The Perfect Ear

Miles once said, “When I think of those who have died, I get furious, so I don’t think about it. But their spirits are still wandering within me, so they are still here, they keep passing it on to others. It’s a spiritual thing, and they’re part of who I am today. It’s all in me, all the things they taught me to do. Music is about the spirit and the spiritual, and also about feelings. I think his music is still present, somewhere, you understand? The things we touched together have to keep floating somewhere, because we expelled them with our breath, and the result was something magical, something spiritual. All of that is still with us. All of us who saw our lives transformed by Miles can still hear the unmistakable voice of his trumpet and still feel it directly stuck in the heart.

Quincy Troupe (Miles and Me)

With extravagant personality Miles Davis among many skills, he could recognize the musical notes in any sound, what is called, absolute hearing.

What is absolute hearing?

Known as perfect hearing, it is when a person has the ability to identify the frequency of an isolated auditory stimulus without the help of a referential auditory stimulus, so it can be defined as the ability to read sounds.

Studies have shown that this ability could be under the control of DNA. The researchers compared the structures and activity of the auditory cortex, that is, the region of the cerebral cortex that receives auditory information.

The historical beginnings of sound analysis

Since the nineteenth century, science has focused on investigating the background of understanding musical tones and their measurement. Since the references of the tones were only precisely defined at this time, the perfect tone designation could only be analyzed from the nineteenth century. Thus, the perfect ear was explained simultaneously with a musical ear and with absolute awareness of tone.

Although the differences and distinctions lie in the details. Only one in 10,000 people have an absolute tone and are, therefore, able to sing every note perfectly. On a physical and functional level, there is no difference in the auditory system when you have this condition. Rather, it is an expression of a rare ability to analyze tone accurately. Therefore, this form of tone search is an act of cognition, whereby the frequencies heard are reproduced in the form of pure tones.

From a scientific point of view, this is a musical learning approach that can also be applied to sounds or colors. However, since shades are defined by a much finer distinction than common color patterns, this skill is much rarer.

Effects on language and perception

Influences around the perfect ear can also be defined from a cultural perspective. Above all, the incorporation of the C major scale generated new approaches that could significantly simplify identification with specific tones. Mostly, the played tones correspond to musical experiences, which then sound coherent or biased from the listener’s point of view. But also, in terms of language and perception, absolute hearing has led to some changes.

Language

Many dialects depend on variations in tone. Accentuations are also of elementary importance for classical speech processes.

Perception

Not only the reproduction of perfect tones but above all their perception plays a decisive role in perfect hearing. The exact rankings here are not defined by a better sense of listening, but exclusively by recognition and categorization. This is again due to the mechanisms of the brain.

Differences with relative hearing

The relative ear, unlike the absolute ear, lacks independence from the main note. With a perfect ear, you can define exactly a note and estimate it without concrete examples. With the relative ear, what happens is that you simply compare the note with another note and you can classify it this way. While this makes it much easier for musicians to find their way musically, it is a far cry from absolute tone. An absolute ear is an absolute rarity, even among musicians.

These skills are the foundation of the perfect ear

Absolute hearing is a very rare phenomenon. But what specifically can someone who suffers from it do? The following factors form the basis of this extremely rare skill and help identify an absolute tone:

Reproduction of tones of everyday sounds.
Name all the notes of a chord
Assign the key to a sound piece of music

The special feature of people with an accurate understanding of tone is that they can regain their skills again and again. So if you’re lucky and define a chord correctly, you may not have a perfect ear. This is a skill that is constantly remembered that allows you to demonstrate your understanding of tone and clearly identify any notes you can think of or touch it randomly.

A good basis for musical sensibility

An absolute ear is by no means a prerequisite for a music career. Very few people can enjoy this skill. Although having this ability can help you with your musical sensibility, someone without an absolute ear can also become a great musician. This is also evident in the few examples that can be given of outstanding musicians with a perfect sense of tone.

Musicians with Perfect Pitch

Among musicians, having absolute hearing is a real rarity. In the near past, for example, you can name Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Puth, Bing Crosby, and Michael Jackson who have a perfect tone. However, from the many famous personalities that are missing, it can be seen that many well-known musicians do not have such skills, and yet they are well known.

The famous musician Charlie Puth was even bullied by his classmates during his childhood because of his special ability, he was able to assert himself in the music industry with his self-confidence and of course with the perfect tone. Today he is one of the most famous young artists, and he is also predicted to have a steep career in the future. However, it turns out that the requirements are not in the concrete singing, but mainly in the composition. There, musical sensitivity and exact knowledge are absolutely necessary.

Therefore, it is not surprising that many famous composers of the past have a perfect tone. These personalities include, for example, Mozart, Handel, Chopin, and Beethoven. This made it much easier to find the right additions for each instrument and create a harmonic effect. Within the search for the musician, absolute hearing became a universal and important skill even then.

How to achieve the perfect tone?

In most cases, musical understanding is innate. Even if you can also learn a lot of content about music theory and perception, this has nothing to do with the perfect tone. This is at least in line with the assumption of Brady and Levitin and Rogers, who criticize a possible workout for a perfect tone.

However, there is now some evidence that absolute hearing can develop without an innate and useful ability. To do this, the University of Chicago conducted a study in which several students with different musical experiences were tested. Immediately after the initial training sessions, the students showed significant improvement in tone recognition, which allowed them to expand their experience.

Any of us can have the opportunity to sharpen the knowledge of the right tones, with a lot of practice you can achieve it.

As a sound engineer, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with various musicians who possess this skill, it has been very enriching and a quite enriching experience.

I think that people who have this ability can have very interesting contributions to musical projects and therefore a development with a different approach to music and sound.

As Charly Garcia mentions,

“I know it’s genetic, that my great-grandfather also had absolute hearing and that sometimes when I pass by or I’m preparing a concert when I don’t sleep, that’s when things get a little difficult. There the degree of sound sensitivity is filtered to the other four senses and it is the sound that takes you and drags you. You see the sound and you play the sound, and you smell the sound and you like the sound.”

Absolute hearing can be a blessing and a curse at the same time, but it is a distinctive aspect, another artist who possesses this ability.

Carolina Anton is an internationally recognized leader in the field of live sound mixing, systems design, and optimization of sound reinforcement. For more than 15 years, Carolina has established a trajectory within her career, collaborating with distinguished artists and productions.

Carolina is co-founder of the company 3BH, which develops projects for technology integration, design, and speaker calibration for post-production and music studios in Mexico and Latin America, Anton is part of GoroGoro Immersive Labs, Mixing and creative studio specialized in different immersive formats such as Dolby ATMOS, Ambisonics, among others.

In 2016 she began to represent SoundGirls in Mexico, supporting women to professionalize in the entertainment industry.

El oído perfecto

Miles dijo en cierta ocasión: “Cuando pienso en los que han muerto me pongo furioso, de modo que rato de no pensar en ello. Pero sus espíritus siguen deambulando en mi interior, por lo que siguen aquí, siguen transmitiéndoselo a otros. Es algo espiritual, y ellos forman parte de lo que soy hoy en día. Está todo en mí, todas las cosas que ellos me enseñaron a hacer. La música tiene que ver con el espíritu y lo espiritual, y también con los sentimientos. Creo que su música aún está presente, en algún lugar, ¿entiendes? Las cosas que tocábamos juntos tienen que seguir flotando en algún sitio, porque nosotros las expulsamos con nuestro aliento, y el resultado fue algo mágico, algo espiritual. Todo eso sigue con nosotros. Todos aquellos que vimos nuestras vidas transformadas por Miles aún podemos escuchar la voz inconfundible de su trompeta y aún la sentimos directamente clavada en el corazón.

