Body and Sound

This book highlights a point we have been working on for the past few weeks in class, the physiology involved with experiencing sound in a religious form. In this post I want to look into that connection and expand on it. From the introduction it is easy to see that noise and word choice is important. Hirshkind highlights the dichotomy between the street noise going on around him and the "scary" words of the sermon playing through the cassette. How do these two contrasting noises affect the driver? He definitely seems invested and even anticipatory of the cassette, but was this to the point of eliminating the other sounds occurring around him?

Now flash forward to "The flesh of the ear". Here a really important concept gets fleshed out, listening. Although the process may seem simple at first it is one of great complexity that involves fluctuations of attention. These fluctuations further lead to physiological changes in the body. Hirschkind highlights this by mentioning how the act of listening "recruits the body in it's entirety." When a person interprets a powerful message through the sermons or even through song the body becomes attuned to it. This is why a drastic shift in mood can be seen when people play certain music as they work-out, study, and other activities. The music, beat, rhythm and all other aspects of sound are produced to elicit specific responses and do so by actively tailoring the subjects "listening" to key words, pauses, crescendos, etc.