Soundscape
Encyclopedia
A soundscape is a sound
or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive
environment
. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology
. The idea of soundscape refers to both the natural acoustic
environment, consisting of natural sounds
, including animal
vocalizations and, for instance, the sounds of weather
and other natural elements; and environmental sounds created by humans, through musical composition
, sound design
, 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 pollution
.
The term "soundscape" can also refer to an audio recording or performance
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.
. According to this author there are three main elements of the soundscape:
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”.
Pauline Oliveros
, composer of post-World War II
electronic art music, defined the term "soundscape" as "All of the waveforms faithfully transmitted to our audio cortex by the ear and its mechanisms".
, or electroacoustic music
. Composers who use soundscapes include real-time granular synthesis
pioneer Barry Truax
and Luc Ferrari
, 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 TAPESTREA 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 singing. The process of Timbral Listening
is used to interpret the timbre of the soundscape. This timbre is mimicked and reproduced using the voice or rich harmonic producing instruments.
, as is the goal of the seeingwithsound project.
'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.
Sound
Sound is a mechanical wave that 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.-Propagation of...
or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive
Immersion
Immersion may refer to:* Immersion therapy overcoming fears through confrontation* Baptism by immersion* Immersion Games a developer of video games...
environment
Built environment
The term built environment refers to the human-made surroundings that provide the setting for human activity, ranging in scale from personal shelter and buildings to neighborhoods and cities that can often include their supporting infrastructure, such as water supply or energy networks.The built...
. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology
Acoustic ecology
Acoustic ecology, sometimes called ecoacoustics or soundscape studies, 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...
. The idea of soundscape refers to both the natural acoustic
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
environment, consisting of natural sounds
Natural sounds
Natural sounds include animal sounds, from the chirruping of crickets to the vocalisations of mammals. They also include the sounds of other natural phenomena, such as water sounds; for example, the sound of rain falling on the ground or on water, the sound of a waterfall, a rushing river, waves...
, including animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of 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 and...
vocalizations and, for instance, the sounds of weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
and other natural elements; and environmental sounds created by humans, through musical composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, sound design
Sound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
, 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 pollution
Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
.
The term "soundscape" can also refer to an audio recording or performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards 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
The term soundscape was coined by Canadian composer and environmentalist, R. Murray SchaferR. 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...
. According to this author there are three main elements of the soundscape:
- Keynote sounds
- 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.
- Sound signals
- These are foreground sounds, which are listened to consciously; examples would be warning devices, bells, whistles, horns, sirens, etc.
- Soundmark
- This is derived from the term landmarkLandmarkThis 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”.
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros is an American accordionist and composer who is a central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music....
, composer of post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming 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".
Soundscapes in music
In music, soundscape compositions are often a form of electronic musicElectronic music
Electronic 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 music
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
. Composers who use soundscapes include real-time granular synthesis
Granular synthesis
Granular synthesis is a basic sound synthesis method that operates on the microsound time scale.It is based on the same principle as sampling. However, the samples are not played back conventionally, but are instead split into small pieces of around 1 to 50ms. These small pieces are called grains...
pioneer Barry Truax
Barry Truax
Barry Truax is a Canadian composer who specializes in real-time implementations of granular synthesis, often of sampled sounds, and soundscapes...
and Luc Ferrari
Luc Ferrari
Luc Ferrari was of an Italian heritage but French born composer, particularly noted for his tape music.-Biography:...
, 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 TAPESTREA 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 singing. The process of Timbral Listening
Timbral Listening
Timbral listening is the process of actively listening to the timbral characteristics of sound.-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 focuses on texture and colour of...
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
Human echolocation is the ability of humans to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from those objects. By actively creating sounds – for example, by tapping their canes, lightly stomping their foot or making clicking noises with their mouths – people trained to orientate 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 Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
'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
- Ambient musicAmbient musicAmbient 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 :...
