“Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense [they are] the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.”
Jean Houston
Hello? Can you hear me? How do I sound to you? When you read this, is it in MY voice, or YOURS? Or perhaps it’s not really anyone’s voice? Or perhaps you’ve never really thought about it!
Truth be told, until I started writing that sentence, I don’t think I’d thought about it much!
I know when I read a novel, I picture the feelings, the scenario, the characters - but how do they SOUND? Words can be written in an accent, of course, but what we hear in a voice is not only accent!
I’m not actually sure where I’m going with this, but I do know that it’s interesting. It invites more questions - more curiosity - and as a result, it can also result in CREATIVITY.
So for once, my ramblings are valid!
As one of our senses, how does the sound of something, or the noises we hear, influence and impact our creative thinking?
Creative Thinking Prompts (w/c 15 April 2024)
First up then: CLOSE YOUR EYES (well, do it after reading the bit below, not before!)
CLOSE YOUR EYES, and JUST LISTEN…
Ask yourself these questions while doing so:
What is the LOUDEST SOUND I can hear? Is it too loud? How does it make me feel, and would I feel different if it was quieter? Does it inspire me in any way?
What is the CLOSEST SOUND I can hear? (Hopefully, your own heartbeat, but what else?) Is the CLOSEST also the QUIETEST?
What is the FURTHEST AWAY SOUND?
Are any of these constant sounds? Or intermittent?
Do they interrupt each other?
Are there any sounds which are constant but I don’t even notice them? (A ticking clock is the obvious one, but what about birds chirping, or traffic. Would you notice them if they suddenly stopped?)
Then open your eyes are think about:
Are there any particular sounds which help with my creativity? (Do you listen to music? If so, is it a particular kind?)
If you made a ‘soundtrack of your life’ - what would it include? Are there ones which lift you up and others which make you sad?
How are emotions tied into sounds?
How do sounds impact our memories? Are they as powerful as smells for example?
What about sounds you make with others? Chatter? Music?
What noises would potentially disrupt your creativity? (Notifications on our phones perhaps! Creativity-killers?!)
All of our senses are very personal to us, and our hearing is no different. What is the perfect ‘soundscape’ for one, is the worst for another! But there has been research done on this:
“Noisy, open-plan workspaces are hugely damaging to productivity, reducing it by a whopping 66 per cent, while more recent research has shown that just eight minutes of open-plan office noise creates stress and heightens negative mood by 25 per cent.”
Nathalie Marquez Courtney
However:
“You would be forgiven, then, for coming to the conclusion that if a lot of noise is bad, then the absence of noise must be good. For years, organisations tried to work towards what they thought was the holy grail of productive environments: a quiet room. But, it turns out, the sound of silence is not so sweet.”
The article goes on to say that a ‘nature-inspired soundscape’ is perhaps an all-round winner, but of course we mostly work indoors!
So perhaps we need to ensure that we take time outside, or at least open the windows to bring some sounds of nature inside.
In his conclusion to research where he created a nature-soundscape in offices, Evan Benway says:
"Crucially, there was also a marked improvement in creative thinking. “Creativity’s not usually given its due in office work,” asserts Evan. “But I’m not really that interested in how many emails my people answer or how many meetings they attend – I’m really interested in how creative they are and how to unleash people’s ability to create and make their own novel contributions.
”Want to come up with original ideas and out-of-the-box solutions?
Time to switch on some birdsong."
P.S. Let me know what your favourite sounds/music is for when you're working and trying to be creative? This has made me wonder what mine would be…. but I'm still wondering (of course!) 😁 xx
“Wonder makes us more creative and more desirous of studying the world around us. It makes us humble, less materialistic, more generous, and better community members… Wonder makes us less stressed and feel like we have more time… Wonder quite simply makes us want to be better, more tolerant people.”(Parker, 2023)