Quincy Troupe (Miles y Yo)

Con personalidad extravagante Miles Davis entre muchas habilidades, podía reconocer las notas musicales en cualquier sonido, lo que se le denomina, oído absoluto.

¿Qué es el oído absoluto?

Conocido como oído perfecto, es cuando una persona tiene la capacidad de identificar la frecuencia de un estímulo auditivo aislado sin la ayuda de un estímulo auditivo referencial, así que, se puede definir como la capacidad de leer los sonidos.

Estudios han demostrado que esta habilidad podría estar bajo el control del ADN. Los investigadores compararon las estructuras y la actividad de la corteza auditiva, es decir, la región de la corteza cerebral que recibe información auditiva.

Los inicios históricos del análisis de sonido

Desde el siglo XIX, la ciencia se ha centrado en investigar los antecedentes de la comprensión de los tonos musicales y su medición. Dado que las referencias de los tonos solo se definieron con precisión en este momento, la designación de tono perfecto solo se pudo analizar a partir del siglo XIX. Así, el oído perfecto se explicó simultáneamente con un oído musical y con una absoluta conciencia del tono.

Aunque las diferencias y distinciones radican en los detalles. Solo una de cada 10.000 personas tiene un tono absoluto y, por lo tanto, es capaz de cantar cada nota a la perfección. A nivel físico y funcional, no hay diferencia en el sistema auditivo cuando tienes esta condición. Más bien, es una expresión de una rara habilidad para analizar el tono con precisión. Por lo tanto, esta forma de búsqueda de tonos es un acto de cognición, mediante el cual las frecuencias escuchadas se reproducen en forma de tonos puros.

Desde un punto de vista científico, este es un enfoque de aprendizaje musical que también se puede aplicar a los sonidos o colores. Sin embargo, dado a que los tonos se definen mediante una distinción mucho más fina que los patrones de color comunes, esta habilidad es mucho más rara.

Efectos sobre el lenguaje y la percepción

Las influencias en torno al oído perfecto también se pueden definir desde una perspectiva cultural. Sobre todo, la incorporación de la escala de Do mayor generó nuevos enfoques que podrían simplificar significativamente la identificación con tonos concretos. En su mayoría, los tonos reproducidos corresponden a experiencias musicales, que luego suenan coherentes o sesgadas desde el punto de vista del oyente. Pero también en términos de lenguaje y percepción, el oído absoluto ha dado lugar a algunos cambios.

Idioma

Muchos dialectos dependen de variaciones en el tono. Las acentuaciones también son de importancia elemental para los procesos clásicos del habla.

Percepción

No solo la reproducción de tonos perfectos, sino sobre todo su percepción juega un papel decisivo en oído perfecto. Las clasificaciones exactas aquí no se definen por un mejor sentido de la escucha, sino exclusivamente por el reconocimiento y la categorización. Esto se debe nuevamente a los mecanismos del cerebro.

Las diferencias con la audición relativa

El oído relativo, a diferencia del oído absoluto, carece de independencia de una nota principal. Con un oído perfecto, se puede definir exactamente una nota y estimarla sin ejemplos concretos. Con el oído relativo, lo que sucede es que simplemente se compara la nota con otra nota y puede clasificarla de esta manera. Si bien esto hace que sea mucho más fácil para los músicos encontrar su camino musicalmente, está muy lejos del tono absoluto. Un oído absoluto es una rareza absoluta, incluso entre los músicos.

Estas habilidades son la base del oído perfecto.

El oído absoluto es un fenómeno muy raro. Pero ¿qué puede hacer específicamente alguien que lo padece? Los siguientes factores forman la base de esta habilidad extremadamente rara y ayudan a identificar un tono absoluto:

Reproducción de tonos de sonidos cotidianos.
Nombrar todas las notas de un acorde
Asignar la clave a una pieza musical sonora

La característica especial de las personas con una comprensión exacta del tono es que pueden recuperar sus habilidades una y otra vez. Entonces, si tiene suerte y define un acorde correctamente, posiblemente no posee un oído perfecto. Esta es una habilidad que se recuerda constantemente que le permite demostrar su comprensión del tono e identificar claramente cualquier nota que se le ocurra o tocarla al azar.

Una buena base para la sensibilidad musical

Un oído absoluto no es de ninguna manera un requisito previo para una carrera musical. Muy pocas personas pueden disfrutar de esta habilidad. Aunque el tener esta habilidad, puede ayudarte con tu sensibilidad musical, alguien sin un oído absoluto también puede convertirse en un gran músico. Esto también es evidente en los pocos ejemplos que se pueden dar de músicos destacados con un perfecto sentido del tono.

Músicos con Perfect Pitch

Entre los músicos, el tener oído absoluto, es una verdadera rareza. En el pasado cercano, por ejemplo, se puede nombrar a Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Puth, Bing Crosby y Michael Jackson que tienen un tono perfecto. Sin embargo, de las muchas personalidades famosas que faltan, se puede ver que muchos músicos conocidos no tienen tales habilidades y, sin embargo, son bien conocidos.

El famoso músico Charlie Puth incluso fue intimidado por sus compañeros de clase durante su infancia debido a la habilidad especial, fue capaz de afirmarse en la industria de la música con su confianza en sí mismo y por supuesto con el tono perfecto. Hoy en día es uno de los artistas jóvenes más famosos, y también se prevé que tenga una carrera empinada en el futuro. Sin embargo, resulta que los requisitos no están en el canto concreto, sino principalmente en la composición. Allí, la sensibilidad musical y el conocimiento exacto son absolutamente necesarios.

Por lo tanto, no es sorprendente que muchos compositores famosos del pasado tengan un tono perfecto. Estas personalidades incluyen, por ejemplo, Mozart, Handel, Chopin y Beethoven. Esto hizo que fuera mucho más fácil encontrar las adiciones adecuadas para cada instrumento y crear un efecto armónico. Dentro de la búsqueda del músico, el oído absoluto se convirtió en una habilidad universal e importante incluso entonces.

¿Cómo lograr el tono perfecto?

En la mayoría de los casos, la comprensión musical es innata. Incluso si además se puede aprender mucho contenido sobre teoría musical y percepción, esto no tiene nada que ver con el tono perfecto. Esto está al menos en línea con la suposición de Brady y Levitin y Rogers, quienes critican un posible entrenamiento para un tono perfecto.

Sin embargo, ahora hay alguna evidencia de que el oído absoluto se puede desarrollar sin una habilidad innata y útil. Para ello, la Universidad de Chicago realizó un estudio en el que se probaron varios estudiantes con diferentes experiencias musicales. Inmediatamente después de las sesiones de formación inicial, los estudiantes mostraron una mejora significativa en el reconocimiento de tono, lo que les permitió ampliar su experiencia.

Cualquiera de nosotros puede tener la oportunidad de agudizar el conocimiento de los tonos correctos, con mucha practica puedes lograrlo. Como ingeniera de sonido, he tenido la oportunidad de colaborar con diversos músicos que poseen esta habilidad, ha sido muy enriquecedor y una experiencia bastante enriquecedora.

Creo que las personas que cuentan con esta habilidad pueden tener aportaciones muy interesantes para proyectos musicales y por lo tanto un desarrollo con una aproximación diferente a la música y el sonido.

