Acoustic ecology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Acoustic ecology, Sometimes called soundscape ecology, is the relationship, mediated through sound, between living beings and their environment. Acoustic ecology studies started in the late 60's with R. Murray Schafer and his team at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) as part of the World Soundscape Project. The first study produced by the WSP was titled The Vancouver Soundscape. The interest in this area grew enormously after this pioneer and innovative study and the area of acoustic ecology raised the interest of researchers and artists all over the world. In 1993 the members of the by now large and active international acoustic ecology community formed the World Forum of Acoustic Ecology [1].

Every three years since the WFAE's founding at Banff in 1996, an international symposium has taken place. In November 2006, it will occur in Japan. See the conference website [2] for more info.

From its roots in the sonic sociology and radio art of Schafer and his colleagues, acoustic ecology has found expression in many different fields. While most have taken some inspiration from Shafer's writings, in recent years there have also been healthy divergences from the initial ideas. Among the expanded expressions of acoustic ecology are increasing attention to the sonic impacts of road and airport construction, widespread networks of "phonographers" exploring the world through sound [3], the broadening of bioacoustics (the use of sound by animals) to consider the subjective and objective responses of animals to human noise, including increasing use of the idea of "acoustic ecology" in the literature, and a popular in the effects of human noise on animals, with ocean noise capturing the most attention.

1 Definition
2 List of works
- 2.1 "Dominion" by Barry Truax
- 2.2 "Soundmarks of Canada" by Peter Huse
3 External links

[edit] Definition

Acoustic ecology is a discipline that analyzes how we interpret, and are affected by, natural and artificial sounds around us.

[edit] List of works

[edit] "Dominion" by Barry Truax

“Dominion” takes listeners on an acoustic journey across Canada. The song begins with the firing of the noon gun in St. John's harbour in Newfoundland and continues westward, recording sounds such as the Peace Tower bell in Ottawa and the O Canada Horn in Vancouver, along the way. A 12-piece orchestra, representing the 10 provinces and then two territories, carries listeners through the song, along with the whistle of a Canadian Pacific Railway train, representing the railroad that first connected Canada over a century ago. Source: "Science of Sound", Canadian Geographic Online