Exercise: Michon's Modes of Listening

This exercise is meant to explore your ability to apply the three listening modes proposed by the composer Michel Chion:

1. Causal listening
2. Semantic listening
3. Reduced listening

Step 1. Choose three different sounds and try to apply Chion’s listening modes to each of them. Choose one that involves a human voice and language, one that is a mix of different stimuli, and one that you can make with your body or with a machine. For example, you can choose to listen to a song, listen to the sound of you typing on your keyboard, or listen to (street) noises outside of your window.

Step 2. Take a few minutes to carefully listen to your chosen sounds. As you listen, try to apply Chion's three modes of listening; causal, semantic, and reduced.

Step 3. Document your findings about the added value of Chion’s categorization for discovering the various dimensions of the sound. What have you observed now that you might not have noticed prior to learning about Michon?

Read the Blog by Kelsey Cueva as inspiration for this exercise