Como menciona Charly García,

“Sé que es genético, que mi bisabuelo también tenía oído absoluto y que a veces, cuando paso de largo o estoy preparando un concierto, cuando no duermo, es cuando la cosa se pone un poquito difícil. Ahí el grado de sensibilidad sonora se te filtra a los otros cuatro sentidos y es el sonido el que te lleva y te arrastra. Ves el sonido y tocás el sonido, y olés el sonido y gustás el sonido”.

El oído absoluto puede ser una bendición y una maldición al mismo tiempo, pero es un aspecto distintivo, otro artista que posee esta habilidad.

Carolina Antón es una líder reconocida internacionalmente en el campo de la mezcla de sonido en vivo, diseño de sistemas y optimización del refuerzo sonoro. Durante más de 15 años, Carolina ha establecido una trayectoria dentro de su carrera, colaborando con distinguidos artistas y producciones. Carolina es cofundadora de la empresa 3BH, que desarrolla proyectos de integración tecnológica, diseño y calibración de altavoces para estudios de postproducción y música en México y Latinoamérica, Ant n es parte de GoroGoro Immersive Labs, mixing y estudio creativo especializado en diferentes inmersivos formatos como Dolby ATMOS, Ambisonics, entre otros. En 2016 comenzó a representar a la Soundgirls.org en México, apoyando a las mujeres a profesionalizarse en la industria del entretenimiento.

The Poem of Fire… Symphony No. 5

A few years ago, I had the fortune to work for a while in Japan, a country I have known for a long time, during my stay I visited MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless, is a digital museum full of works with images, lights, sound and objects that invite you to get lost in its labyrinths and live multi-sensory experiences that make us awaken the imagination and the senses. For those who have not been able to live any of these experiences … imagine entering a building with many rooms where for seasons they make audiovisual works representing nature using technological digital means in each of the rooms, the first memory that comes to mind is to enter a dark room, walk on a narrow corridor that takes you to a network suspended in space … I felt little vertigo for the transparent and unstable but since I settled it was very nice and comfortable!, after this the lights begin and the music I began to see flashes of different colors moving around me it is as if I were inside a galaxy, inside an infinite tunnel … this was amazing in a second it transported me to another world. What if you had these experiences in your day to day …? What if we could see colors when we hear sounds? Can color be a sound? Can the touch of a surface cause an emotion that makes you sad? Can a smell or taste make us feel cold? Can something have a sharp taste?

Creation

In 1910 the Clavier á lumère was created, a keyboard-like instrument by which each note produced a beam of light with a color corresponding to a chromatic scale visualized by the composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin, this great artist had a vision of sharing and transmitting to the audience what he felt multi-sensorial, I mean seeing colors through sounds.

Scriabin, composed Prometheus: The Poem of Fire (Symphony No. 5), in this orchestral work, the Russian composer added a piano, a choir and the Clavier á lumère where by means of the beams of light projected on the stage, he showed and towards feeling to the audience the colors that he saw when listening to the music, that is, that they could perceive sensations comparable to his own, or as he described it “a powerful psychological resonator in the listener”.

Synaesthesia

Neurologically the explanation that I liked the most was the one shared by Richard Cytowic, where he tells us that synesthesia is a fundamental attribute of mammals, we all have it but only some people are aware of this and each individual can develop it with greater or lesser intensity, he also explains that most brain processes work at the subconscious level, although there may be cases that reach a higher level of consciousness, in any case, this experience remains in the unconscious of the person, so in short, the only difference between synesthesia and a person who is not, is that the former is aware of their synesthetic experiences.

Synesthesia makes us experience sensations from different senses at the same time before a single perceptual stimulus. According to the Royal Spanish Academy of Language, the word synesthesia comes from Greek and is formed by the union of the words “syn”, which means union, and “aísthesis”, which translates as sensations, so we could define it together as “United Sensations”.

It is important to mention that this condition is usually manifested by the appearance of colors and shapes linked to the senses of hearing, smell, taste or touch, although there are also other rare ones, such as the touch-mirror, in which the synesthetic experiences the same sensations as another person he is seeing at that moment. For example, if the other person feels pain, the synesthetic also feels it.

In the case of music, melody has the power to provoke sensitive reactions in the human being, capable of reviving images, places, situations, memories, people and on the other hand, in the art of smells, a fragrance can make us visualize a memory, a situation or a specific fact.

Speaking of the history of classical music and art, we find many cases of composers, writers, and synesthetic painters, as is the case of the composer Richard Wagner and his peculiar way of writing scores with the colors that represented the sounds he heard. On the other hand, this is the case of Oliver Messiaen, one of the most important composers of the twentieth century, lover of the sound of birds, his synesthesia allowed him to see colors through sound and vice versa, Massiaen made countless references to light, color and visual in some names of his compositions. His condition took him so deep that he said…

“One of the great dramas of my life is telling people that I see colors when I listen to music, and they don’t see anything, nothing at all. That’s terrible. And they don’t believe me. When I listen to music I see colors. The chords are expressed in terms of color for me. I am convinced that one can express this to the public.”

We could stay a long time talking and citing many experiences of a wide variety of artists with this condition who have delighted us with magnificent works, but I would like to delve a little deeper into how people with this condition associate the senses specifically with sound and/or music. In general, synesthetic people automatically associate a color with each note, including the different tones, but a very interesting feature is that they will always associate the same musical tonality with the same colors or same color tonality. The difference lies in each synesthetic individual, that is, each person with this condition has its own association, that is, that one hears a note and sees the same color always, another synesthetic person can see the same or a different one, but always the same associated with each note or tone.

What happens with people who are not synesthetic, is that these associations between colors and music do not occur automatically, so they are variable because they can be influenced by various factors such as mood, or associations based on childhood learning modified by memory, although in general, most people already have certain associations such as bass sounds with dark colors and lighter colors when hearing higher sounds.

How is it that the frequencies of sounds and smells affect human behavior differently? High frequencies would incisively influence cognitive functions, such as thinking, perception, or memory. The average frequencies, in neurovegetative processes, such as heart rate, or in the emotions themselves, while low-frequency sounds would influence motor behavior.

Dr. Septimus Piesse who was a noted French perfumer and chemist created a unique way to combine smell and sound. Matched a particular note or sound with a particular smell. Starting with the Do1 of the key of F in 4th line, that is, 3 octaves below the central C, Dr. Piesse assigned to the bass notes, heavy odors, and to the sharpest, penetrating odors. Combinations of several notes, in turn, result in a chord. Piesse, produced a combination or mixture of different aromas generating a harmony of smells, from there emerged the “Odophone” (Perfume Organ), an impressive instrument which looks like an organ but instead of emitting sound when the keys are pressed, it gives off smells. It would be an unimaginable experience to be able to hear and feel the music through aromas.

In the same way that there were synesthetic builders of instruments, who in their manufacture not only sought the sounds of greater purity but also gave off “aromas” and “colored lights”, there are composers with the same synesthetic condition that is clearly reflected in their work, as in the case of the Austrian composer Franz Liszt, in 1842, when he was Kapellmeister (maestro di cappella) in Vienna, he used to ask his orchestras “A little more blue please, this tone requires it” or “a deep violet, please… not so pink”, in passages that he considered more appropriate to be interpreted with a color.

