Ear Training
2022
Single-channel video, stereo & binaural sound
15 minutes
Ear training is an exercise aimed at identifying the pitch of a sound played on the piano, and it is a training that develops the ability to accurately perceive pitch, an element considered most important in Western music. As part of Western music education, this training evolved into a form of military training during the Sino-Japanese War, where soldiers honed their ability to identify the sounds of airplanes or detect submarine sounds. This adaptation was based on the logic that if one could internalize pitch through musical sounds, they could also recognize other sounds that correspond to the same pitch, such as the pitch of mechanical noises, even when their timbre differed.
This work reconstructs the ear training that took place in Japanese classrooms and military units during World War II. The ear training is reenacted by drawing on original scores written by students and soldiers who participated in the training, along with interview materials, archival recordings, and scholarly research on this period. The video includes sounds of enemy airplanes produced by the Army Anti-Aircraft School, scenes of ear training tests, and underwater sounds analyzed by the Navy, all presented from the perspective of a first-person narrator who recounts the auditory experiences of the training. This work evokes the forgotten auditory world of a time when all things and senses subordinated to militaristic goals and when the “musical ear” was regarded as a form of munition.
(KR)
*This video features binaural audio recordings. For the best listening experience, listen with headphones.
2022
Single-channel video, stereo & binaural sound
15 minutes
Ear training is an exercise aimed at identifying the pitch of a sound played on the piano, and it is a training that develops the ability to accurately perceive pitch, an element considered most important in Western music. As part of Western music education, this training evolved into a form of military training during the Sino-Japanese War, where soldiers honed their ability to identify the sounds of airplanes or detect submarine sounds. This adaptation was based on the logic that if one could internalize pitch through musical sounds, they could also recognize other sounds that correspond to the same pitch, such as the pitch of mechanical noises, even when their timbre differed.
This work reconstructs the ear training that took place in Japanese classrooms and military units during World War II. The ear training is reenacted by drawing on original scores written by students and soldiers who participated in the training, along with interview materials, archival recordings, and scholarly research on this period. The video includes sounds of enemy airplanes produced by the Army Anti-Aircraft School, scenes of ear training tests, and underwater sounds analyzed by the Navy, all presented from the perspective of a first-person narrator who recounts the auditory experiences of the training. This work evokes the forgotten auditory world of a time when all things and senses subordinated to militaristic goals and when the “musical ear” was regarded as a form of munition.
(KR)
*This video features binaural audio recordings. For the best listening experience, listen with headphones.
#1-2 Installation View at SONGEUN, Seoul (Photo by Jihyun Jung)
#3-5 Still cut
1 min Video Excerpt