A lesson in listening
Pupils with vision impairment worked with Ellie to pick some of the sounds used in the piece.
This new music composition grew from a series of workshops with pupils with vision impairment at Joseph Clarke School. We visited the River Ching to explore the landscape through sound and collaborative listening. Together, we captured a sonic portrait of the environment using hydrophones and microphones.
The resulting composition combines percussion and whispered voices (water spirits) captured in the classroom with field recordings of the riverbank and its underwater world. This is combined with violin, synthesiser, piano,percussion and sound design for an immersive experience, evoking the flow of the river as it meanders through Epping Forest and slips quietly past back gardens, playing fields and allotments.
Working with the students was a lesson in listening for me too as many of them rely on their ears (and touch and smell) to navigate their surroundings. They were so enthusiastic and I enjoyed working with them.
Here’s a word cloud with some of their answers to the listening survey I gave them.
The River Ching
Find out more about this small urban stream and Ching Action Group
Epping Forest by F. H. Headley
The River Ching (often marked on maps simply as The Ching / Ching Brook) is a small, meandering river that starts at Connaught Water in Epping Forest and travels 10km to join the River Lea near the North Circular, north of Banbury Reservoir, Walthamstow.
As is the case with most North East London rivers, the River Ching is heavily modified with multiple weirs, structures, culverts, and stretches of concrete channel, which can block fish passage. The river has been artificially straightened, widened, and deepened in places. Although the River Ching is home to an array of wildlife such as perch, stone loach, European eel, and stickleback, fish biodiversity has declined in recent years due to physical barriers, pollution and poor water quality. The Ching Action Group is working in partnership with Thames 21 and others on this to improve biodiversity and water quality, restoring the river’s natural flow and supporting its rich aquatic life.
The River Ching Action Group is a group of volunteers that aims to improve the River Ching for people and nature along the river and enhance local people’s relationship with green spaces. They have been clearing the overgrown space to improve access to the river at Brookfield Path and continue to enhance habitats for biodiversity, run craft workshops and promote health benefits of being outdoors and in nature. They have also commissioned some beautiful animal sculptures and benches by chainsaw carver Marshall Lambert which have recently been installed on the site along with willow arches designed by willow weaver Deb Hart.
Listen to the River Ching is a Ching Action Group project, sponsored by Waltham Forest's ‘Make it Happen’ and supported by Highams Park Planning Group.
To find out more about the Ching Action Group’s activities sign up for a monthly email update from chingactiongroup@gmail.com or find on Facebook
