We hear a lot these days about the environment , everything from “Just Stop Oil” climate activists to climate skeptics, to your run of the mill average human who just wants to do the right thing.
But one thing that you almost never hear mentioned is the acoustic environment. Of course we’re all familiar with the term and the idea of noise pollution, but very few people are actively doing anything about it. It just does not arouse the same passion as the apocalyptic warnings that come from the hard core climate panic folks.
Perhaps that is because the acoustic environment is quite literally background noise.
But if you were able to ask certain species of animals who face considerable obstacles for mating, migration and general well being as a direct result of man made noise, they might sing a different tune.
It is telling that the Wikipedia page for Acoustic Ecology is only slightly longer and more in depth than the page for Carrot Top. If one wanted to learn anything about the topic, one would have to do a lot of searching for books and videos, I know, I’ve tried, it is a fairly limited niche.
For some reason people just do not seem to care all that much about acoustics or the sonic environment in general. Perhaps because it is invisible - out of sight, out of mind I guess. But in our day to day lives we all have regular interactions with sound that are annoying and stressful.
For example; think about when you eat lunch in a noisy restaurant (this has been a pet peeve of mine for ages), it is like they actually ‘want’ the restaurant to be loud when they design it - no thought at all is put into the acoustics. And no, it is not noisy because of the people, it is a design flaw, well designed restaurants do not have a high level of ambient noise even when they are busy.
Sorry, went off on a tangent there.
My point is, sound is important, really important. Ever go to a concert in an old arena that was built like a barn? Yeah, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Have you ever been enjoying a relaxing summer afternoon in your backyard and the guy two doors down decides today is the day to run a chainsaw and wood chipper all afternoon? Have you ever been trying to sleep at 3 a.m. and a dude pulls up to the house across the street with his subwoofer just thumping and he spends ten minutes with the car idling and the tunes blaring before he goes in?
Now let’s consider some examples from the aesthetically pleasing end of the sound spectrum; like the sound of waves rolling onto the beach on a clear summer night, the sound of a cat purring, the sound of light birdsong in the morning or a gentle breeze rustling through the leaves.
Sound is all around us, it is so all pervasive that we often lose awareness of it, like fish in the ocean forgetting about the water. But I guarantee you’d notice if it were suddenly gone.
Every time you hear a friend’s laughter, a baby cry, a classic record on vinyl, a helicopter flying overhead, traffic in the distance, crickets at night, a dog barking at a stranger - you are immersed in a world of sound. Some people do not have that privilege, think about that and be grateful if you do.
I am not writing this to get preachy or virtue signal about “the evils of noise pollution”,
I am merely reminding anyone who is taking the time to read this that sound is important and it is a very neglected aspect of our environment. I am writing in hopes that maybe you’ll be nudged into a little more awareness of sound, even if only for a few moments.
Just take a minute or two right now, stop reading, sit back, close your eyes and try to identify as many sounds as possible in your immediate ambient environment. . .
How was that? Did you do it? Or did you keep reading on to finish the article thinking, “I’ll do it later when I have more time”. . .no you won’t. . .you’ll forget. . .but that’s okay, I understand, I do things like that too when I’m in “busy mode”.
Maybe just make a quick note to yourself that tonight on your evening walk, or when you’re relaxing in the living room, or maybe during your meditation, take a few moments and go deep into sound, really focus on what you’re hearing all around you, you may be genuinely surprised by just how many sounds are in your house alone.
When I first started this article I was considering writing a few paragraphs about the definition and history of Acoustic Ecology, but I decided it might be best to simply introduce the idea to you and share a variety of links that can get you started on your journey if you’re at all interested.
There are many interesting people doing fascinating work in the field, but I feel it is only right to start you off with a link to R Murray Schafer, a pioneer in the world of Acoustic Ecology and founder of The World Soundscape Project:
Here is a short video with Thomas Heatherwick about architectural acoustics:
This is a video from Garth Paine, founder of the Acoustic Ecology Lab at Arizona State:
and finally, Cedric Engels gives a really wonderful TED Talk about Sound Ecology
I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction and if you’d like me to write more on the subject let me know in the comments. I love everything about sound, both natural and man made, I could wax philosophical about it endlessly.