A wonderful initiative to introduce children to the concept of truly listening as well as the wonderfully diverse world of sound.
A Minute of Listening was piloted in UK primary schools last year and project leaders Sound and Music are looking to roll it out on a far wider scale this year. In this visual world children are repeatedly encouraged to look, look, look and not really to listen so this project is hugely welcome.
The sixty seconds of music vary widely and in a typical week classes might hear, Matthew Herbert’s An Apple a Day, a field recording of an East London Market from London Sound Survey and an extract from Beethoven’s 5th performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra reflecting the organisers belief that
“once you get them listening, it opens their mind to new things. We are hopefully developing the next audience, a generation of kids who are interested in listening to things that aren’t on the radio.”
What a fantastic idea. And why stop at children? I know loads of people who would love to expand their listening experience and a minute a day is easy for anyone to fit into their schedule.
Posted: Wednesday, 9 January 2013