- BiomusicBiomusicBiomusic is a form of experimental music which deals with sounds created or performed by non-humans. The definition is also sometimes extended to included sounds made by humans in a directly biological way...
- BiophonyBiophonyBiophony is the collective sound vocal non-human animals create in each given environment. The term, which refers to one of three components of the soundscape , was coined by Dr. Bernie Krause...
- Environments (series)Environments (series)Environments is a series of LPs, cassettes, 8-Track cartridges and CDs created by producer and sound recordist Irving Solomon Teibel for Syntonic Research Inc. between 1970 and 1979. The series consists of recordings of natural sounds such as a seashore with crashing waves or a thunderstorm with...
- Field recordingField recordingField recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside of a recording studio. The recording is typically recorded in the same channel format as the desired result, for instance, stereo recording equipment will yield a stereo product...
- Musique concrèteMusique concrèteMusique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
- Noise mapNoise mapA noise map is a graphic representation of the sound level distribution existing in a given region, for a defined period.- Directive 2002/49/EC :...
- Program musicProgram musicProgram music or programme music is a type of art music that attempts to musically render an extra-musical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience in the form of program notes, inviting imaginative correlations with the music...
- Sound artSound artSound art is a diverse group of art practices that considers wide notions of sound, listening and hearing as its predominant focus. There are often distinct relationships forged between the visual and aural domains of art and perception by sound artists....
- Sound installationSound installationSound installation is an intermedia and time based art form. It is an expansion of an art installation in the sense that it includes the sound element and therefore the time element...
- Sound sculptureSound sculptureSound sculpture is an intermedia and time based art form in which sculpture or any kind of art object produces sound, or the reverse...
- SoundmapSoundmapA 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 musicSpace musicSpace music, also called 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, New...
Further reading
- 1969 The New Soundscape - R. Murray SchaferR. 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...
- 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 TruaxBarry TruaxBarry 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 ProjectWorld Soundscape ProjectThe World Soundscape Project or WSP is an international research project founded by Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer in the late 1960s at Simon Fraser University. The project initiated the modern study of Acoustic Ecology...
(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
- 2003 Site Soundscapes: Landscape architecture in the light of sound - Sonotope Design Strategies, Per Hedfors (Diss.: ISSN 1401-6249 ISBN 91-576-6425-0 http://diss-epsilon.slu.se:8080/archive/00000325 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Diss. summary: ISBN 978-3-639-09413-8
- 2004 The Auditory Culture Reader (Sensory Formations) - Michael Bull (ISBN 1-85973-618-1)
- 2005 "Acoustic Ecology Considered as a Connotation: Semiotic, Post-Colonial and Educational Views of Soundscape" in Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology Vol.6 No.2 - Tadahiko Imada 13-17 (ISSN 1607-3304)
- 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.
- 2006 The West Meets the East in Acoustic Ecology (Tadahiko Imada Kozo Hiramatsu et al Eds), Japanese Association for Sound Ecology & Hirosaki UniversityHirosaki Universityis a University in Hirosaki city in Aomori, Japan.- Faculties :* Faculty of Humanities* Faculty of Education* School of Medicine* Faculty of Science and Technology* Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science-History:...
International Music Centre ISBN 4-9903332-1-7 - 2008 "Soundscape, postcolonial and music education: Experiencing the earliest grain of the body and music" - Tadahiko Imada in Music Education Policy and Implementation: International Perspectives (Chi Cheung Leung, Lai Chi Rita Yip and Tadahiko Imada Eds, Hirosaki UniversityHirosaki Universityis a University in Hirosaki city in Aomori, Japan.- Faculties :* Faculty of Humanities* Faculty of Education* School of Medicine* Faculty of Science and Technology* Faculty of Agriculture and Life Science-History:...
PressPublishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
) ISBN 978-4-902774-39-9 - 2009 A Little Sound Education - R. Murray Schafer & Tadahiko Imada (Shunjusha, Tokyo) ISBN 978-4-393-93539-2