Your day begins with the buzz of an alarm. What follows may be the sound of the shower running, or coffee brewing, or children buzzing around the house. You get into your car or begin your commute, and choose between the radio, music, a podcast, an audio book, or perhaps simple silence. It blends in with the surrounding traffic, or birds singing, or passing emergency vehicles. Before you’ve reached what many of us classify as the beginning of our day, an entire soundtrack has been created for each of us and it never stops playing.
Today as we practice social distancing and isolation, the familiar soundscapes of our daily lives are no longer there. When we reemerge from this time and our routines slowly come back to life, we may see things differently, reevaluate the importance of certain aspects, or find renewed joy in others. Our familiar personal soundscapes may feel jarring at first, they may even sound completely different.
The concept of soundscapes was popularized by Raymond Murray Schafer, a Canadian composer and environmentalist. He founded the World Soundscape Project (WSP) at Simon Fraser University in the 1960s, which launched the modern study of acoustic ecology. Studying the relationship between humans and their environment through sound can take on many forms, whether in music, noise pollution, environmental efforts, or healthcare. The sounds we hear can make us sick, save our lives, protect our species, and bring enormous joy.
The Environment
Schafer’s WSP also introduced soundwalks, a trend with growing popularity today. A collective outdoor listening experience, participants of a soundwalk focus on the sounds of the sonic environment, or are guided on a more synthesized tour created by an artist.
Anja Kanngieser, a political geographer and sound artist, explores how sound can reveal relationships between humans, environments and systems of governance. One of her most recent works focuses on the effects of climate change, like rising sea levels, in the Pacific islands. By recording and listening to the sounds of the islands, economic and environmental storylines begin to take form. The health of an island can be heard and measured through these recordings, whether or not any discernible change is visible to the human eye or ear.
Use this time to do a soundwalk of your neighborhood and focus on what you hear and the absence of what you’d normally be hearing. Cities and neighborhoods have their own heartbeat, and the tempo has certainly shifted.
Noise Pollution
Not all noise around us is good noise. The sounds our cities, industries, and even our appliances create can actually be harmful to our health. Noise, or sound, pollution can stem from everything from a blender or vacuum cleaner to construction sites and manufacturing plants. It also includes airports and the planes flying above us, or trains, and other forms of public transportation.
New research has shown that these loud sounds can have negative impacts on human health and our ecosystems. Those living or working in noisy environments are more susceptible to heart disease, hypertension, hearing loss, stress and sleep problems, to name a few. But much of that noise is gone for the moment, so try to see this time as a type of sound pollution detox.
Sounds in Hospitals
Many of us are worried about visiting a hospital right now, whether through our own admission or to visit a loved one. In the best of times, hospitals are one of the most unpleasant places to be for many people. The sights and sounds of a hospital can be dizzying, an array of beeps and alerts, and the muffled sounds of staff and patients and families speaking over each other. While some of the sounds are of no meaning to patients and their families, they speak directly to medical staff, alerting them of different things.
Man Made Music, a sonic branding and design company, is exploring how to enhance hospital experiences through more strategic uses of sound, including the “sonification of data” for doctors and nurses, and creating more ideal soundscapes for patients. Some sounds are more than noise, they are an extension of language and can represent a new form of communication.
Our homes have filled with new sounds. Voices of an entire family under one roof at all times, video conferencing and group chats to stay connected, while TV shows and movies stream in the background, all competing for the same space. Where there is no noise, the silence may be welcomed or feel deafening. Whatever your situation is, take a moment to pause and just listen. Listen to the sounds in your home, listen to the sounds outside. Reflect on the sounds that help you and those that hurt you. We will never experience these exact soundscapes again. When this is all over, make note of the differences and the effects they have on you and your surroundings. If we use this time to listen even slightly differently, our personal soundtracks may just play a little louder and a little brighter soon enough.
Photo by Radek Kilijanek on Unsplash
