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SoundSmart  |  Capacities

The Core Capacities of SoundSmart

Each intelligence has a core set of capacities which are involved in its actual functioning. These are almost like “sub-intelligences”. If you are wanting to improve, enhance, or otherwise strengthen an intelligence, you must work at the level of developing the full range of its capacities.

Study these capacities and think about how you use them in your life and you’ll gain a fuller sense and understanding of your own SoundSmart.

The first task for more fully understanding and enhancing your SoundSmart capacities is learning to speak the unique language of this intelligence; that is, learning to decipher its special jargon, to understand its vernacular, and being willing to immerse yourself in its various operating modalities.

The language and operating modality of SoundSmart is obviously related to our acoustic world which includes such phenomena as music, tones, beats, rhythms, and vibrational patterns. These may be produced by musical instruments, the human vocal chords, sounds of nature, sounds produced electronically, or the "soundtrack" of our humanly created environment.

Once you understand the different dimensions and aspects of SoundSmart it is important that you focus on using them on a fairly regular basis. As with any capacity we have developed in our life, regular, consistent practice makes perfect.


Following is a description of each capacity and a place for you to type your reflections on how each of the capacities tend to show up in your daily life, AND what you can do to exercise it or use is more.

(Just type your thoughts in the boxes provided. At the bottom is a "print button" so you can save your work.)

APPRECIATION FOR THE STRUCTURE OF MUSIC

The “evocative” power of music and rhythm is very profound. Certain kinds of music and rhythm can calm us, energize us, or make us feel anxious. Developing an appreciation for the structure of music and rhythm and its affective qualities is one of the ways to strengthen your SoundSmart.

How I already use Appreciation for the
Structure of Music
in my daily life:

How I can use Appreciation for the
Structure of Music
more:
 

blue arrow "SCHEMAS" OR "FRAMES" FOR HEARING MUSIC

We have certain “schemas” or “frames” for hearing music in our minds. We make conscious and unconscious associations with various kinds of music and rhythm. Think about you're watching a movie or TV and you can anticipate what is about to happen by listening to the music. What kinds of music and rhythm to you associate with a “chase scene” or a “fight scene”?

How I already use "Schemas" or "Frames"
for Hearing Music
in my daily life:

How I can use "Schemas" or "Frames"
for Hearing Music
more:
 

blue arrow SENSITIVITY TO SOUND

Sensitivity to sound deals with “turning up” our hearing capacities and learning to process the wide variety of auditory stimuli which impacts us everyday. Just think what you can learn by listening to the sound of someone’s footsteps as they walk, and what you can learn by listening to the sounds of the traffic outside or
to the sounds of various weather conditions!

How I already use Sensitivity to Sound in my daily life:

How I can use Sensitivity to Sound more:  

RECOGNITION, CREATION, AND REPRODUCTION OF MELODY, RHYTHM, AND SOUND

This is the capacity to accurately repeat or mimic a tonal or rhythmic pattern produced by another person. We probably most often exercise this capacity when we’re trying to sing a new hymn at church or when learning a new dance step and we’re
trying to get an internal feel for the beat of the music so
we can move our feet to the music.

How I already use Recognition, Creation, and Reproduction
of Melody, Rhythm, and Sound
in my daily life:

How I can use Recognition, Creation, and Reproduction
of Melody, Rhythm, and Sound
more:
 


CHARACTERISTIC QUALITIES OF TONES AND RHYTHM

The capacity provides powerful ways to enhance and deepen communication. What tonal qualities of speech do you associate with boredom, excitement, fear, surprise, and contentment? What rhythms do you associate with different cultures, for example the beat of Latin America, or the beat of Native American culture? What are the sounds you associate with the busy downtown area of the city and what do you associate with being in a rural area?

How I already use CHARACTERISTIC QUALITIES
OF TONES AND RHYTHM
in my daily life:

How I can use CHARACTERISTIC QUALITIES
OF TONES AND RHYTHM
more:
 

 

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