THE ART OF LOOKING WITH THE EAR

The sound designer enters crawls on all fours from the canyon, the cave, emerges from the shadows from beyond the back of the house, from the deep background.

She raises her head. She rises. Stands on steady legs. She enters the light.

Outstretched arms have long cleared a central place at the welcoming (tech) table.

He prepares to play a sample of his wares: not from storage or shelves or warehouses

but from a special calling within himself.

Their inner inventory, an eternal work in progress:

the sound of porcelain shattering / door slams, add echoes / bones cracking /

clanging, rattling of old steam radiators / explosion of burst balloons / cannon blasts /

champagne exploding /

rice in a can/pebbles in a can / piñatas bursting / rain beating against a canvas beach

umbrella /

rumble under the floorboards, support with drone / approaching rumble of thunder, on

reverb /

rivets pounded in steel / toad ribbets / the labored breathing of a dying dog /

Marley’s clanking chains / creaking of hinges / squeaking rusty pulleys / deep in coal

mines, canaries carol /

a leaden wrecking ball smashing, shattering, demolishing condemned tenements, build

slowly /

a foghorn (like a tuba) bellowing a distress signal / clamorous jackhammers dive into

concrete pavements /

snores like buzz saws / an orchestra tuning / anvils beaten with hammers / crackling fires

snapping dried trees and twigs /

knocks, amplified, more! up a level! more! add broadswords to the knocking! increase!:

“Wake Duncan with thy knocking!” /

an amusement park fun house: bashing bumper cars; piping whistles of a deranged

calliope; bombardment of laughter; screams and cheers and shouts—create pandemonium /

fly buzzes / caged-crazed, shrieking chimpanzees, add maniacal monkeys / raucous

cawing of crows / bleating sheep /

steam train exhaust hisses / wailing cries of cats in heat, layer with snarling cats /

twittering birds chattering wildly /

in the next room: lovers groans & weeping / “tinkling piano in the next apartment”/

roman candles fizzing /

stamping heels of flamenco beats, overlap and mix with rattles and maracas / mirrors

shattering /

scratched long-playing records repeatedly playing the scratched groove, distort further /

horse-drawn carriages over cobblestones / horse-harness sleigh bells, muted / galloping

horses’ hoof beats, make thunderous /

clattering of combat-steel-plated shields against shields, decibel raised / fade-out

mournful tolling bells; fade-in joyous jangling bells /

whining violins / whispering conspirators / whimpering wailing babies / distant military

band (Russian & Chekhovian) drums, marching, singing /

restless humid night: crickets or cicadas? /

clocks ticking / birdsongs / birdcalls / catcalls / gurgling pigeons / babbling cauldrons /

sudden sobs / barks / honks / smacks / screams / screeches / sirens / discordant tones /

arpeggios / diminuendos / refrain / slams / neighing / octaves / gushing hydrants and

squealing children.

All this created from observation, imagination, passion.

Sounds that startle, lull, soothe, shock, jolt, astonish.

The audience: one gigantic communal ear, their senses shaken, expanded, extended

(never the same)

evoking: gasps, rapid heartbeats, perspiration, held breaths, hair rising.

Now blast all doors of the audio / visual department!

Smash to smithereens the reel-to-reel Wollensak tape deck,

the rusting razor blades, the splicing tape,

Bury deep in a time capsule.

The sound designer has learned the art of looking with the ear, eyes like tuning forks.

Though the ears are pasted to headsets, the ears are alert, pointed upwards like a cat,

their eardrums vibrate, enlarging, enfolding, conjuring, capturing,

acute to the limitless possibilities on which the curtain has risen.

The worksheet sketched out, plotted.

A lifetime of learning to communicate to the core of listeners,

to the heart of the ear. Confident and attentive to the sounds of silence.

The house lights dim, curtain! Stand by sound cue number one. Sound cue one, go!

And there it is: polished, specific, clarified, captured, diamond-needle sharp, rough,

elegant, transcendent.

The sound designer: alchemist, magician, restless explorer, recorder of the universe, .…

Praise!