I have always had a loud voice. To such an extent that as a child my parents sent me to a choir. At least they thought I would use my voice in a good way. Downside was that whenever I played with my siblings or friends I would be the one being reproached by parents for being too loud. …Recently, I am diving deeper into the experience of sound. So many things I discovered, like ‚what is my tone?‘, what is the tone that resonates the most in my body, and why?
In our everyday life, we are constantly surrounded by vibration and frequencies. Music, Noise, Voices, Sounds…we live in a soundscape. And sometimes, it is worth listening beyond what we recognize as a word, a song, a noise that we know where and to whom to attribute. Just to listen and to visualize how the vibration and frequency enter your body, move you and potentially resonate with you. Do you feel the sound so potent shaking up your body? Or is it just a subtle drop almost unnoticeable on the enormous surface of your skin? What sound makes it directly to your heart?
Probably you remember how your mother used to pronounce your name when she was calling you out on something. As much as you probably remember the sound of your name in someone’s voice who deeply loved you. In the same manner, some of us know when we are being lied to… just by the tone of the voice. All humans recognize fear, regret, pain, anger, insecurity, aggression, excitement, love, tenderness, pride, shame, truth, insincerity and so much more in voices. Sometimes I like to think that, etymologically, words derive from sounds. …do you have a word whose sound you particularly like?
In some indigenous cultures, they say humans were given voices to sing. And yet most of us just use their voice for speaking – still sounds, but bending to the rationality of the mind, the flow of logical thoughts, clear argumentation and prone to misunderstandings. How often do you have to repeat same things in different words, so that people understand you? And in which situations are you understood on the first instance? Is your tone of voice possibly different in these two scenarios? Do you know those moments, when you just said something and everyone looked at you puzzled, and then another person in essence repeats the same meaning in different words and the whole room starts nodding? And you wonder, didn’t I just say that?! Maybe my tone does not reach all people in a similar manner…
Most people are shy about singing or raising their voice. But I have recently learned to sing more, attune more to my own vibration and eventually be better understood. I am playing this game now, where I think of my voice as a hand: do I want to touch that person? Maybe not. Maybe I prefer to stay in silence. What is my intention if I choose to open the sound of my body? Do I want to be heard or am I giving it away as a gift? The unique tone of my voice. My most inner Me. It is not even about words, but really the sound that keeps echoing in me, outside of me. How do I want to echo in the world? What sounds are okay for me to echo in me? Echoing in my harmony without creating a dissonance…
You do not even need a word to sing, not even a letter. Your breath and mouth that’s all it needs. Literally everyone knows how to make sounds. You can let your breath flow out of your mouth, slowly or abruptly, with mouth open, teeth closed, lips slightly open, lips slightly closed – you can play with all of this. To know your tone, you can take any instrument, and just play different tones. Don’t think, just play, listen and go into resonance. If you want, use your voice or just feel into your heart and hands. Maybe there is one tone you play more often, you feel differently then others…
Schläft ein Lied in allen Dingen,
die da träumen fort und fort.
Und die Welt fängt an zu singen,
sprichst du nur das Zauberwort.
Joseph von Eichendorff
