Hearing

Music, Voices, Sounds:
Mindful Listening

Humans can hear frequencies ranging roughly from 20 to 20,000 hertz. Anything below this range is called infrasound, while anything above it is known as ultrasound. Many animals can perceive a much wider range: dogs can hear higher frequencies, bats use ultrasound for navigation, and elephants partly communicate over long distances using infrasound. Our acoustic world is therefore only a small fragment of all existing vibrations. And yet, those who travel with open “antennas” experience the world more deeply.

Often, while traveling, we are so busy looking, planning, and taking photos that we forget our ears are constantly open. They absorb, store, and later trigger memories long after a journey has ended. The sound of a particular language, music, or animal calls – all of these can transport us back in a second when we hear them again. Many people buy souvenirs or photograph every landmark, yet the sounds of a journey can also be captured: lively street music, traditional singing, the gentle sound of ocean waves, the melodic and richly varied chirping of a bird, or the many-layered chorus of sounds in the jungle.

The world sounds different everywhere:
On the Azores, we encountered the distinctive, unfamiliar calls of the yellow-nosed storm petrels. In Nicaragua, we could hear howler monkeys from far away. In Japan and Sardinia, it was the many-voiced chirping of cicadas; in Sri Lanka, the rhythmic roar of the Indian Ocean. In Zanzibar, the muezzin’s call echoed over the rooftops, while in the bazaars, voices, footsteps and the clinking of tea glasses blended together. In Thailand, gentle temple chants accompanied us. And in the Alps? Sometimes it was the silence itself, broken only by the ringing of a cowbell or the crunching of our own footsteps in the snow.

While traveling, we sometimes pause, close our eyes and focus only on what we hear. We’re often surprised by how much we notice. Very often, we hear animals before we see them. Listening closely is a way of connecting with nature, with other people, and with their culture. In many cases, it is not the tourist attractions that stay with us most vividly, but rather the sounds and conversations that truly bring a journey to life.