Simply Sounds
Simply Sounds – an archive for everyone
Happy, sad, excited, motivated, spiritual, uplifted. Sounds make us feel all of these and more…
Using sound is a powerful way to connect to memories and purposeful listening can be a very positive activity. Reminiscing can help develop conversations, maintain someone’s identity, highlight a person’s talents and achievements and help people process past events.
Our sound collection is now available to inspire reminiscence and improve wellbeing. Please take a listen and enjoy!
How did we do it?
At the start of 2021 we put a call out to the diverse communities living within Leicestershire, to send in a two-minute recording of a unique and organic sound that meant something to them. We received a very varied mix of sounds from a range of people including a school, a choir and a holistic therapist. These diverse sounds allowed the Simply Sounds collection to be born!
How can the sounds be used?
The collection aims to improve people’s wellbeing, through reminiscence and a possible connection to memory. We have categorised the sounds into themes to help you select the sounds you want to hear.
After you’ve listened you may want to think about the following questions, particularly if you’re using the archive as an exercise in reminiscence with someone experiencing dementia:
- What did you hear?
- What did it remind you of?
- What did it make you feel?
We hope you enjoy the Simply Sounds archive. Happy listening!
Interested in recording sounds for yourself?
Check out our ‘How To’ explainer animation, which gives some tips on how to best record your sound.
We also held a Zoom workshop in February where we were joined by Helen Foster of Leicester University’s East Midlands Oral Archive. She gave some great tips on the best recording apps to use and how to get the most out of your recording. The workshop is available here for you to enjoy at your leisure. (Just remember not to send in any more sounds to us as the project has now closed.)