
Deep Listening Convergence Report by Pauline Oliveros
Deep Listening Convergence: Report
August 1, 2007
Presented September 5, 2007 at the Guelph Jazz Festival Colloquium
“Deep Listening is experiencing heightened awareness of sound, silence and sounding”
After seventeen summers of Deep Listening Retreats1 and as many years of international Deep Listening workshops - musicians who at different times completed three year certificate training came together to collaborate under the auspices of the Deep Listening Institute, Ltd.2 These musicians in a variety of self selected ensembles made a distinctive musical contribution as improvisers using networking technology to create new pieces and concert programs in the project Deep Listening Convergence.
What happens in a Deep Listening Retreat? Participants spend a week living together in a beautiful natural environment with the intention of practicing listening 24/7. Twenty-two people practice nonverbal time together from ten in the evening until noon the next day. There is a morning listening walk with physical energy exercises, breakfast in silence then a Deep Listening meditation followed by sounding exercises. Silence is broken or continued during free time in the afternoon. Tai Chi and creative movement is practiced before dinner. After dinner Deep Listening Meditation is followed by Dream practice3 - the induction of listening for sound in dreams. The evening is adjourned to silence.
What relevance does Deep Listening have for the training of musicians? Listening is often neglected in favor of developing motor skills or technique. Attention to listening helps to integrate physical actions with mental awareness and alertness so that technique is never mechanical or unfeeling. Deep Listening opens a way for technique to emerge through listening. By the end of the retreat week creative music projects are initiated and presented in collaborations. Here is a comment from a composer participant:
“For the first time, I started to hear sounds in my dreams - a wonderful, high wind chime is one I remember. And of course starting and finishing my day doing Tai Chi was amazing. I have definitely been trying to keep up the listening practice since I've been back.” 4
How does Deep Listening enhance the artistic experience? If one experiences heightened or expanded awareness brought about by meditation on listening with balanced body/mind then the artistic experience may be enhanced. The intense creative activity of the participants at the Retreats and the subsequent integration of their experiences into their continuing activities as artists indicates enhancement.
The Deep Listening Convergence took place with a five-month virtual residency for forty five musicians from January 15 to June 10, 2007. All of the musicians were familiar with Deep Listening.5
Using SKYPE6, a VoIP application, the musicians were invited to form new ensembles in a kind of musical dating game to prepare for a private concert and three public concerts that took place in Upstate New York June 7, 8 ,9 and 10, 2007, in Troy, Hudson and High Falls.
Musicians from Switzerland, Canada and across the United States participated in SKYPE jams, discussions, rehearsals and creations of improvisational pieces. The majority of the musicians were holders of Deep Listening Certificates7 from 1998 – 2006 and the rest were artist associates and staff of the Deep Listening Institute, Ltd. Some musicians were already acquainted and others were not. They were encouraged to form new relationships.
The Deep Listening Convergence project was conceived and named by DLI staff member and certificate holder - Vonn New a drummer/composer/improviser and administrator. The project was made possible by a grant of $65,000 from the New York State Music Fund8. Govenor Eliot Spitzer - then attorney general of New York State - made available a pool of money gained from suits against record companies that used payola to get their music on the radio. As Attorney General Spitzer designated all of this $150 million dollars for non-profit organizations to use for alternative music.
The Deep Listening Convergence project was organized with Pauline Oliveros9 as artistic director and Scot Gresham-Lancaster10 as technical director. Administration was handled by DLI staff member Lisa Barnard.
