Acoustic Ecology
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This work has been heavily influenced by Acoustic Ecology – the study of effects of the acoustic environment/ sound scape on the physical responses and behavioural characteristics of creatures within it. With particular attention to imbalances in the soundscape.
There are a number of forums and groups and sound artist who look into acoustic ecology-
A key idea I am interested in is how sound can capture an environment and translate it into art. Every place has a soundscape, each individual to its time and location. Soundscapes are the physical spaces in which sounds are made or the abstract spaces where environments are created. Soundscapes are often constructed of both environmental and natural sounds. Environmental sounds are sounds made by humans such as voice, machinery, domestic sounds and music. Natural sounds are things such as animals and the natural elements; wind, water, earth. The soundscape of the Dighty is composed of both elements. Murray R Schafer a Canadian composer and acoustic ecologist refer to the world as a "macrocosmic musical composition". Playing with the idea of the world as a natural organic composition I have arranged the sounds of the Dighty burn into composition that follows its journey and separates it into 5 stages of different sounds. This idea links with the representation of the landscape and soundscape in classical music. Example – the representation of the environment in Baroque and Romantic music demonstrate in works such as Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. The recording of the Dighty burn looks at the landscape being represented through pure sound in order to increase sonic awareness within the environment.