Human behavior is wonderful the more sensitive and creative you are, you can feel and experience very intense sensations, this makes me reflect on the importance of being the person responsible for transmitting a piece of music to the public. As monitor engineers, for example, we are constantly faced with very peculiar explanations of how “musicians listen” and how they refer to specific sounds or sensations, it would be a challenge to work with a synesthetic person and be able to transport you to that world of smells, colors and sounds that music awakens.

Bibliographical references:

-The Synesthetic Composer: Oliver Messiaen

– Scents & Sensibility: Perfume in Victorian Literary Culture

– Synesthesia: music and color

– Synergy Between Art and Science

El Poema del Fuego… Sinfonía nº5

Hace algunos años tuve la fortuna de trabajar un tiempo en Japón, país que conozco desde hace mucho, durante mi estancia visité MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM: teamLab Borderless, es un museo digital repleto de obras con imágenes, luces, sonido y objetos que te invitan a perderte en sus laberintos y vivir experiencias muli-sensoriales que nos hacen despertar la imaginación y los sentidos. Para aquellos que no hayan podido vivir alguna de estas experiencias… imagínense entrar a un edificio con muchas salas en donde por temporadas hacen obras audiovisuales representando la naturaleza utilizando medios digitales tecnológicos en cada uno de los cuartos, el primer recuerdo que me viene a la mente es entrar a un cuarto obscuro, caminar sobre un pasillo angosto que te lleva a una red suspendida en el espacio… sentí un poco de vértigo por lo transparente e inestable pero ya que me acomodé fue ¡muy agradable y cómodo!, después de esto comienzan las luces y la música comencé a ver destellos de diferentes colores moviéndose alrededor mío es como si estuviera dentro de una galaxia, dentro de un túnel infinito… esto fue increíble en un segundo me transportó a otro mundo.

¿Que pasaría si estas experiencias las tuvieras en tu día a día…? ¿Qué tal si pudiéramos ver colores al escuchar sonidos? ¿Puede ser el color un sonido? ¿Puede provocar una emoción que te provoque tristeza el tacto de una superficie? ¿Puede provocarnos sensación de frío un olor o un sabor? ¿Puede algo tener un sabor agudo?…

La creación

En 1910 fue creado el Clavier á lumère, instrumento parecido a un teclado por el cual cada nota producía un haz de luz con un color correspondiente a una escala cromática visualizada por el compositor y pianista Alexander Scriabin, este gran artista tenia una visión de compartir y transmitir a la audiencia lo que él sentía multi-sensorialmente, me refiero a ver colores por medio de sonidos.

Scriabin, compuso Prometeo: El Poema de Fuego (Sinfonía nº5), en esta obra orquesta, el compositor ruso añadió un piano, un coro y el Clavier á lumère donde por medio de los haces de luz proyectados en el escenario , mostraba y hacia sentir al público los colores que él veía al escuchar la música, esto es, que pudieran percibir sensaciones equiparables a las suyas, o como el lo describía “un poderoso resonador psicológico en el oyente”.

Sinestesia

Neurológicamente la explicación que más me gustó fue la que comparte Richard Cytowic, en donde nos dice que la sinestesia es un atributo fundamental de los mamíferos, todos lo tenemos pero sólo algunas personas son consientes de esto y cada individuo lo puede desarrollar con mayor o menor intensidad, también explica que la mayoría de los procesos cerebrales funcionan a nivel subconscientes, aunque puede haber casos que llegan a un nivel de conciencia mayor, de cualquier forma esta experiencia permanece en el inconsciente de la persona, por lo que en resumen, la única diferencia entre un sinestesia y una persona que no lo es, es que el primero es consciente de sus experiencias sinestésicas.

La sinestesia nos hace experimentar sensaciones provenientes de diferentes sentidos a la vez ante un solo estímulo perceptivo. Según la Real Academia Española de la Lengua, la palabra sinestesia proviene del griego y está formada por la unión de los vocablos “syn”, que significa unión y “aísthesis”, que se traduce como sensaciones, entonces podríamos definirlo en conjunto como “Sensaciones unidas”.

Es importante mencionar que esta condición usualmente se manifiesta por la aparición de colores y formas vinculados a los sentidos del oído, el olfato, el gusto o el tacto, aunque también existen otras más raras, como la tacto-espejo, en la que el sinestésico experimenta las mismas sensaciones que otra persona a la que está viendo en ese momento. Por ejemplo, si la otra persona siente dolor, el sinestésico también lo siente.

En el caso de la música, la melodía tiene el poder de provocar reacciones sensitivas en el ser humano, capaz de revivir imágenes, lugares, situaciones, recuerdos, personas y por otro lado, en el arte de los olores, una fragancia nos puede hacer visualizar un recuerdo, una situación o un hecho específico.

Hablando de la historia de la música clásica y el arte, nos encontramos con muchos casos de compositores, escritores y pintores sinestésicos, como es el caso del compositor Richard Wagner y su peculiar forma de escribir partituras con los colores que le representaban los sonidos que escuchaba. Por otro lado, esta el caso de Oliver Messiaen, uno de los compositores más importantes del siglo XX, amante del sonido de los pájaros, su sinestesia le permitía ver colores por medio del sonido y viceversa, Massiaen hizo un sinnúmero de referencias a la luz, el color y lo visual en algunos nombres de sus composiciones. Su condición lo llevó tan profundo que decía…

“Uno de los grandes dramas de mi vida consiste en decirle a la gente que veo colores cuando escucho música, y ellos no ven nada, nada en absoluto. Eso es terrible. Y ellos no me creen. Cuando escucho música yo veo colores. Los acordes se expresan en términos de color para mí. Estoy convencido de que uno puede expresar esto al público.”

Podríamos quedarnos mucho tiempo platicando y citando muchas experiencias de gran variedad de artistas con esta condición quienes nos han deleitado con obras magníficas, pero me gustaría profundizar un poco más en como las personas con esta condición asocian los sentidos específicamente con el sonido y/o a la música.

En general las personas sinestésicas asocian automáticamente un color a cada nota, incluyendo las diferentes tonalidades, pero una característica muy interesante es que siempre asociarán la misma tonalidad musical con los mismos colores o misma tonalidad de color.

La diferencia radica en cada individuo sinestésico, esto es, cada persona con esta condición tiene su propia asociación, es decir, que uno escucha una nota y ve un mismo color siempre, otra persona sinestésica puede ver el mismo u otro diferente, pero siempre el mismo asociado a cada nota o tono.

Lo que sucede con las personas que no somos sinestesicas, es que estas asociaciones entre colores y música no se producen de manera automática, así que son variables porque se pueden ver influidas por diversos factores como pueden ser el estado de ánimo, o asociaciones basadas en un aprendizaje de la infancia modificadas por la memoria, aunque en general, la mayoría de las personas ya tenemos ciertas asociaciones como por ejemplo, sonidos graves con colores oscuros y colores más claros al escuchar sonidos más agudos.

¿Cómo es que las frecuencias de los sonidos y los olores afectan de diferente forma al comportamiento humano?

Las frecuencias altas influirían de forma incisiva en las funciones cognitivas, como sería en el pensamiento, la percepción o la memoria. Las frecuencias medias, en procesos neurovegetativos, como el ritmo cardíaco, o en las propias emociones; mientras que los sonidos de frecuencias bajas influirían en la conducta motora.

