Overtones in music are higher frequencies that ring out above the fundamental frequency when a voice or instrument vibrates. Wolfgang Saus demonstrates this with an overtone variation of Pachelbel’s Canon sung in both bass and soprano at the same time. 

Watch how he leads the bass melody with his left hand, at first without overtones. Then he begins the melody in overtones and follows it with his right hand. Astounding and beautiful!

Some of us tune into overtones naturally, while others tend to perceive fundamental tones first. Are you a fundamental or overtone listener? You can find out quickly.

Dr. Peter Schneider designed a short test for pitch perception preference in which you listen with headphones to a series of two tones. After each set of tones, you click one of two buttons to indicate whether you heard the high pitch first, low pitch second—or the other way around.

To take this test, here’s the link: https://www.musicandbrain.de/kurztest.html. [click the American flag on the left to read the webpage in English.] At the end, your one-sentence result will still show up in German, but just copy the description into any translation window.

I’m an extreme overtone listener which means I predominantly hear with my right brain. Of course, I encouraged my husband to take the test right away to confirm my suspicion. He’s an extreme fundamental listener, hearing first from his left brain. This means that while I’m listening for how to synthesize different parts to create a cohesive whole, he’s tuning in to process sequentially, in a more linear or step-by-step way.

Oh, the implications for marital miscommunication!

Have you ever spoken to someone and felt entirely misinterpreted? Perhaps that’s because we literally hear and filter vocal sounds from a different brain lobe. And we may well be listening to the sounds above the actual words.

Just for a day, let’s pay attention to how we listen when it comes to the music of what we hear. Whether we’re a fundamental or overtone listener, more awareness brings greater harmony and beauty into our lives.

That is living as music.

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Feel free to forward this blog to someone you know who’d benefit! Schneider’s quick listening test is a very cool tool for self-awareness and clearer communication from a new perspective.😃

Lately, I’ve been drawn more deeply into silence. Emptiness and stillness feel both profoundly necessary and mysteriously comforting. This pull into the space between notes happens when silence is music.

Remember Paul Simon’s The Sound of Silence? Ecuadorian-born Giovanny Bautista performs this short— a beautiful Andean pan flute version:

A funny scene in the film Amadeus has Mozart seeking the Emperor’s approval for his recent work. The not-musically-savvy king repeats what Mozart’s enemy has put in his ear. There are, he says, too many notes. A baffled Mozart insists he’s written no more or less than required and asked which ones his majesty would remove.

In fact, we know Mozart as a master of silence between notes. 

Music would not exist without silence. The pauses allow us to experience and appreciate sound. Perhaps in a similar way, life’s pauses create a complete symphony over time.

When I hear a call from the depth of silence, it’s time to slow down the doing, the thinking, the writing, the planning. Get quiet on the inside, and listen. 

Once I stop doing my days in a way that’s become routine, I settle into silence. Then, inner sounds quietly emerge—the trill of a single flute, melodic phrase of an oboe, or even a brief brass quintet. 

Somehow, these sounds illuminate me, bringing me into harmony with a higher heartbeat. The result is balance, and my next direction becomes clear.

If you’d like to explore your own space between notes, consider this an open invitation to slow down, get quiet, and discover sound in silence.

That is living as music. 

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