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9 November 2010 Last updated at 11:57 GMT
A record by the Royal British Legion featuring only silence is hoping to beat
Take That to the number one spot this week. It reflects the immense power that
- for many people - silence can wield, if only we stopped to listen.
Stop.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath.
Shut out the world around you.
Those moments when you are immersed in quietness are all too rare in today's
world.
Noise pollution is a companion to modern life, with traffic, ringtones and
other people's conversations providing the soundtrack to our daily routines.
Silent contributors to Legion
David Tennant
Saturdays, Plan B, DJ Nihal, Gaz
But at this time of year, when the echoes of the bangs and fireworks of the
calendar's noisiest festival have only just passed, it's the absence of noise
that takes centre stage.
On Thursday, Armistice Day, the nation will fall silent for two minutes at 11am
and recall the moment the bombs stopped in 1918. Many will also respect a
silence on Sunday.
This sombre reflection is probably the most famous expression of silence in
British society, and it will have an even stronger resonance this year.
This week, the Royal British Legion released a single called 2 Minute Silence,
which is competing for top spot in Sunday's Top 40 with Take That's first
record since their reunion, The Flood. The Legion's video features noiseless
contributions from some famous figures.
The Legion's director general, Chris Simpkins, said he hoped people would
appreciate the significance of the absence of sound.
"Rather than record a song, we felt the UK public would recognise the poignancy
of silence and its clear association with remembrance."
But silence need not be sad or contemplative. It has many powerful functions,
depending on the circumstances. Here is a selection. Add some more using the
form at the foot of the page.
PROTEST
The web-based Cage Against the Machine campaign aims to put a work of silence
on top of the Christmas charts.
John Cage's most famous work, entitled 4'33 and made up of three movements in
which the musicians are instructed not to play their instruments, is an attempt
to hold off the X Factor winner from its anticipated slot, as was achieved in
2009 by a somewhat noisier Rage Against The Machine track.
Start Quote
John Cage
The sound experience which I prefer to all others is the experience of silence
End Quote Composer John Cage
It may be a playful exercise, but according to Guardian classical music critic
and presenter of BBC Radio 3's Music Matters Tom Service, it is fully in
keeping with Cage's reasons for creating the track.
Service says the composer was, in part, reacting against post-war America's
inescapable soundtrack of muzak.
Nothing, after all, is more terrifying to radio producers than the prospect of
"dead air", and nor has any other musician presented a starker contrast with
the noise of modern urban life.
"In the world we live in, it's really quite a subversive thing to do because
you never really get silence otherwise," observes Service.
"In fact, what you're listening to isn't silence - it's background noise, and
Cage is asking us to focus on it rather than block it out.
"It's a radically simple idea and it cuts across our notions of what is music.
Cage Against the Machine makes perfect sense."
HEALING
On 24 February 2007, the Ireland rugby team hosted England at Dublin's Croke
Park, in one of the most emotionally charged sporting fixtures in recent years.
The stadium, home to the Gaelic games, was the scene of Bloody Sunday in 1920,
when British forces opened fire on the crowd watching a match, killing 14
spectators and players.
England rugby team A respectful silence greeted England in Dublin
There was much talk in the build-up to the match about what kind of reception
England would get, and how God Save The Queen would be treated in an arena
strongly associated with anti-British enmity of the past.
Writing in the Times on the day after Ireland thrashed England on the pitch,
columnist Simon Barnes said the short silence before the British national
anthem was so well respected, and emotional, that it was transformative for the
Irish nation.
"It [the national anthem] was preceded by a silence that was almost reverent -
not in respect of the sentiments of that terse and tuneless ditty but because
freeing oneself from the shackles of history is worth a moment's savouring.
"Then the tune was played and the England team and the 7,000 England supporters
sang along, and there was not a whistle or a catcall or a boo. Why should there
be? This was just sport, was it not?
"Then, extraordinarily, a round of applause; not for the song but for the
silence, the palpable feeling that the end of an era was being celebrated."
WORSHIP
Start Quote
If you go back 200 years into a rural society, people would see being quiet as
normal. Now, it's as if people have acquired an aversion to silence
End Quote Father Christopher Jamison Worth Abbey, West Sussex
Silence has long been recognised by religious groups as a key component of an
ascetic path to spirituality, founded on a belief that denial offers spiritual
focus.
The recent BBC programme The Big Silence - in which five volunteers were sent
to a Jesuit retreat in for over a week, and only allowed to talk for an hour a
day - brought the practice to broader attention.
In Christianity, some orders of monks take vows of silence. Others, such as
Trappists, only speak when it is deemed necessary.
Hindus also have wise ascetics called munis, or silent ones.
To those who practise worship in this way, the power of keeping quiet relies on
the opportunity it creates for contemplation.
Kim Nataraja of the World Community for Christian Meditation says silence
offers a pointed retreat from the noise, bustle and distractions of modern
society.
"We need to rediscover the power of attention and we do that through silence -
the concentration that we use in prayer can be used in everyday life," she
says.
"The intuitive knowledge that lives in silence helps us deal with life's
surprises. If you are silent that allows you to be fully attentive to who you
are."
MENACE
Pauses became such a hallmark of playwright Harold Pinter that they even get a
mention in the Oxford English Dictionary under the term "Pinterism".
The Nobel prize winner made a short silence as loaded with meaning as the lines
themselves, elevating it from being a gap in conversation to an important
dramatic tool.
A Pinter pause - typically about 10 seconds - could convey a range of emotions.
It commonly amplified a sense of menace by ratcheting up the dramatic tension
in an exchange.