El Dr. Septimus Piesse quien fue un notable perfumista y químico francés, creó una manera única de combinar olor y sonido. Igualó una nota o sonido determinado con un olor en particular. Comenzando por el Do1 de la clave de fa en 4ª línea, es decir, 3 octavas por debajo del Do central, el Dr. Piesse asignó a las notas graves, olores pesados y a las más agudas, olores penetrantes. Las combinaciones de varias notas, a su vez, dan lugar a un acorde. Piesse, produjo una combinación o mezcla de aromas diferentes generando una armonía de olores, de ahí surgió el “Odophone” (Órgano de perfume), un instrumento impresionante el cual pareciera un órgano pero en lugar de emitir sonido cuando se presionan las teclas, éste desprende olores. Seria una experiencia inimaginable poder escuchar y sentir la música por medio de aromas.

De la misma manera que había constructores sinestésicos de instrumentos, que en su fabricación no sólo buscaban los sonidos de mayor pureza, sino que también desprendieran “aromas” y “luces de colores”, hay compositores con la misma condición sinestésica que se refleja claramente en su obra, como el caso del compositor austriaco Franz Liszt, en 1842, cuando fue Kapellmeister (maestro de capilla) en Viena, acostumbraba a pedir a sus orquestas “Un poco más azul por favor, este tono lo requiere” o “un profundo violeta, por favor… no tan rosa”, en pasajes que él consideraba más apropiado interpretarse con un color.

El comportamiento humano es maravilloso definitivamente entre mas sensible y creativo seas, puedes llegar a sentir y experimentar sensaciones muy intensas, esto me hace reflexionar la importancia que existe en ser la persona responsable de transmitir al público una pieza musical. Como ingenieros de monitores, por ejemplo, constantemente nos enfrentamos con explicaciones muy peculiares de cómo “escuchan los músicos” y como se refieren a sonidos o sensaciones especificas, seria todo un reto trabajar con una persona sinestética y poder transportarte a ese mundo de olores, colores y sonidos que despierta la música.

Referencias bibliográficas:

-El compositor Sinestésico: Oliver Messiaen

– Scents & Sensibility: Perfume in Victorian Literary Culture

– Sinestesia: música y color

– Sinergia Entre Arte y Ciencia

Rocket Man

One of the things I love the most and dedicate to making live sound is the constant movement, meeting people and traveling the world… Having a call and a routine on tour where you travel a lot and pass through so many airports, ups and down, planes constantly, you have schedule changes all the time… Yes, those are some things that I like, but for some other professions, talking about changes in schedules, flights and the world, has a much more literal meaning…

When we talk about preparing for “the show”, it fills us with excitement and adrenaline, feeling the energy of so many people gathered waiting to see a show, but this same adrenaline, other people feel it in a different way… Imagine the scene of the engineer handling the sound and key communication between space and earth, that his show is to see a dense cloud of steam along with a large explosion and discharge of many decibels emitted by the ship as it takes off into outer space, ufff, I have no words to imagine that feeling, that’s why I made contact with Alexandria Perryman, NASA Sound Engineer …

So let’s travel together to understand the sound and transmission to outer space a little bit.

Countdown T minus 10 sec… 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0!!!

Recently, they televised the first private launch into space that departed from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, there, this Launch Platform 39 from which several ships have taken off, including Apollo 11 (which brought the human to the Moon), to this day it has been one of the main points of connection to space.

Communication between the space station crew and the on-earth support team is critical to the mission’s success. Being able to convey a verbal message in space is crucial for most astronaut activities, from doing spacewalks, conducting experiments, engaging in family conversations and there’s something spectacular to be able to transmit information to all human beings on earth,

But how do you achieve this?

This entire transmission network travels to people orbiting more than 250 miles above Earth thanks to a network of communication satellites and terrestrial antennas, all of which are part of NASA’s Space Network.

A large number of tracking and data relay satellites (TDRS) form the space base network, these large appliances function as cell towers in space and are located in a geosynchronous orbit more than 22,000 miles above Earth, allowing the space station to contact one of the satellites from anywhere in its orbit. As communications satellites travel around the Earth, they remain above the same relative point on the ground as the planet rotates.

Data tracking and retransmission satellites handle real-time voice and video information! That is, if an astronaut on the space station wanted to transmit data to Mission Control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, the first thing is to use the computer onboard the station to convert the data into a radio frequency signal, or antenna on the station transmits signal to the TDRS and then directs the signal to the “White Sands” test center where data testing and analysis are performed. Fixed phones then send the signal to Houston, and ground computer systems convert the radio signal into readable data, if Mission Control wants to send data back, the process is repeated in the opposite direction by transmitting from the test center to TDRS and from there to the space station. The amazing thing about this is that the time it takes to process this path and data conversion is a few milliseconds so there is no noticeable delay in transmission.

All this communication is vital to the knowledge and discovery of many topics such as the behavior of Earth’s orbit for astronauts to conduct experiments, providing valuable information in the fields of physics, biology, astronomy, meteorology among many others. The Space Network delivers this special and unique scientific data to Earth.

Talking to Alexandria, she says that before the Space Network existed, NASA astronauts and spacecraft could only communicate with the support team on earth when they were in sight of an antenna on the ground, this only allowed communications of just under fifteen minutes every hour and a half. Communication at the time was very slow and complicated, but today, the Space Network provides almost continuous communications coverage every day, and that is extremely important for development and discovery in space.

In 2014, a new “OPALS” data transmission technology was tested, and this has shown that laser communications can accelerate the flow of information between Earth and space, compared to radio signals, plus OPALS has collected a huge amount of data to advance science by sending lasers through the atmosphere. Although sound engineers are in charge of ground communication, astronauts don’t use it yet.

You knew that the Gemini 6 crew began the tradition in 1965, waking up with Jack Jones’ “Hello Dolly”

As a sound engineer, I’d like to see what signal flow the audio engineer working on NASA uses, and this was the answer…

All signal routing and mixing is done from one of AVID’s System 5 Euphonix console and when signal or data is sent from the ground into space, it first passes to the audio console which in turn is sent to a digital signal encoder via radio frequencies that sends this same information to a decoder that is on a satellite in space so that the crew can be in communication with the ground.

As we mentioned in the beginning, Radio Frequencies are used to date because they are easier to capture in addition that they transmit much clearer and the sound. In case astronauts make deeper trips to space, then the transmission form is changed by sending signals directly to specialized satellites that send coded data between them, in this way, there is a little more delay but no sound quality is lost.

Astronauts stabilize the spacecraft to reach the international space station, observing Tremor (the dinosaur) which served as an indicator of zero gravity –

One thing we all witnessed was when astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley who traveled on the private Dragon spacecraft, arrived at the Space Station received by astronauts Chris Cassidy, Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, it was then that they broadcast live a few words using a wireless microphone connected directly to a camera that sent the signal to a satellite performing the signal flow as explained above, Alex behind the console doing Broadcast towards the whole floor, could feel a little lag(more than normal) but did not affect the sync between the video and the audio as well as the sound quality, they had a good show! He also laughed at me because he was happy with the basic courses he gave astronauts so he could run the audio-visual equipment in space.

I have been able to feel the thrill of operating a space mission through the words and experiences of a sound engineer who emphasizes the importance of being the bond between space and the planet, transmitting the passion, technology and discoveries that mark the future of our technological development as human beings. I don’t feel so far away from this feeling even though you literally live in another world.

