Acoustic Ecology Flashcards
Soundscape
a landscape of sound; describing events heard, not objects seen
Acoustic environment
the totality of acoustic forces within a given physical space
The acoustic environment is all the sounds in a space — like voices, music, traffic, echoes, or background noise — and how they interact in that space
Signal
foreground sounds that are listened to consciously (e.g., car horns on a city street)
Keynote sound
background sounds that do not have to be listened to consciously; they are overheard but cannot be overlooked (e.g., groups of people talking amongst themselves at a cafe)
Soundmark
important community sounds possessing qualities which make them specially regarded or noticed by people in the community (e.g., an ice cream truck in a neighbourhood with many young children, or the streetcars in the city of Toronto)
A landmark of sound
Archetypal sound
mysterious, ancient sounds which we have inherited from remote antiquity or prehistory
Acoustic ecology
the study of sounds in relationship to life and society; consideration of the effects of the acoustic environment on the creatures living in it
Acoustic design; module of acoustic design
an imagined discipline in which musicians, acousticians, psychologists, sociologists, and others would study the world soundscape together in order to make intelligent recommendations for its improvement
o Planning future sound environments for people to inhabit
o Acoustic design is not only for acoustic engineers, but for everyone; it should never become “design control from above”
Earlid
eyelids for ears
Earwitness
a firsthand account of a sound (related to the term eyewitness)
Clairaudience
the ability to perceive sounds which are inaudible
Noise pollution
the result of people not listening carefully
Typically thought of as unwanted sound; a topic of public concern
Soundwalk
an exploration of the soundscape of a given area using a ‘score’ as a guide
The ‘score’ in this case can consist of a map, listening exercises, directions, symbols, etc.
Graphic score
Musical scores using visual materials other than conventional music notation (inc. images and text descriptions)
Site-specific work
Musical works intended for performance at a specific location (often outdoors, but can also be indoors)
