I. The Soundscape
1. Natural and Rural
Soundscapes
R. Murray
Schafer
•
Born in Sarnia,
Ontario, Canada in
1933.
•
Trained as a
composer in
England and
Canada, has
composed over 50
orchestral,
chamber, choral
and solo vocal
works.
Also known for his environmental compositions, including Sun Father
Sky Mother (1985) for solo voice in a mountain setting, near water
and forest; and Harbour Symphony (1983) played with fog horns.
•
•
He has published 27 written works, including The Tuning of the World
(The Soundscape) in 1977, revised in 1994.
Schafer:
•
First recipient of the Jules Leger Prize in 1978, first
Glenn Gould Prize in 1987. In 2005, he was awarded
the Walter Carsen Prize by the Canadian Council for
the Arts – one of the top honors for lifetime
achievement by a Canadian artist.
•
Coined the term “soundscape”
•
Started the World Soundscape Project, (WSP) an
educational and research group at Simon Fraser
University, during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
•
NFB film segment with Schafer; Snowforms (1981)
The World Soundscape Project group at Simon Fraser University in 1973;
left to right: R. M. Schafer, Bruce Davis, Peter Huse, Barry Truax, Howard
Broomfield. Vancouver soundscape trailer
Soundscape, the book:
• The world soundscape is changing – reach
an apex of vulgarity (p.3)
• Noise pollution – problem – deafness – need
to be brought under control
• Soundscape studies: middle ground
between science, society and the arts
• What is the relationship between man and
the sounds of his environment and what
happens when those sounds change?
Soundscape, the book:
• Positive and negative approaches; noise
abatement vs. ear cleaning
• Acoustic design
• The world as composition; music as sound
• Terminology: keynote, signal, soundmark
• Structure of the book: 4 parts and coda
Soundwalk: Bernard Field
Station (Natural Soundscape)
“Perception of scenery is only open to those who
have no real part to play in the landscape.” (David
Lowenthal)
“If I can hear my footsteps as I walk, I know I am in
an ecological environment.” (One of Schafer’s
students)
Part I: Natural and Rural Soundscapes
• Natural sounds are unique
• Onomatopoeia
• Hi-fi and lo-fi soundscapes
• Sacred Noise Theory
• Church bell and mechanical clock
How does Schafer compare the preindustrial human soundscape to the
“natural” soundscape?
How does he characterize the preindustrial human soundscape?
Part II: Industrial and Electronic
Soundscapes
• Lo-Fi soundscape: noise and power
• Sound imperialism
• The flat line in sound
• Muscle sounds
• Schizophonia
• Sound walls
• Sound technology used as social
engineering and control
How does Schafer characterize the
post-industrial soundscape?
What does he propose we do about
it?
Part III: Analysis
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•
•
•
•
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Notation
Classification
Perception
Morphology
Symbolism
Noise
Sonic Experience:
A Guide to Everyday Sounds
•
Jean-François Augoyard: philosopher, urban planner, and
musicologist; founder of CRESSON-CNRS (The Center for
Research on Sonic Space and the Urban EnvironmentNational Scientific Research Center) at the National School
of Architecture of Grenoble
•
Henry Torgue is a sociology, urban planner, and composer;
he is a researcher at CRESSON
•
The book defines 66 of “sonic effects,” designed to analyze
the experience of everyday sounds in the context of
architecture and urban spaces, with 16 major effects
accompanied by essays linking them to psychology,
physiology, sociology, architecture, urban studies,
communication, cultural studies, music, and aesthetics
What is in sonic instrumentarium of urban
environment?
• Urban sound environment: an object of
description / an object of transformation
• Qualitative and quantitative tools
• The sound object (l’objet sonore)
• The soundscape
What is in sonic instrumentarium of urban
environment?
• Urban sound environment: an object of
description / an object of transformation
• Qualitative and quantitative tools
• The sound object (l’objet sonore)
• The soundscape
The Sonic Effect:
•
“Effect” from physics, multi-media art, and in the
electronic and numerical instrument industry;
philosophy (the Platonic theory of the simulacrum)
•
Uses
•
Major and minor effects
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Fields and domains
•
categories
Part IV: Towards Acoustic Design
• Acoustic Ecology - the study of sounds in
relationship to life and society
• Acoustic Design - "to regard the
soundscape of the world as a huge
musical composition, unfolding around us
ceaselessly. We are simultaneously its
audience, its performers and its
composers. Which sounds do we want to
preserve, encourage, multiply?" (p. 205)
• Ear cleaning
• Keeping a soundscape diary
• Soundwalks
• Building an acoustic community
• The acoustic designer
“If the acoustic designer favors the
ear, it is only as an antidote to the
visual stress of modern times and in
anticipation of the ultimate
reintegration of all the senses.”
(p. 237)
• Preservation of soundmarks
• Repairing the soundscape
• Utopian soundscapes and acoustic parks
• The recovery of positive silence
“The essence of sound is felt in both
motion and silence, it passes from existent
to nonexistent. When there is no sound, it
is said that there is no hearing, but that
does not mean that hearing has lost its
preparedness. Indeed, when there is no
sound, hearing is most alert, and when
there is sound the hearing nature is least
developed.”
(Kirpal Singh, quoted on p. 237)