For those people who are not sure which way to take or how to obtain such opportunities and jobs, on tours or in different areas, I share that in the case of Alex, I apply to a publicly-announced work through professional networks where he did not say that he would work for NASA and find out until I arrive at the place… This shows among many more examples that we should not judge but instead seek and explore when you least think about reaching these opportunities… as you prepare so that when you face them, you are always better prepared.

I am very grateful for the talk time with Alexandria Perryman and Karrie Keyes for the great introduction.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong’s first words on the moon….

Love of Learning – Carolina Anton – Sound Engineer

Carolina Anton is a freelance sound engineer based in Mexico City. She works as a FOH and Monitor Engineer and specializes in sound design and optimization. She works with several sound companies such as 2hands production, Eighth Day Sound, Britannia Row, among others. She has done international tours with artists Zoé, Natalia Lafourcade, Leon Larregui, Mon Laferte. Carolina is also the owner of GoroGoro Studio – an audiovisual studio for immersive sound mixing experiences. She is the representative in Mexico of ISSP Immersive Sound software for live shows, a partner in 3BH an Integrative company that specializes in architectural, acoustic, and audiovisual technological design. In her spare time, she is the head of the SoundGirls Mexico City Chapter.

Lifelong Love for Learning

Carolina grew up with a Montessori education that instills a lifelong love of learning and has provided Carolina with a solid foundation and base in her work and life. During her high-school years, she was enrolled at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education which gave her a solid understanding of engineering and the use of technology. At the same time, she became interested in Japanese culture and started to study the Japanese Tea Ceremony. At age 19, she started to study music and took a percussion diploma at Berklee College of Music and then went on to study with teachers from Escuela Superior de Música in Mexico City. She started playing drums at pubs and restaurants and formed her own band, soon after that she was invited to play drums for some artists as Laura Vazquez (ex- keyboardist of Fito Paez)

The Spark

In 2002, she received a scholarship to continue her Japanese studies at Urasenke Gakuen Professional College of Chado, Midorikai in Kyoto, Japan. In 2004, she graduated and returned to Mexico City. Upon returning, she found that she had no one to play music with and decided to find a job in music, so she could play drums and also thought she could work in audio. Carolina remembers saying to herself “it looks very easy pushing all those buttons and moving faders! And I love music… but actually had no idea what I was getting into, from that day I started this wonderful but complicated path.”

At the time there were limited professional audio programs in Mexico City, so she started taking every course she could find and says she still is constantly keeping updated on training and certifications. With her love of learning she started buying all the books on audio she could find and started to study on her own. She says it took her over four years to find someone that would help her get her foot in the door. She says “all rental companies told me that as a woman I had no future in this… a woman cannot carry cases or cables! Work at night? Travel with men? This work is impossible for a woman like you!!… They said. After almost three years I finally found one company that would support me and help me forge my own path from below. At that point, I swore that nobody was going to slow me down.”

While Carolina saw herself working in a recording studio, this would not be as the company that gave her a shot was a live sound company and she decided to “just let it flow and along the way, I realized that I really like this job so I started talking to all audio engineers close to me, without realizing that I was fully involved and made to work in live sound. I knew then that I like challenges and excitement, plus I work better under pressure.”

Career Start

She started as PA Tech and worked her way up to FOH and Monitors and now mainly freelances with 2Hands Production Services and Eighth Day Sound. Carolina’s first national tour was as a system engineer for Zoé Unplugged in 2011. Her first contact with international artists was with Earth, Wind & Fire where she approached with Eighth Day Sound on the same year with whom since then she has worked on tours and festivals such as Noel Gallager High Flying Birds, Cage The Elephant, The Cranberries, Faithless, and Electric Forest Festival, among others.

The first time Carolina got to mix was unexpected, “I remember that my job was only doing the PA design and tune it, but the musicians were late and I have to pre-prepare the scene of a venue SC48 and I didn’t know very well how to set up (I am very good with the mixers so it didn’t take me so much to understand it) after I finished setting up the mixer, Gloria´s staff ask me to check the monitors and PA (so I send some pink noise and test the mics), I was so relaxed and did that thinking that in some point the main engineer will come, unconsciously I began to place filters and make a pre-mix (good for me!) When the musicians arrived and I didn’t see any staff with them, I asked for the engineer and with all the calm in the world, they told me… “You are!” At that moment I got very nervous but luckily I had prepared everything correctly so the show flowed perfectly. Definitely in this profession, we must be prepared for everything.”

Carolina has toured as a Monitor Engineer for Gloria Gaynor, Kool & the Gang Mexico 2012, Janelle Monáe Mexico 2012, Vetusta Morla, Natalia Lafourcade, Leon Larregui, Mon Laferte and before the pandemic hit she was on tour with MexFutura. She has run FOH of Café Tacvba & Zoe, Everyone Orchestra, Madame Gandhi, Hellow Festival, PalNorte Festival, Electric Forest Festival and BPM Festival. She has been a system engineer for Marc Anthony Mexico 2012, Empire of the Sun “Walking on a Dream” Tour Mexico City 2011, Bunbury “Licenciado Cantinas” Tour Mexico 2012, ZOÉ & Café Tacvba Touring for 5 years (2011 – 2016), MTV Unplugged Miguel Bosé, Enrique Bunbury, Pepé Aguilar, Zoé, Kinky, and 90`s Pop Tour 360º – 2019.

Her credits also include Recording sound engineer and/or Assistant sound Engineer Caifanes, MTV Unplugged Pepé Aguilar, Viva Tour: En vivo – Thalia and Production of the Live Streaming for the Vive Latino festival 2015.

Career Today

In 2015, she was invited to become a partner in 3BH, an integrative company that specializes in architectural, acoustic and audiovisual technological design. Working with post-production and music studios in Mexico and LATAM. The engineers at 3BH work to integrate projects at the highest level from construction, electricity, insulation and acoustic conditioning, monitoring design and calibration in ST, 5.1, 7.1, ATMOS formats, signal design and work with the highest technology. She also is the owner of GoroGoro Studio audiovisual studio specialized in immersive sound mixing experiences and traditional formats. The most recent material is a video with immense sound by the band MexFutura, presented on AppleMusic.

Never Stop Learning

She has certifications in Shure Advanced RF Coordinator for Axient Digital Systems,

AVID Protools, Meyer Sound – Sound System Design of Meyer Sound & SIM 3 Training and System Design, SMAART Software Applications & Procedures Training and System Design, Martin Audio Professional Loudspeaker Systems & MLA Certified Operator Training Program, L-Acoustics System Fundamentals, Audinate DANTE certified levels 1 – 3 and SSL Live console, Yamaha, Digico & MIDAS.

Carolina’s long-term goals are to keep touring and learning. “A long term goal that I have managed to achieve was mixing in immersive sound, I have been specializing in this area for several years and I find it very fun and interesting… I think it is the future in various areas of sound.”

What do you like best about touring?

I love to travel, meeting people, having the opportunity to use different gear, and mix at different venues. I love trying different foods and being able to learn about different cultures.

What do you like least?

I miss my family very much. I don’t get invitations from friends because they think I am always away. Sometimes it is nice to know that you are going to return home every night. Also not having enough time to visit the city where we are working.

What is your favorite day off activity?

Watching movies, enjoy the silence & nature, be with my family, play with my cats, read and sleep.

What if any obstacles or barriers have you faced? How have you dealt with them?

I had many obstacles, which I no longer remember, but surely the principle was to be a woman working in sound. For a long time, I was angry about the rejection that many colleagues had, but I realized that I was getting attention and was losing time, so I decided to ignore all the negative comments and focus on finding a mentor.

