An Introduction To Sound

Welcome to the amazing world of sound. How much do you know about it?

	Do you recognise this symbol? It is known as the Om and represents the sacred sound of the Universe.
	Pythagorus, the Greek mathematician, philosopher and musician, who lived around 500 BC, saw the Universe as a vast musical instrument. He called the sound the Universe makes "the music of the spheres." This image reproduced by kind permission of Jason Williamson www.merkurysmusings.com Not only does the Universe produce sound but all the things in it create sound too including YOU! Everything is energy. Energy vibrates and produces sound.

Your bones, organs and tissues all vibrate and make sound. The result is that each person sounds their own fundamental note as well as having a unique voice.

So if the Universe and every single thing in it is vibrating and creating sound, is there really such a thing as silence? Research by R. Fay in 1988 revealed the human ear hears within the frequency range of 64 - 23,000 hz. Dogs can hear between 67 - 45,000hz whereas cats operate on an even wider scale from 45-64,00 hz. This information suggests that each species has a selective hearing range appropriate to its needs and life style. Silence appears to occur when the sound is outside the hearing frequency of that particular species. Maybe the ability to hear the whole spectrum of sound within the Universe would create a serious case of audio overload for its creatures?

The significance of sound is illustrated by the fact that sound is the first sense to develop, even remaining when people are in a coma, and yet it is the last to be lost at the point of death. In the human foetus the ear starts to develop in the 10th week. By the 18th week the ear is functioning but at 24 weeks the foetus is actually capable of actively listening.

What is the difference between listening and hearing?

Listening is an ACTIVE process where we filter, select, focus, respond and remember what we hear. Hearing however, is a PASSIVE process. It is the ability to receive sound not only through the ears but through the skin and bones.