There’s a statement…and here is another:

Everything is compensating for the loudness by becoming LOUDER.

This is something that I have been becoming more and more aware of. Warning: I will be making general statements about the ‘sound environment,’ but will become more specific and will comment on modern acoustic instruments and their construction.

We have all heard the term ‘noise pollution.’ I believe that this term was coined in the 70′s when the idea of noise changed from being considered a nuisance to become viewed as an environmental problem. Of course, while many events such as low-passing aircraft are considered noise pollution by pretty much everyone, other environmental noise issues are more subjective to the point of being accepted as part of modern urban life. Those of us who have lived most, if not all, of our lives in urban environments supposedly (and maybe with some truth) have adapted to the point of disregarding–or even being consciously unaware of–the amount of the noise in our neighborhoods and general environment.

So…instead of using the term ‘noise pollution,’ I am going to take it from a different angle. I am going to use the term ‘soundscape.’ On Wikipedia (not my favorite nor most reliable source, but a good one in this case) soundscape is identified as: a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment. The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology. The idea of soundscape refers to both the natural acoustic environment, consisting of natural sounds, including animal vocalizations and, for instance, the sounds of weather and other natural elements; and environmental sounds created by humans, through musical composition, sound design, and other ordinary human activities including conversation, work, and sounds of mechanical origin resulting from use of industrial technology. The disruption of these acoustic environments results in noise pollution.

This is pretty good.

The obvious question is: what is our given soundscape?And how is it effecting how we perceive sound and how we react and communicate within our given environment(s)?

Well, I live in NYC. NYC is LOUD. I am becoming more amazed not only with the tremendous amount of powerful noise producers that brashly enter my environment–such as low-flying airplanes, subway/trains, car horns, etc–but especially with the amount of ‘carpet noise’ (my term) in my environment. There are layers of noise constantly sounding around me. these can be fans/air-conditioners, basic automobile operating noise, and various other electronic or mechanical systems. When the more obtrusive noises enter the environment, the ‘carpet noises’ fade more into the background (like at the moment I just wrote this sentence, a city bus screeched at a close intersection), but they are still there, like waves on the ocean: a big wave may crest and fall, but the general current continues.

I really noticed this while recently in rural Portugal for five weeks. At night, in my room, I…heard…nothing…it was like there was this empty space surrounding me. The smallest sound that would go absolutely unnoticed in an urban setting became the aggressive invader into my environment, disrupting my soundscape…

…it was disturbing…

So, intrepid reader, you may ask why I am musing about the sound environment of NYC and of rural Portugal and other locations; we all know that cities are loud and that the country is quiet–been like this for decades, even centuries, right?

Well, kind of…

What I am getting at (eventually; you’ll have to wait for Part II, I’m afraid) is how the modern urban (sound) landscape has been one of the major factors influencing the development and construction of modern acoustic instruments. There are other factors, too, that are more ‘social’ and ‘societal’ in nature (I’ll hit them all, don’t worry–I find some of these societal issues rather disturbing, and the overall effect has been a complete collapse of skill in crucial areas of sound production–boy, THAT’S a statement right there!) but the most startling is the general noise environment.

It will be a ride; I’ll write Part II in a day or two.

Thanks and Best!

Demetrius