Fortunately, I found very good people along the way, who have helped me pass through all these obstacles and taught me in a professional manner to achieve my goals.

I have become more secure in my job and I learned that if you have a good attitude and confidence in what you are doing you will be fine!

Advice you have for other women and young women who wish to enter the field?

If you have a true love for your profession, do it without stopping!

Every time you have a problem do a self-evaluation and trust yourself.

Be humble but with decision and commitment, I am sure that you will achieve all your goals.

Must have skills?

Listen to other people, be objective and patient.

Favorite gear

D & B , Martin Audio , L´Acoustics, SSL LIVE , DIGICO ,MIDAS , SIM 3 Audio Analyzer, Smaart Software , Lake Processors, DPA & Sennheiser mics.

Closing thoughts

I am very happy and proud to represent SoundGirls in Mexico. I’m sure there will be many opportunities for growth and improvement for all women and men in this industry.

Infinitely thank my family (my mother and my brother) who support me in all my decisions, my boyfriend, my mentors and friends who were and are always by my side.

I have always in my mind the basic principles of The Way of Tea, harmony, respect, purity and tranquility (wa, kei, sei, jaku), this are the roots of my life.

Is very important to have an internal balance between ourselves and our work. Many times, we focus so much on our work that we forget it is very important to take care of ourselves. It is also very important to be consistent with what we do and say at all times.

Many have confused my tenacity and decision with unconsciousness, but there is a big difference in taking risks to break visible and invisible barriers to achieve your goals and objectives, always being humble and respectful with those around me and with myself.

More on Carolina

Carolina Anton on The SoundGirls Podcast

Find More Profiles on The Five Percent:

Profiles of Women in Audio

CÓMO ENFRENTAR A LA INCERTIDUMBRE?

Cuándo no sabemos cómo van a salir las cosas? Sentir inseguridad porque no sabes si lo que estas haciendo va a funcionar o no? Cómo manejas la inestabilidad? Eres positiva y piensas que todo va a salir bien? O comienzas a pensar en lo peor? Te inclinas por los extremos?

Cuando estamos ansiosos podemos ser fatalistas, pesimistas y despertar nuestros mayores miedos. Todos hemos vivido estos momentos durante nuestra vida y es normal, pero ¿como sobre llevar el estar con incertidumbre?

Primero será aceptar nuestra situación actual y comenzar a entender como hacerle frente para no paralizarnos y que nuestro resultado sea el mejor junto con nuestra actitud y no dejar que la ansiedad nos consuma.

La incertidumbre provoca estrés y se genera por aquellas cosas que no podemos controlar y hace que pensemos argumentos negativos de nuestra vida, nuestras relaciones y nuestro juicio.

Estos son algunos consejos para mantener nuestra mente activa, una actitud positiva y así sobrellevar tiempos y momentos difíciles en nuestras vidas.

Mantén expectativas positivas hacia el futuro.
Expresa todos tus pensamientos ya sea escribiendo, dibujando, haciendo ejercicio, hablando con alguna persona, etc. Y trata de no recrearlo consecutivamente.
Aceptar la situación sin rechazo, al realizar esto, te vuelves resolutivo y serás capaz de encontrar soluciones enfocando tu mente y esto te ayuda a entrar en un estado de acción.
Enfócate en lo que deseas y en los cambios que quieres conseguir, que es lo que te gustaría conseguir y como lo conseguirás. Esto es, ¿Que tienes en tus manos para conseguir lo que quieres?
No pierdas energía en pensar y encerrarte en lo que no puedes cambiar, enfócate en lo que puedes hacer y tus acciones.
Tus pensamientos nutren tus emociones por lo que es importante no caer en fatalismo, cambia tu enfoque.
Al tener la mente mas tranquila podrás encontrar más visión y no te dará miedo salir de tu zona de confort.
Haz respiraciones pausadas y profundas desde el estomago, 5 segundos al inhalar y exhalar todas las veces que sea necesario.

En conclusión, la incertidumbre siempre la tendremos presente en nuestras vidas y en ocasiones más intensa que otras, pero si aplicas este re-enfoque conseguirás estar en calma, ver la situación con otros ojos y ser menos fatalista y entraras en un estado de tranquilidad que te permitirá tomar mejores decisiones, ser más resolutiva, saber que acciones son las mejores para salir de esa situación y por consiguiente superaras esta etapa.

Espero que estos consejos sirvan para disfrutar más la vida, divertirse y siempre tener la mente ocupada con pensamientos positivos.

Carolina Antón

Es una líder internacionalmente reconocida en el campo de mezcla en sonido en vivo, diseño de sistemas y optimización de refuerzos sonoros. Por más de 15 años, Carolina ha establecido una trayectoria dentro de su carrera, colaborando con artistas y producciones distinguidos.

Carolina C. Antón nació en México, graduada de la universidad Urasenke Gakuen Professional Chado College, Midorikai 浦千家ガ食えんみどり会 (Arte y cultura japonesa) Kioto, Japón. Su primer acercamiento a la música fue como baterista realizando estudios en la universidad de Berklee College of Music. Poco tiempo después de regresar a la Ciudad de México, comenzó a trabajar dentro de empresas de audio profesional, siendo una de las pocas mujeres en México que realizaban trabajos técnicos y de mezcla de sonido.

Con más de 20 tours a nivel nacional e internacional Carolina ha participado como parte de la producción de varios festivales como: KnotFest, PalNorte, Presidente (República Dominicana), Electric Forest (USA).

Actualmente trabaja como freelance para empresas como: 2handsProductions, Eighth Day Sound, Britannia Row Productions, entre otras.

Ha mezclado para artistas como Kool & The Gang, Gloria Gaynor, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte, Leon Larregui, entre los más importantes.

Además, Carolina es co-fundadora de la empresa 3BH con quien desarrolla proyectos de integración para el área audiovisual en LATAM.

Después de una sobresaliente carrera profesional, en el 2016 Carolina comenzó a representar la organización Soundgirls.org en México con el objetivo de apoyar a las mujeres dentro del medio del espectáculo.

How to Face Uncertainty

When we don’t know how things are going to turn out? Feeling insecure because you don’t know if what you are doing will work or not? How do you handle instability? Are you positive and think that everything will be fine? Or do you start thinking about the worst? Do you lean towards the ends?

When we are anxious we can be fatalistic, pessimistic, and awaken our greatest fears. We have all lived through these moments during our lives and it is normal, but how about coping with uncertainty?

First, it is necessary to accept our current situation and begin to understand how to face it so as not to paralyze ourselves and not let anxiety consume us. Uncertainty causes stress and is generated by those things that we cannot control and makes us think of negative arguments of our lives, our relationships, and our judgment.

These are some tips to keep our minds active, a positive attitude and thus cope with difficult times and moments in our lives.

Maintain positive expectations for the future.

Express all your thoughts – writing, drawing, exercising, talking to someone, etc. And try not to recreate it consecutively.

Accept the situation without rejection, by doing this, you become decisive and you will be able to find solutions by focusing your mind and this helps you enter a state of action.

Focus on what you want and the changes you want to achieve, what you would like to achieve and how you will achieve it. That is, what do you have in your hands to get what you want?

Do not waste energy in thinking and closing in on what you cannot change, focus on what you can do and your actions.

Your thoughts feed your emotions so it is important not to fall into fatalism, change your focus.

