Dementia Stole His Mother’s Memories. Can Sound Help?

Opinion|What Does Memory Sound Like?

If our eyes are the front door of perception. Our ears are the back door.

We open our eyes to a familiar world of shape and color, streets and homes, faces and bodies. Sounds can slip in unannounced, rearrange our emotional furniture and let themselves out before we’ve even realized they were there.

There are voices far older than any human tongue.

Demoiselle cranes, for instance, called from African skies for millions of years before our ancestors descended from the trees and eventually set forth on two legs. Sandhill cranes greeted the first humans to find their way to North America. Along with robins and chickadees, rain and surf, elk and wolves, whales and gulls, they form a gorgeous, unending chorus. These ancient voices can, for a keen listener, help unlock memories we didn’t know we had. They remind us we are part of a lineage of sound that will continue long after we are gone.

We titled our short documentary “Listen” for a reason. We’re inviting you to slow down and really listen to what’s there. Use headphones if you have them. Better yet, grab a friend, hook up the best speakers you can find and let these wild voices rearrange your furniture.

Taliesin Black-Brown is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker. Hank Lentfer is an author and sound recordist based in Alaska.

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