There
are many different definitions of the word soundscape used by different
professionals, but they all have a generally recurring theme:
While it may seem tedious to list all of these definitions, it is unfortunately necessary because each definition holds a truth to it that is not expressed in other definitions. If these definitions could be combined into one universal definition, perhaps it would describe a soundscape as a collection of all different types of sounds in a landscape, varying over time and space, influenced by human activity and other organisms and ecosystem processes, perceived or understood by various sensory organisms, relating them to a place or otherwise impacting their daily lives.
Works Cited
Krause, B. (2013, Jul). The voice of the natural world. Transcript of speech presented at TED.
Pijanowski, B.C., Farina, A., Gage, S.H., Dumyahn, S.L., and Krause, B.L. (2011). What is soundscape ecology? An introduction and overview of an emerging new science. Landscape Ecol, 26, 1213-1232.
Truax, B., and Barrett, G.W. (2011). Soundscape in a context of acoustic and landscape ecology. Landscape Ecol., 26, 1201-1209.
- The term was
coined by an urban planner in 1969 as “acoustic properties of cities that help
people relate to place” (Pijanowski et al., 2011).
- R. Murray Schafer, a
pioneering figure in the study of soundscapes, referred to them as the “auditory
properties of a landscape” (Pijanowski et al., 2011).
- Bernie Krause describes a soundscape as “all of the given sounds present in the
environment at any given time” (Krause, 2013).
- Pijanowski et al. expanded this
definition to “a collection of biological, geophysical, and anthropogenic
sounds that emanate from a landscape and which vary over time and space
reflecting important ecosystem processes and human activities.”
- Barry Truax
describes a soundscape as “an environment of sound with emphasis on the way it
is perceived or understood by the individual, or society” (Truax and Barrett,
2011), while Farina broadened the “perception” part to include organisms in
general (Pijanowski et al., 2011).
While it may seem tedious to list all of these definitions, it is unfortunately necessary because each definition holds a truth to it that is not expressed in other definitions. If these definitions could be combined into one universal definition, perhaps it would describe a soundscape as a collection of all different types of sounds in a landscape, varying over time and space, influenced by human activity and other organisms and ecosystem processes, perceived or understood by various sensory organisms, relating them to a place or otherwise impacting their daily lives.
Works Cited
Krause, B. (2013, Jul). The voice of the natural world. Transcript of speech presented at TED.
Pijanowski, B.C., Farina, A., Gage, S.H., Dumyahn, S.L., and Krause, B.L. (2011). What is soundscape ecology? An introduction and overview of an emerging new science. Landscape Ecol, 26, 1213-1232.
Truax, B., and Barrett, G.W. (2011). Soundscape in a context of acoustic and landscape ecology. Landscape Ecol., 26, 1201-1209.