By having a calmer mind you can find more vision and you will not be afraid to leave your comfort zone.

Take slow, deep breaths from the stomach, 5 seconds when inhaling and exhaling as many times as necessary.

In conclusion, uncertainty will always be present in our lives and sometimes more intense than others, but if you apply this re-focus you will be able to be calm, see the situation with different eyes and be less fatalistic and you will enter a state of tranquility that It will allow you to make better decisions, be more decisive, know what actions are the best to get out of that situation and therefore you will overcome this stage.

I hope that these tips serve to enjoy life more, have fun and always keep your mind busy with positive thoughts.

Carolina Anton is an internationally recognized leader in the field of live sound mixing, system design, and sound reinforcement optimization. For more than 15 years, Carolina has established a career path, collaborating with distinguished artists and productions.

Carolina’s first approach to music was as a drummer studying at the University of Berklee College of Music. Shortly after returning to Mexico City, she began working within professional audio companies, being one of the few women in Mexico who performed technical and sound mixing work.

With more than 20 national and international tours Carolina has participated as part of the production of several festivals such as KnotFest, PalNorte, President (Dominican Republic), Electric Forest (USA). She currently works as a freelancer for companies such as 2handsProductions, Eighth Day Sound, Britannia Row Productions, among others. She has mixed for artists such as Kool & The Gang, Gloria Gaynor, Natalia Lafourcade, Mon Laferte, Leon Larregui, among the most important.

In addition, Carolina is co-founder of the 3BH company with whom she develops integration projects for the audiovisual area in LATAM. After an outstanding professional career, in 2016 Carolina began representing the Soundgirls.org organization in Mexico with the aim of supporting women in the middle of the show.

SUGERENCIAS PARA MANEJAR EL ESTRÉS EN EL TRABAJO

El ambiente en donde nos encontramos es fundamental para tener una buena calidad de vida además de un buen desempeño laboral, pero hay un tema importante que no tomamos mucho en cuenta, cómo podemos laborar en un medio relajado cuando nuestro trabajo tiene como principio factores que físicamente nos desgastan?

La falta de sueño, mala alimentación, cambios de horarios frecuentes y principalmente el estrés son pieza fundamental para potencializar el cansancio mental y físico de cualquier ser humano, es por eso por lo que les compartiré algunos ejercicios para contrarrestar nuestro desempeño.

El ESTRÉS, un problema por desgracia muy frecuente en la sociedad actual y puede acabar ocasionando graves problemas de salud.

Lo primero, es definir ¿qué es el estrés? Las personas tenemos un sistema de alerta que se pone en marcha ante las situaciones de estrés y que puede provocar distintas reacciones psíquicas y físicas como el aumento del estado de alerta, del tono muscular o de la frecuencia cardiaca y respiratoria. Este mecanismo de alerta tiene una finalidad adaptativa sin la cual no habríamos podido sobrevivir en nuestros inicios evolutivos y que nos hace responder de forma adecuada ante determinados cambios o situaciones de peligro. Pero cuando esta reacción se prolonga en el tiempo se convierte en un problema porque genera un estado de alerta constante que acaba siendo perjudicial para nuestra salud física y mental.

Cuáles son las situaciones que nos producen estrés?

Cualquier tipo de cambio, tanto negativo como positivo, puede causar estrés. Algunos ejemplos pueden ser, situaciones tan diversas como enfermedades propias o de personas que nos rodean, problemas económicos, el nacimiento o los cuidados de un hijo, tener que estudiar o hacer exámenes y pérdidas de un ser querido; Enfocándonos directamente en el ritmo de trabajo que tenemos dentro de la industria del espectáculo, nos enfrentamos directamente con situaciones altamente estresantes como, cambios de horarios, viajes constantes, trabajar bajo presión, estar lejos de la familia y amigos, entre muchos otros. Pero los mismos cambios no afectan de igual forma a las personas. Hay determinadas situaciones que cada individuo las vive con mucho estrés mientras que a otros apenas les afectan.

Qué tengo que hacer para aprender a manejar el estrés?

Hay que aprender a identificar las señales que nos avisan de un posible exceso de estrés. Estas señales pueden ser de tipo emocional: cansancio, tristeza, mal humor, ira, agresividad, ansiedad, inquietud, nerviosismo, pesimismo o conflictos en las relaciones con otras personas. Además pueden existir señales físicas de estrés: sudor, palpitaciones, contracturas musculares, dolor o ardor de estómago, dolor de cabeza, cuello o espalda e insomnio. Si nos encontramos con alguna de estas estas señales, debemos reconocer sus posibles desencadenantes e intentar controlarlas antes de enfermar. Esto dicho así parece muy fácil, pero no lo es. Tienes que realizar algunos cambios en nuestros hábitos y formas de pensar, así como aprender recursos y habilidades para enfrentaros a estas causas. Si lo consigues, el esfuerzo merecerá la pena:

Enfréntate a los problemas y no mires para otro lado.

Analiza los problemas con calma, intenta resolverlos y acepta si no los puedes cambiar. Ten una actitud positiva y déjate ayudar por los demás. En vez de preocuparte, deberías ocuparte. Intenta ver los cambios como un reto, no como una amenaza. Confía más en la gente. Comparte tus emociones con los demás. No te aísles. Es muy útil hablar con personas que han pasado por situaciones parecidas. Relativiza y recupera el sentido del humor.

Aprende a decir NO

Es muy importante marcar tus límites. No siempre tienes por qué cumplir con las expectativas y deseos de los demás.

Disfruta cada día y cuídate. Reserva un tiempo para realizar alguna actividad que te guste (leer, ver series o películas, ir al cine o al teatro, escuchar música, salir con tus amigos, ir al campo, ver exposiciones, viajar, pintar…) y hazlo sin prisas.

Haz ejercicio de manera regular. Es la forma más saludable de aliviar la energía y la tensión acumulada. Come y bebe con moderación. Puede parecer que el alcohol y el abuso en las comidas reducen el estrés, pero en realidad lo aumentan.

Haz descansos en el trabajo.

Evita el exceso de estimulantes (como cafeína, alcohol, etc.) y deja de fumar (la nicotina es otro estimulante más y provoca también síntomas de estrés).

Les comparto algunas sugerencias y ejercicios para tranquilizar nuestra mente y cuerpo que en lo personal me han ayudado a sobrellevar momentos de tensión, giras y largas jornadas de trabajo con muy buenos resultados.

Escucha música que te tranquilice, en mi caso siempre llevo grabaciones de Cuencos que normalmente escucho en los vuelos y trayectos largos.
Los aromas son también grandes aleados para lograr relajarte junto con respiraciones profundas. Actualmente puedes conseguir vaporizadores en donde puedes colocar aceites naturales los recomiendo ampliamente.

El ejercicio y estiramientos funcionan increíblemente para quitar molestias por estar mucho tiempo de pie o en una misma posición, dolores de espalda, dolor de cabeza y cuello.

Les comparto ejercicios básicos y muy simples que pueden hacer en cualquier momento y lugar. Si tienen alguna lesión mas severa no duden en acudir a un médico.

Cuiden su cuerpo y su mente en todo momento.

Ejercicio para relajar y estirar espalda y cuello

Ejercicio para relajar espalda baja, cadera y piernas.

Presiona 4 a 5 segundos cuando sientas dolor de cabeza. Sentirás molestia, respira profundamente mientras presionas los puntos y muy pronto comenzará el alivio.