Gresham-Lancaster and Oliveros have collaborated for many years on many projects and since 2002 on telematic11 music transmissions both low and high tech using public internet and private for fee internet212 (Canarie in Canada). In 2005 they began to work with iChat AV13 for three way transmissions between iEAR Studios14 at RPI in Troy NY, Mills College15 in Oakland, CA and Skalen Dance Company16 in Marseille, FR. Oliveros worked with her RPI ensemble Tintinnabulate17 in transmissions with Arizona State University in Tempe AZ, and Wesleyan University in Middletown CT with iChat AV and with California State University at Hayward and the Society for Arts and Technology in Montreal QC with Internet2/Canarie. Subsequently Tintinnabulate performs in a weekly transmission with SoundWire18, CCRMA at Stanford University with CD quality audio in eight channels and DV quality video.
iChat AV is a Macintosh application so SKYPE was selected for the Deep Listening Convergence project because it works cross platform for both Mac and PC. Although telephone transmission is readily available with speaker phones it would be costly to mount such a project using land-lines. With SKYPE there was no charge. Musicians with MACs or PCs could participate.
Most of the forty-five musicians were familiar with computers but not all were familiar with SKYPE and the other applications (discussed below) that were used with the project. Technical director Gresham-Lancaster created online tutorials and FAQs for the most technically challenged participants.19 All forty-five musicians participated in the virtual residency for at least one ensemble piece. Others were more or less present for many sessions and pieces. SKYPE sessions were recorded with Ecamm call recorder20 or Pamela and uploaded to an application called iMEEM21. iMEEM hosts profiles, sound and video files. The files are public but the group is private so that no one outside of the group could post files. All communications for the Deep Listening Convergence were posted in Basecamp22 so that they could be archived and read at anytime. Messages could go to the whole group or only to selected members of the group in Basecamp.
The virtual residency began with a low tech jam hosted by Monique Buzzarté - one of the participants. A time was posted and up to ten participants at a time could join for the audio conference on SKYPE. The host invited those appearing online in the SKYPE list to the audio conference and the jam began. As these jams continued others began to make appointments with one another until there were a number of ensembles in the works.
It was apparent that feedback could be a problem unless the participants wore headphones. To skirt this problem DLI purchased twenty remaindered Sony speakerphones23 and gave them to participants. The quality was good and the need for headphones was eliminated for some. Also more than one participant could play on the same connection if they happened to be in the same room. The rehearsal jams were more or less successful depending on the stability of the connection. All had so called high-speed connections with cable or DSL but not all were always stable. There were dropouts and lost connections. However such was not the norm and the virtual residency proceeded very well.
Latency is inherent in low tech transmissions. Latency on SKYPE varied from 32 to 84 ms. (Not necessarily better or worse than some concert halls. The music created took latency into consideration as part of the aesthetic.
During the residency with the help of the communications producer Anne Bourne four curators were appointed – one for each concert. Concert proposals were requested by the curators and limited to one per person. Before the Convergence on June 5 began there was more than enough material for the concerts. Each of the four programs curated was totally different. Altogether twenty five diverse pieces were created with unique ensembles to play each one.
All of the pieces were rehearsed during the virtual residency as there would only be time for sound checks at the venues. All technical arrangements were organized for each venue by the technical director and DLI staff and volunteers. All of the technical needs were communicated via Basecamp, email or SKYPE chat. Administration and provision for accommodations and venue at the beautiful Life Bridge Sanctuary24 was made by the DLI staff. The majority of the musicians25 who came from Switzerland, Canada and outside of NY state stayed at the LBS. Meals and transportation to the concert venues were provided.
Each concert was documented with audio26, video and photographs. A feature article - Meditative music mines the depths of listening by Joseph Dalton appeared in the Times Union in Albany NY.
Here are three brief excerpts from the concerts. (Will be available momentarily)
Gayle Young Toronto Ontario and Katharina von Ruette from Basel Switzerland met for the first time in a SKYPE jam. They continued to improvise together and formed a duo. This is a brief excerpt from their piece - Glyka – for Amaranth and Columbine- Young’s own invented instruments with special tuning and von Ruette’s voice.
Threads of Piece* for large ensemble by Julia White (Canada). White invited everyone to contribute “pieces of peace” - handwritten or online, fragments of dreams or stories from life that have the theme of peace – she scanned these writings and images and transferred them to fabric and sewed the panels together in one long piece to be scrolled, projected and read as a score for improvisation.
