A
soundscape is a
soundSound is a travelling wave which is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.- Perception of sound...
or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an
immersiveImmersion can refer to:* Baptism by immersion* Immersion lithography or immersion microscopy, optical techniques in which liquid is between the objective and image plane in order to raise numerical aperture.* Language immersion...
environmentThe phrase built environment refers to the man-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter to neighborhoods to the large-scale civic surroundings....
. The study of soundscape is the subject of
acoustic ecologyAcoustic ecology, sometimes called soundscape ecology, is the relationship, mediated through sound, between living beings and their environment. Acoustic ecology studies started in the late 1960s with R. Murray Schafer and his team at Simon Fraser University as part of the World Soundscape Project...
. The idea of soundscape refers to both the natural
acousticAcoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of sound, ultrasound and infrasound . A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician. The application of acoustics in technology is called acoustical engineering...
environment, consisting of
natural soundsNatural sounds include animal sounds, possibly also sounds of other natural phenomena. They may have contributed to or participated in the development of prehistoric music, and have important cultural references even nowadays.-Warning sounds:...
, including
animalAnimals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously...
vocalizations and, for instance, the sounds of
weatherWeather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the troposphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods...
and other natural elements; and environmental sounds created by humans, through
musical compositionMusical composition is:* an original piece of music* the structure of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music- Musical compositions :...
,
sound designSound design is a conceptually creative/technical field. It covers all non-compositional elements of a film, a play, a music performance or recording, computer game software or any other multimedia project...
, and other ordinary human activities including conversation, work, and sounds of mechanical origin resulting from use of industrial technology.
A
soundscape is a
soundSound is a travelling wave which is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.- Perception of sound...
or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an
immersiveImmersion can refer to:* Baptism by immersion* Immersion lithography or immersion microscopy, optical techniques in which liquid is between the objective and image plane in order to raise numerical aperture.* Language immersion...
environmentThe phrase built environment refers to the man-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter to neighborhoods to the large-scale civic surroundings....
. The study of soundscape is the subject of
acoustic ecologyAcoustic ecology, sometimes called soundscape ecology, is the relationship, mediated through sound, between living beings and their environment. Acoustic ecology studies started in the late 1960s with R. Murray Schafer and his team at Simon Fraser University as part of the World Soundscape Project...
. The idea of soundscape refers to both the natural
acousticAcoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of sound, ultrasound and infrasound . A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician. The application of acoustics in technology is called acoustical engineering...
environment, consisting of
natural soundsNatural sounds include animal sounds, possibly also sounds of other natural phenomena. They may have contributed to or participated in the development of prehistoric music, and have important cultural references even nowadays.-Warning sounds:...
, including
animalAnimals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously...
vocalizations and, for instance, the sounds of
weatherWeather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the troposphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods...
and other natural elements; and environmental sounds created by humans, through
musical compositionMusical composition is:* an original piece of music* the structure of a musical piece* the process of creating a new piece of music- Musical compositions :...
,
sound designSound design is a conceptually creative/technical field. It covers all non-compositional elements of a film, a play, a music performance or recording, computer game software or any other multimedia project...
, and other ordinary human activities including conversation, work, and sounds of mechanical origin resulting from use of industrial technology. The disruption of these acoustic environments results in
noise pollutionNoise pollution is displeasing human-, animal- or machine-created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life. The word noise comes from the Latin word nausea meaning seasickness....
.
The term "soundscape" can also refer to an audio recording or
performanceA performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which one group of people behave in a particular way for another group of people . Sometimes the dividing line between performer and the audience may become blurred, as in the example of "participatory theatre" where audience...
of sounds that create the sensation of experiencing a particular acoustic environment, or compositions created using the "found sounds" of an acoustic environment, either exclusively or in conjunction with musical performances.
Elements
Pauline OliverosPauline Oliveros is an accordionist and composer who was a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, composer of post-
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
electronic art music, defined the term "soundscape" as "All of the waveforms faithfully transmitted to our audio cortex by the ear and its mechanisms".
