As you may have heard, “sound matters” is what we believe most. It’s great to hear so many people feel the same. Today, we wanted to share some of the best TED talks that focus on—you guessed it—sound.
Below you’ll see inspiring talks from three amazing individuals. Bernie Krause devoted almost a lifetime to recording sounds in the wild. He feels that the sounds around us can provide evidence of the health of the land and its habitat. Daniel Kish takes advantage of sound to see and is training others to do the same. And Meklit Hadero lets ordinary everyday sounds inspire her to create beautiful music.
Bernie Krause describes the voice of the natural world.
For 45 years, Bernie Krause has been recording wild soundscapes. In his talk, he explains when we pay attention to the sounds that nature makes, we can truly understand the history of our world. “Biophonies and geophonies are the signature voices of the natural world, and as we hear them, we’re endowed with a sense of place, the true story of the world we live in. In a matter of seconds, a soundscape reveals much more information from many perspectives… while a picture may be worth 1,000 words, a soundscape is worth 1,000 pictures.”
Daniel Kish uses sonar to navigate the world around him.
It’s amazing to see the way that people create solutions for themselves—our brain is amazing, and so is the power of hearing! Daniel Kish has been blind since he was 13 months old. Now, he sees the world through sound and he teaches others to do the same through his activation training. “When blind people learn to see, sighted people seem inspired to want to learn to see their way better, more clearly, with less fear, because this exemplifies the immense capacity within us all to navigate any type of challenge, through any form of darkness, to discoveries unimagined when we are activated.” Watch his talk and be inspired to do things you thought were impossible:
Meklit Hadero appreciates the unexpected beauty of everyday sounds
As a singer-songwriter, Meklit Hadero is inspired by just everyday ordinary sounds. “I believe that everyday soundscape can be the most unexpected inspiration for songwriting,” “When seeking melodic inspiration, look no further than dawn and dusk avian orchestras or to the natural lilt of emphatic language. We are the audience and we are the composers and we take from these pieces we are given… when it comes to nature or language or soundscape, there is no end to the inspiration — if we are listening.”
Do you know of a great talk or speech that’s inspired by sound? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to add your suggestions to the list!