DLC-Go by Doug van Nort (Canada) and the DLC Genetic Orchestra. laptops and voices. Performers were invited to upload files of their own creation of less than 1 minute each to create a “gene pool” for DLC-GO. Each file was rated on a scale of 1-10. From the surviving files performers could choose files to mutate by splitting them, processing one half and recombining with another half and returning them to the gene pool. After several mutations and additions to the gene pool the surviving files were used for live group improvisation.
The musicians and audiences were very happy with the concerts and performed very well. The concerts were the proof of the concept that a virtual residency could work.
END NOTES:
References:
http://www.deeplistening.org/site/convergence
Deep Listening at Rose Mountain: Scores and writings from the first Deep Listening Retreat 1991, Edited by Marc Jensen, Deep Listening Publications 2007
Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice, Pauline Oliveros, iUNIVERSE 2005
Listening in Dreams: A Compendium of Sound in Dreams, Rituals and Meditations plus This is a Dream: A Handbook for Deep Dreamers, Ione, iUniverse 2005
Notes:
1 http://www.deeplistening.org/site/retreats
2 http://www.deeplistening.org/
3 Listening in Dreams: A Compendium of Sound in Dreams, Rituals and Meditations plus This is a Dream: A Handbook for Deep Dreamers, Ione, iUniverse 2005
4 Julia White describes Threads of Peace:
I came home with the idea of the virtual residency on my mind.
It doesn't seem too possible at the moment to get high-speed
internet as you know.
I had an idea.
I imagine a project that starts now called Threads of Peace.
I was thinking about my own experience these days with chaos
and a desire for peace (that often comes from my creativity)
and how I feel I am coping by 'holding a thread'.
Ultimately, it is peace that I am holding and cherishing in this
thread. I thought about how the larger world peace begins
within each of our hearts.
I wish to invite the DL list and others in the wider community to
contribute any 'pieces of peace' that they would like. It could
be handwritten or online, fragments of dreams or stories from
life that have the theme of peace. I encourage drawings, images-
anything really that is inspired by Peace. I will scan these and
transfer to fabric or if it is a story, I may extract images from it
to add.
I will create from these contributions a long fabric piece of Peace
that will weave together all of these individual threads of peace.
It will become like a prayer flag of sorts that is imbued with
peace itself.
I imagine this long piece of peace to be used as a score for
vocal improvisation at the DL convergence. It would be improvised
upon in the moment, the score perhaps being draped on the
singers' laps. It could be opened to all participants in the audience
or a group decided upon in advance.
I am open to collaboration and ideas ....
In effect we will sing the peace prayers alive and activate them in
the world.
I can see it then becoming an outdoor piece here on my land,
strung up like a prayer flag string, woven through the landscape.
I am very excited about the possibilities and this brings me a great
sense of peace!
love and gratitude,
Julia
What is it like to play music via SKYPE on the INTERNET?
Anne Bourne posted this comment:
"I feel the technique of global listening became essential when for example, we rehearsed Julia White's Threads of Peace with 9 women. It expanded the consciousness of my imagination to locate each woman to sing with her. I looked at images of Julia's textile piece on-line, and saw her interpretation of my grandfather's WW2 British Army Issue silk scarf that said in 17 Asian languages 'Hello I am not your enemy.' and 'Please may I have a bowl of rice'. I began to hear explosive moments of SKYPE distortion that evoked in me the imagined sounds of war. This interspersed with the women's singing voices and a shakuhachi calling to each other. I also found the latency effect an
effective vocal processing delay sound. My performance listening techniques are not seeming changed yet but their usefulness is confirmed in a real way with this technology, much the way a sound that comes from outside a room's sound sources confirms the intersection of room tones and the voices of other listening souls."
