are various types of Causal Listening;
- Sometimes we can identify a specific individual form his voice
- Or we can identify a particular object by hearing the sound of it.
- A dog can identify its owner among hundreds of people but can the master do it? Of course you can identify if the dog barks at your backroom in the same flat.
- We can listen to a radio speaker everyday without having any idea about his or her imagery. Nevertheless this does not stop us to link him or her in our memory. The physical traits of the announcer may remain blank in our mind but we can recall the individual without seeing its visual qualities like hair color, body type, or his/her name.
- We can identify the entities related to their general categories such as a motorbike, a human, a dog and so on…
It’s important to recognize that in movies, our listening mode is influenced by the audiovisual agreement, especially through synchresis. This means that the causes of the sounds we hear are not always the original ones, but rather what the film leads us to believe.
2. Semantic Listening
Semantic listening is when listeners pay attention to the meaning and context of the audio content, such as lyrics in a song or dialogues in a movie.
3. Reduced Listening
Reduced listening is the term coined by Pierre Schaeffer to describe a mode of listening that concentrates on the characteristics of the sound itself, rather than its origin or significance. This mode of listening is characterized by a detached and analytical approach to the sound, with a focus on the sound’s properties and qualities.
Reduced listening is when the listener pays attention to the sound itself, independent of any contextual information.
3.1. Requirements of Reduced Listening
- It can be said that everyone engages in some basic form of reduced listening.
- When we recognize the tone’s pitch or calculate the distance between two notes, we are essentially practicing reduced listening. This is because the pitch of a sound is an inherent quality of the sound itself, unaffected by its source or the interpretation of its significance. The physical qualities of the sound is independent from its subjective meaning. It is like arithmetics 2+2=4 which is a scientific fact.
- Sound cannot be defined solely by its physical properties. There are many other ingredients that affects the individual’s perception of sound. Otherwise we call reduced listening as a traditional solfeggio paradigm.
- Can a descriptive system for sounds be formulated, independent of any consideration of their cause?
Schaeffer demonstrated the feasibility of creating a descriptive system for sounds that is not influenced by their cause. However, his efforts in proposing a classification system in his Traite des objets musicaux were only the beginning, and the system is not without flaws and limitations. Nevertheless, the fact that a system exists is a significant achievement.
3.2. What Is Reduced Listening Good For?
- In film and television, sounds are typically used for their ability to evoke images, convey meaning, or suggest particular associations with real or imaginary causes or texts, rather than as purely formal elements in their own right.
- An individual, especially video and film students, greatly benefits from Reduced Listening and tailors his or her listening practice.
- The emotional, physical, and aesthetic value of a sonic matter is not just because of causality, it also relates to its own properties such as timber, texture, and frequency which is a matter of vibration.
- Everyone can take the advantage of Reduced Listening by practicing the disciplined attention to the inherent attributes of audible things.
3.3. The Acousmatic Dimension and Reduced Listening
- Acousmatic listening is hearing a sound without seeing its source. E.g: Hearing sounds while you are sitting in your bedroom.
- Acousmatic allows a sonic identity to reveal itself in all its dimensions.
- Schaeffer claims that Acousmatic situation greatly contributes to Reduced Listening practice. It encourages the listener to focus on sound’s characteristic qualities such as sonic textures, volume, velocity or timbre independent from its cause.
- In order to gain awareness on a recorded sound, we need to listen to it repeatedly rather to perceive its inherited treats than focusing on its causes.
4. Difference Between Causal and Reduced Listening
Causal listening and reduced listening are two different modes of listening. Causal listening involves paying attention to the cause or source of a sound, including its contextual or emotional associations, while reduced listening focuses on the intrinsic qualities of the sound itself, independent of its source or meaning.
An example case that highlights the difference between the two listening modes could be listening to a piece of music. When listening causally, one might pay attention to the instruments being played, the melody, and the lyrics, and how they fit together to create a particular mood or atmosphere. In contrast, reduced listening would involve paying attention to the individual sounds, such as the timbre and texture of each instrument, the rhythm, and the various sonic elements and effects used in the production. Reduced listening allows the listener to appreciate the music on a more abstract level, independent of its cultural or emotional associations, while causal listening emphasizes the social and cultural meanings of the music.
References
- Butler, S., & Nooter, S. (Eds.). (2019). Sound and the ancient senses. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
- ButlerNooter_2019
- Tugan, A. (2022). Presentation Notes, link
- Tugan, A. (2023). Presentation Notes, link
- Tugan, A. (2024). Presentation Notes, link