According to author, composer and environmentalist,
R. Murray SchaferRaymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World .-Biography:...
, there are three main elements of the soundscape:
- This is a musical term that identifies the key of a piece, not always audible… the key might stray from the original, but it will return. The keynote sounds may not always be heard consciously, but they “outline the character of the people living there” (Schafer). They are created by nature (geography and climate): wind, water, forests, plains, birds, insects, animals. In many urban areas, traffic has become the keynote sound.
- These are foreground sounds, which are listened to consciously; examples would be warning devices, bells, whistles, horns, sirens, etc.
- This is derived from the term landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories: natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares, and so forth...
. A soundmark is a sound which is unique to an area.
In his 1977 book,
The Tuning of the World, Schafer wrote, “Once a Soundmark has been identified, it deserves to be protected, for soundmarks make the acoustic life of a community unique”.
Soundscapes in music
In music, soundscape compositions are often a form of
electronic musicElectronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, or
electroacoustic musicElectroacoustic music includes several different sonic and musical genres or musical techniques. Electroacoustic music is a diverse field. Important centers of research and composition can be found around the world, and there are numerous conferences and festivals which present electroacoustic...
. Composers who use soundscapes include real-time
granular synthesisGranular synthesis is a basic sound synthesis method that operates on the microsound time scale. It is often based on the same principles as sampling but often includes analog technology. The samples are not used directly however, they are split in small pieces of around 1 to 50 ms in length, or...
pioneer
Barry TruaxBarry Truax is a Canadian composer who specializes in real-time implementations of granular synthesis, often of sampled sounds, and soundscapes...
and
Luc FerrariLuc Ferrari, French composer born on February 5, 1929 in Paris - deceased on August 22, 2005 in Arezzo in Italy.-Biography:Luc Ferrari trained in music since a very young age and continued his composition and piano studies, until a case of tuberculosis in his youth interrupted his career as a...
, whose
Presque rien, numéro 1 (1970) is an early soundscape composition.
Music soundscapes can also be generated by automated software methods, such as the experimental
TAPESTREATAPESTREA is a unified framework and a set of techniques for analyzing, transforming and synthesizing complex environmental sounds...
application, a framework for sound design and soundscape composition, and others.
The soundscape is often the subject of mimicry in Timbre-centered music such as Tuvan
throat singingThroat singing may refer to* Overtone singing, also known as overtone chanting, or harmonic singing** Tuvan throat singing, a form of overtone singing* duet styles:** Inuit throat singing, a kind of duet as an entertaining contest...
. The process of
Timbral ListeningTimbral Listening is the process of actively and correctly listening to the timbre of music, not the musical pitch of harmony-Concept:Timbral Listening is used as an alternative to the standard western way of listening to, and interpreting music. Instead of perceiving pitch and harmony, the ear...
is used to interpret the timbre of the soundscape. This timbre is mimicked and reproduced using the voice or rich harmonic producing instruments.
Soundscapes in health care
Soundscapes from a computerized acoustic device with a camera may also offer synthetic vision to the blind, utilizing
human echolocationHuman echolocation is the ability of humans to sense objects in their environment by hearing echoes from those objects. This ability is used by some blind people to navigate within their environment. They actively create sounds, such as by tapping their canes or by making clicking noises with...
, as is the goal of the seeingwithsound project.
Soundscapes and noise pollution
Papers on noise pollution are increasingly taking a holistic, soundscape approach to noise control. Whereas acoustics tends to rely on lab measurements and individual acoustic characteristics of cars and so on, soundscape takes a top-down approach. Drawing on
John CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, philosopher, poet, music theorist, artist, printmaker, and amateur mycologist and mushroom collector. A pioneer of chance music, electronic music and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war...
's ideas of the whole world as composition, soundscape researchers investigate people's attitudes to soundscapes as a whole rather than individual aspects - and look at how the entire environment can be changed to be more pleasing to the ear.
