Björk + Experiential Learning Through Listening
I made a 12 week listening journal!
Happy Father’s Day, everybody! I am grateful I inherited my dad’s ability to reverse engineer, his passion for making things and his autodidact-ness. It has greatly influenced my skills as a musician and teacher. Speaking of…
I made a 12 week listening journal! I just finished Week One, and I am obsessed.
These are NOT notes from my listening journal but my personal reflections while using it. I can be verbose. The journal is designed to be manageable for everyone. You can journal as frequently or infrequently as you want.
Pre-Week: I completed the intention-setting questionnaire, and I thought I knew who I was listening to for the summer. In May, I made a playlist of Brooklyn Hipster/Indie Sleaze - and I quickly realized I made a playlist of Ivy League men from the mid-2000s. It didn't feel resonant for this project. Maybe another time. I wanted to listen to a female artist or composer. Still, I wasn't sure who, and I felt "the freeze," the hesitation-procrastination fear of the blank page, similar to beginning anew in the creative process.
Day One: I planned to use Björk as an example of dynamics in a lesson with a student, and I spontaneously decided on Björk for my June listening! On my first day, and for my A-B comparison, I listened to the entirety of Medúlla once through, which is my favorite and most listened-to Björk record. It always makes me grow. I was struck by its complexity, intensity, and beauty.
Day Two: I listened to three Björk albums, including Medúlla. I played them in the background while I did chores and errands, singing along to my favorite songs. I contemplated dedicating my entire first week to exploring every album in Björk's catalog.
Day Three: I narrowed my listening down to a song that caught my curiosity, "Submarine," off Medúlla. I never paid much attention to this song. In fact, I frequently skipped it, but I like that the vocal arrangement feels like a submarine, and the harmonies felt really activating. I realized a folk songwriter I admire was probably influenced by Medúlla — I don't think many people make that connection about him. After listening to Submarine a few times, one of his songs keeps popping up in my mind because of a similarity.
Day Four: I googled the lyrics and learned who Robert Wyatt is. Not all Björk songs have a straightforward story, so it felt exciting to find an interview for "Submarine": she was deep in hibernation nursing her baby, and it was time come back to the world and work on songs again. My sister just had a baby, and I get it. "Do it now! Shake us out of the heavy — deep — sleep. Do it — now!" I picked the song because of the music, not the message. I registered the submarine sounds, but I didn't comprehend the story — the hibernation deep at the bottom of the ocean and the jagged vocals as she moves to rise to the surface. I've been in my own kind of hibernation, not so willing to step outside my comfort zone, and it's been an active intention this week to make big changes and come out of hibernation. "Do it — now!" Is my intuition trolling me??
Day Five: I found the Medúlla documentary on YouTube. I really appreciated when Björk emphasized that she couldn't have made this album when she was younger, only after she had done all her earlier work. She's 38 or 39? She says the album was created intuitively, with lyrics being an afterthought. I found Submarine's piano demo on YouTube and felt inspired to write on piano and play with vocal harmonies.
Day Six: I organically started listening for the sonic height or the vertical height of the voices through the arrangement and how they use it to make the submarine rise and tell the story. I listen for the reverb. I note the song structure in my journal, including the intro, outro, and key. Throughout the week, I've loosely listened for the panning. I want to listen for the chord voicings, but I ran out of time today. I appreciate all the different voices making it sound like a submarine, the do-do-dos, the low tones, the breath, and the perfect fourth at the end. The first time I heard it, like most of the album, it felt creepy — but now it feels like Under The Sea make-believe. Like Robert Wyatt and Björk are having fun playing pretend submarine. I randomly watched Meet Me In St Louis later, and I was pleasantly surprised when I heard The Trolley Song's background vocals in a clear, new way.
Day Seven: It's already day seven?? I’m noticing I hear clips of Submarine, as well as other songs off the album, in my imagination as I go about my day. It was a busy Monday, and I kept Submarine on repeat while driving because I am now in love with this song. I'm in awe that I let this track slip by my awareness for years. “Who Is It”, the song before it on the album, is mindblowing; it's also much hookier and easier to listen to, unlike Submarine, which doesn't always feel like a "song" but more like a composition. Anyway, I never gave my full attention to what came immediately after until this week. I am bringing "Submarine" into my Week Two listening.
In just seven days of using The Listening Journal, I experienced a profound change. What started as a casual exploration of Björk’s music became a deep connection with a previously overlooked song. This inspired me to play with a compositional approach to songwriting, to learn about the making of the record, and to explore Robert Wyatt’s music. The song's story was a surprisingly relevant message to my present. When we set clear intentions and then take curiosity-driven action, the results often surprise us. This journal can transform your songwriting and how you hear music!!!
We're taking pre-orders for a second printing until June 20! Send us a DM on Instagram or a good old-fashioned email, and we can get you a copy. We accept Venmo and PayPal payments! $25 + free shipping. This is the last print we will do until Summer 2025, so if you want one, get it now!
JOURNAL DETAILS:
A powerful intention setting questionnaire at the beginning followed by 12 weeks of self discovery through repeated listening, A-B listening comparison, song analysis sheets and an appendix of listening ideas and examples in the back.
Do it over the summer or spread it out over more time if you want, this 82 page journal is designed to give you the freedom to practice deep listening and songwriting goal setting YOUR way with enough structure and guidance to keep you on track.