These silences were also capable of fear, rage, indecision or introspective
trauma. Each break in dialogue, sometimes mid-sentence, became an important
aspect of character.
Pinter's pausometer
Pinter himself said too much was made of them, but director Sir Peter Hall said
the pauses in Pinter's work are all there for a reason. Three dots is
hesitation, he remarked, a pause is a mundane crisis and a silence a full-blown
crisis.
"Beckett started it and Harold took it over to express that which is
inexpressible in a very original and particular way, and made them something
which is his."
Michael Billington, theatre critic of the Guardian, says: "Pinter carefully
orchestrated his plays with pauses and silences and, if you observe what he
wrote, the plays acquire their own rhythm and music.
"What he disliked was productions that arbitrarily inserted pauses and
sacrificed the natural moment of his dialogue."
COMMUNICATION
Silence is not just the absence of sound, it is an important way of
communicating. It can denote agreement, disapproval, intimacy, power - any
number of emotions and feelings.
Just like the spoken word, it fulfils the basic functions of language - the
referential, interpersonal and textual - says Professor Adam Jaworski, author
of The Power of Silence.
"Where it does most is in the interpersonal area. It is often associated with
the negative actions of communication and implies concealment, but we often
need to use it this way to protect ourselves.
"However, silence also speaks of intimacy, love and security for people. It's a
hugely important role of silence. Good friends can be together and be silent,
people who aren't good friends find silence uncomfortable."
Another important thing that silence communicates is power. People in authority
can regulate speech and silence. They can nominate when a person talks and when
they don't. Those who are subordinate often stay silent until spoken to.
RESPECT
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Watch a clip from the 2 Minute Silence video
Silence has been used as a collective show of respect for many years, but it
really became part of British life in the early 20th century, says Professor
Jaworski. This is probably because it was a time when national identities
became very important.
Records show a period of silence in remembrance of King Edward VII, when he
died in 1910. One was also held after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. But
the practice of using silence to remember the dead was firmly established on 11
November 1919 - the first two-minute commemorative silence on Armistice Day.
It's thought the idea was first proposed by Australian journalist and World War
I veteran, Edward George Honey. It led King George V to order a two- minute
silence, saying "all locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness,
the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the
glorious dead".
Now silence is commonly used to show respect after many high-profile deaths and
tragedies. This is because it is collective, it involves everyone and can be
done in unison, says Professor Jaworski.
"It is a ritual and as such provides a safe script for people to express
extreme emotions. People know the conventions and know how to behave. Also, it
is a way of saying 'there are no words that are fitting to say how we feel
about this'."
What does silence mean to you? Send us your thoughts.
As part of a theology course (on spirituality) I was required to go on a one
day silent retreat. I was amazed at what changes can occur when we listen to
our inner self and what rewards are there to discover if only we are willing to
take that first step forward into silence. I came out thinking, location (where
am I), vocation (what am I/could be) and salvation (God loves me)
Peter Beamon, Loughborough
My wife and I went camping to Shropshire in the summer, staying on a remote
farm near the Welsh borders. For us both, the most noticeable thing was the
complete absence of human-generated noise. Sure, there were sheep and rooks and
other birds and the rustle of wind in the trees. The natural noises only added
to the sense of beauty and peace that being away from fellow humans can
engender. It was probably the most peaceful and relaxing time either of us has
had for many years. The absence of light at night was a second joy.
Brian Randall, Wymondham, Norfolk
I live in a place where silence or near silence is the norm. Over the years I
have come to embrace it. To travel out into the greater world is oftentimes
disturbing; I am distressed with what has become an acceptable noise level for
society. I'm not some sort of feral creature, alone on a mount, shouting
controversy theories to the wind. I travel extensively; the business of travel
is the worst offender of noise pollution. The incessant CNN-blaring TV screens
in every American airport drive me to despair. I have come to believe that fear
of silence is a fear of being alone.
Linda Foy, Montana, US
As a teacher, I use silence as a tool to gain attention in the classroom - much
more effective than shouting.
Claire Lilley, London
I work in an open-plan office with about 20 other people. When we have the two
minutes silence the effect is astonishing. There is no talking but more than
that, there is no movement, no typing, no printer sounds. The air-con suddenly
sounds really loud, but the rest of the air-space is filled with silence. It
isn't an absence of sound - it's a presence of silence - you can almost feel
it. I love it. I only wish we could experience true (almost) quiet more often.
Sandy Fox, Derby
Silence is one of the most powerful tools in society. If you are ever in an
argument and someone is shouting and not letting you talk. Try just stopping
completely. Count in your head to five or ten seconds and it will completely
disarm them. It also can bring a heated situation down a degree or two.
Remember facial expressions and eye contact are important in using silence in
this way though. Depending on the look on your face, you can either be
disarming a situation, or ratcheting up the aggression. Look thoughtful or in
contemplation, not aggressive.
Dom, Cardiff
The last time I experienced real silence was in an examination hall. No mobile
phone call drivel, techno headphone backwash, ludicrous loud ringtones, dull
and dim conversations. Just the distant muted hum of traffic and occasional
dropped pen or pencil. I was able to relax into the silence and concentrate on
the flow of recently crammed knowledge from me to the paper! Bliss.
David Nicholson, Lewes, E Sussex
I was at Wembley stadium for the first England international shortly after the
Hilsborough tragedy. A two minute silence was held before the game and not a
single noise emitted from the 80,000 plus crowd, a newspaper described it as "a
silence that was deafening". There is something amazingly powerful when so many
people, together, stop, stay silent to simultaneously say "we care".
Gary Wallis, London, UK