Use volume, pitch, rhythm, and rhyme to embed your reader in a sonic landscape.
Show Don’t Tell is a writing technique to draw the reader onto the page. Imagine a snowy day. What do you hear? I heard the tap-tap of snow hitting my brimmed hat, the squeak of boots in snow, and the sheer quiet of a world muted by falling flakes after a first snow. Several days later the sounds morphed. The snow had a crust of ice that crunched under my boots. Birds sang from snow covered branches. Traffic hummed on the highway a mile away.
Volume and Pitch
Show emotion with your dialog. For instance, words can be whispered, shouted, or something in between. We can adjust the volume of our dialog just like a radio. Want your character to show anger? Have them shout. Fear? A whisper will do, maybe even throw a quaver in their voice. Use volume to convey tone and emotion.
Use volume for more than voices. Doors slam, creak, and latch. Birds warble, screech, and coo. Even a snore can range from obnoxious snort to gentle purr. Conscious use of volume can amplify a mood or emotion
Pitch is another aspect of sound. Remember the hearing test at school where the nurse fitted you with heavy headphones and asked you to raise your hand each time you heard a beep? The beeps ranged from pitches so low, you felt rather than heard them to so high, you thought you might have imagined them. At least, that’s how I experienced those tests. The thing that distinguishes rattle from rumble and creak from squeak is pitch. Do you see how describing sounds using pitch expands your writing vocabulary?
Volume and pitch can show how close something is. For instance the roar of traffic indicates it is close, but the hum of traffic suggests distance. We block out many sounds in our daily lives. When you write, remind the reader of the soundscape using volume and pitch. Thunder rumbles, the school fire alarm screeches. That’s pitch.
Rhythm and Rhyme
Think of rhythm as a beat. It can be steady like hail hitting a tin roof or syncopated like accumulated clumps of snow falling off branches. The sound of waves hitting the beach, leaves rustling in the wind, and the gurgling of a stream each has its own rhythm. Look for fresh ways to describe rhythms of the natural world. While you’re at 
it, think of ways to describe city rhythms too. Anything mechanical will have a steady beat for instance, a car’s motor, a ticking clock or a printer. Human rhythms include a heartbeat, snoring, and a runner’s feet on pavement.
Rhyme is a vocal rhythm with a repeating ending sound. It can be used to emphasize a natural rhythm or convey an idea in a catchy way. Some examples are nitty gritty, even Steven, fender bender. Rhyme is also used in poetry.
Onomatopoeia
Show don’t tell with Onomatopoeia. It is a fun word that means “the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (such as buzz, hiss).” Crash. Bang. Pop. Thud. I could go on and on. Have fun with onomatopoeia. Here’s a clever trick to spell this unusual word: sing it to the tune of Old MacDonald. See, it’s fun on many levels!
Volume, pitch, rhythm and rhyme will add pizzazz to your prose. Show don’t tell using the sense of hearing.
Add your favorite onomatopoeia to the comments.