Gayle Young posted this comment:
"I've found that the on-line playing is building a musical connection in spite of the technical issues. Last weekend I was part of a larger group that included two people I've played with quite a lot but don't know very well at the in-person level. I found that I was tending to play in response to those two players with a stronger sense of what sounds would work out well, and a few sub-duos developed within the context of the larger group. This indicates to me that there has been some musical familiarization taking place, that these sessions have had similar results as playing in person." Our far flung community of listening improvisers has found a new way of connecting and we are all very excited for this new dimension of communication. We will be able to work together in new ways with improvising, composing, teaching and publishing.”
5 “Deep Listening is a practice that is intended to heighten and expand consciousness of sound in as many dimensions of awareness and attentional dynamics as humanly possible.
The source for Deep Listening as a practice comes from my background and experience as a composer of concert music, as a performer and improviser. Deep Listening comes from noticing my listening or listening to my listening and discerning the effects on my bodymind continuum, from listening to others, to art and to life.”
Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice, Oliveros, P. iUNIVERSE 2005
6 http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/
What is Skype?
Skype is a little piece of software that lets you make free calls to anyone else on Skype, anywhere in the world. And even though the calls are free, they are really excellent quality. If you and your friends, family or business contacts are using webcams, you can also make free video calls. You can even call landlines and mobile phones at http://www.skype.com/go/skypeout really cheap rates.
7 http://www.deeplistening.org/site/certificateprogram
8 http://rockpa.org/special_programs/the-new-york-state-music-fund/
9 http://www.paulineoliveros.us
11 http://transition.turbulence.org/networked_music_review/2007/07/07/inter...
12 Internet2 http://www.internet2.edu/about/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet2
13 http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/ichat/
15 http://www.mills.edu/campus_life/center_for_contemporary_music/index.php
16 http://skalen.fr/anglais/artisticteam.html
17 http://www.myspace.com/tintinnabulate
18 http://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups/soundwire/
19 http://www.deeplistening.org/site/convergence
21 iMEEM http://groups.imeem.com/6H3SQa7R,dlconvergence
23 "These are Sony-branded Polycom Soundpoint PC Speakerphones. They connect to the audio output, and microphone input on your computer's soundcard, and allow you to utilize your PC as a speakerphone. Perfect for people using their computers in a VoIP set-up. These Speakerphones utilize a built-in DSP (Digital Signal Processor) to ensure you have the clearest possible sound. The integrated neodymium loudspeaker offers crisp audio reproduction while the powerfull 74dB amplifier ensures that even in a large room the speakerphone is heard."
24
25 Artists participating in the Deep Listening Convergence include David Arner, Lisa Barnard, Seth Cluett, Stuart Dempster, Renko Dempster, Heloise Gold, Susie Ibarra, Al Margolis, Stephan Moore, Ikue Mori, Vonn New, Pauline Oliveros, Elizabeth Panzer, Zevin Polzin, Sarah Weaver, Tom Bickley, Nancy Beckman, Anne Bourne, Monique Buzzarté, Will Swofford, Raylene Campbell, Viv Corringham, Caterina De Re, Scot Greshman-Lancaster, Marc Jensen, Kathy Kennedy, Norman Lowery, Kim McCarthy, Brigitte Meyer, Kenta Nagai, Michelle Nagai, Uta Nagai, Kristin Norderval, Margrit Schenker, Scott Smallwood, Bill Stevens, Phala Tracy, Doug Van Nort, Stacy Denton, Katharina Von Rütte, Julia White, Gayle Young, Christine Zehnder-Probst, Andrew Kaluzynski, Filip Gilissen, Susie Ibarra, Roberto Rodriguez and Dominique Mazeaud.
Participating artists hail from more than ten international countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Philippines, Japan, Cuba, and France.
Learn more about Deep Listening Institute and Deep Listening Convergence artists-in-residence at the DLI website: http://www.deeplistening.org/
26 http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=596125
DEEPL, an elist – deep-l@googlegroups.com
Bodymind is used by Candace Pert in her Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine and James L. Oschman in Energy Medicine in Therapeutics and Human Performance, Bodymind expresses the continuum of the living matrix, that there is no separation between mind and body.