It has been suggested that people's opportunity to access quiet, natural places in urban areas can be enhanced by improving the ecological quality of urban green spaces through targeted planning and design and that in turn has psychological benefits.
See also
- Biomusic
Biomusic is a form of experimental music which deals with sounds created or performed by living things. The definition is also sometimes extended to included sounds made by humans in a directly biological way...
- Environments (series)
Environments is a series of LPs, cassettes, 8-Track cartridges and CDs created by producer and sound recordist Irving S. Teibel for Syntonic Research Inc. between 1970 and 1979. The series consists of recordings of nature sounds such as a seashore with crashing waves and a thunderstorm with...
- Field recording
Field recording is the term used for any recording produced outside of a recording studio.Field recordings can be either of two varieties. Field recording of natural sounds, also called Phonography , was originally employed as a documentary adjunct to research work in the field and foley work for...
- Noise map
A noise map is a graphic representation of the sound level distribution existing in a given region, for a defined period.- Directive 2002/49/EC :...
- Soundmap
A soundmap is a form of locative media that links a place and its sonic representations. It is an example of the personalized map content described alternately as web mapping and neogeography....
- Space music
Space music, also spelled spacemusic, is an umbrella term, synonymous with a segment of New Age Music and Ambient Music, used to describe music that evokes a feeling of contemplative spaciousness. Space music can be found within a wide range of genres. It is particularly associated with ambient,...
- Audium
Audium is a unique sound art phenomenon that has been presented weekly in San Francisco since 1967. Audium is a creation of composer Stan Shaff that is performed on original equipment designed by Doug McEachern...
- Program music
Program music is a type of art music intended to evoke extra-musical ideas, images in the mind of the listener by musically representing a scene, image or mood . By contrast, absolute music stands for itself and is intended to be appreciated without any particular reference to the outside world...
- Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
- Musique concrète
Musique concrète , is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource...
Further reading
- 1969 The New Soundscape - R. Murray Schafer
Raymond Murray Schafer is a Canadian composer, writer, music educator and environmentalist perhaps best known for his World Soundscape Project, concern for acoustic ecology, and his book The Tuning of the World .-Biography:...
- 1977 The Tuning of the World - R. Murray Schafer (ISBN 0394409663)
- These 2 works were adapted to become part of the 1993 book, The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World - R. Murray Schafer (ISBN 0-89281-455-1)
- 1977 Five village soundscapes (Music of the environment series) - A.R.C. Publications (ISBN 0-88985-005-4)
- 1978 Handbook for Acoustic Ecology - Barry Truax
Barry Truax is a Canadian composer who specializes in real-time implementations of granular synthesis, often of sampled sounds, and soundscapes...
(ISBN 0-88985-011-9)
- 1985 Acoustic Communication : Second Edition - Barry Truax & World Soundscape Project (ISBN 1-56750-537-6
- 1994 Soundscapes: Essays on Vroom and Moo, Eds: Jarviluoma, Helmi - Department of Folk Tradition
- 2002 Wild Soundscapes: Discovering the Voice of the Natural World - Bernard L. Krause (ISBN 0-89997-296-9) - book & CD
- 2004 The Auditory Culture Reader (Sensory Formations) - Michael Bull (ISBN 1-85973-618-1)
- 2006 Qualitative Judgements of Urban Soundscapes: Questionning Questionnaires and Semantic Scales - Raimbault, Manon, Acta Acustica united with Acustica 92(6), 929–937
- 2006 ,“Gebiete, Schichten und Klanglandschaften in den Alpen. Zum Gebrauch einiger historischer Begriffe aus der Musikethnologie”, Marcello Sorce Keller, in T. Nussbaumer (ed.), Volksmusik in den Alpen: Interkulturelle Horizonte und Crossovers, Zalzburg, Verlag Mueller-Speiser, 2006, pp. 9-18.
External links