Perception of soundscapes : an interdisciplinary approach

This paper takes an overall view of findings from the Positive Soundscape Project, a large inter-disciplinary soundscapes study. Qualitative fieldwork (soundwalks and focus groups) have found that soundscape perception is influenced by cognitive effects such as the meaning of a soundscape and its components, and how information is conveyed by a soundscape, for example on the behaviour of people within the soundscape. Three significant clusters were found in the language people use to describe soundscapes: sound sources, sound descriptors and soundscape descriptors. Results from listening tests and soundwalks have been integrated to show that the two principal dimensions of soundscape emotional response seem to be calmness and vibrancy. Further, vibrancy seems to have two aspects: organisation of sounds and changes over time. The possible application of the results to soundscape assessment and design are briefly discussed

Using body language indicators for assessing the effects of soundscape quality on individuals

“Sounding Brighton” is a collaborative project exploring practical approaches towards better soundscapes focusing on soundscape issues related to health, quality of life and restorative functions of the environment. The project is part of a citywide engagement process working to provide opportunities to demonstrate how an applied soundscape approach might: tackle conventional noise problems, contribute to local planning and improve the environment in areas including urban green spaces, the built environment and traffic noise. So far, a soundscape map of the city has been developed, and a public outreach exhibition and conferences have taken place. One preliminary, experimental soundscape intervention in night noise has been analysed. This paper reports on further work to develop a better understanding of the effects of soundscapes on individual and community responses to soundscape through the use of body language indicators. Two-minute excerpts of aversive and preferred music were presented to 11 healthy volunteers in a motion-capture laboratory setting. Their responses were quantified computationally using motion-capture-derived parameters for position, absolute movement speed, and stillness. The prevalence of stillness of the head height (based on a 2 cm cut-off during 2-second sectors) was significantly lower when volunteers were exposed to unpleasant music compared to preferred music. This experiment provides proof in principle that changes in soundscape can be associated with subsequent, objective and statistically significant changes in body language that can be detected computationally

Sonic autoethnographies: personal listening as compositional context

This article discusses a range of self-reflexive tendencies in field recording, soundscape composition and studio production, and explores examples of sonic practices and works in which the personal listening experiences of the composer are a key contextual and compositional element. As broad areas for discussion, particular attention is given to soundscape composition as self-narrative (exploring the representation of the recordist in soundscape works) and to producing the hyperreal and the liminal (considering spatial characteristics of contemporary auditory experience and their consequences for sonic practice). The discussion then focuses on the specific application of autoethnographic research methods to the practice and the understanding of soundscape composition. Compositional strategies employed in two recent pieces by the author are considered in detail. The aim of this discussion is to link autoethnography to specific ideas about sound and listening, and to some tendencies in field recording, soundscape composition and studio production, while also providing context for the discussion of the author’s own practice and works. In drawing together this range of ideas, methods and work, sonic autoethnography is aligned with an emerging discourse around reflexive, embodied sound work

Exploring a cardio-thoracic hospital ward soundscape in relation to restoration

Hospitals can provide stressful experiences for both patients and medical staff. A well-designed hospital soundscape should avoid adding to negative emotional states (e.g. stress), limit any detrimental cognitive effects (e.g. attentional fatigue), and enable restoration. Experiences of the cardio-thoracic ward soundscape, in a UK public University hospital, were explored via semi-structured interviews with 11 patients and 16 nurses. Thematic coding analysis resulted in 11 key themes including notions of restoration and emotional responses. The themes were used to develop a conceptual model to describe the processes involved in the perception and evaluation of the soundscape. The language used by patients and nurses indicated the emotional response to the soundscape was at times stressful and at others potentially restorative. Coping methods of accepting and habituating to individual sounds were noted. The impact of the patients' and nurses' ability to maintain these coping strategies are discussed in relation to restoration and the temporal variation of the soundscape. A period of 'quiet time' was in operation at the hospital and the importance of this was noted through various responses relating to emotion and restoration. The results suggest the soundscape has potentially, a beneficial role in facilitating restoration thus helping patients' recovery and medical staff's ability to remain productive. This research supports the need to study hospital soundscapes further so that design implications can be considered for the production of a more restorative environment, possibly through the masking/removal of unwanted sounds and optimising positive sounds

An artificial life approach to studying niche differentiation in soundscape ecology

Artificial life simulations are an important tool in the study of ecological phenomena that can be difficult to examine directly in natural environments. Recent work has established the soundscape as an ecologically important resource and it has been proposed that the differentiation of animal vocalizations within a soundscape is driven by the imperative of intraspecies communication. The experiments in this paper test that hypothesis in a simulated soundscape in order to verify the feasibility of intraspecies communication as a driver of acoustic niche differentiation. The impact of intraspecies communication is found to be a significant factor in the division of a soundscape's frequency spectrum when compared to simulations where the need to identify signals from conspecifics does not drive the evolution of signalling. The method of simulating the effects of interspecies interactions on the soundscape is positioned as a tool for developing artificial life agents that can inhabit and interact with physical ecosystems and soundscapes.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, The 2019 Conference on Artificial Lif

Development of a soundscape simulator tool

This paper discusses the development of an interactive soundscape simulator, enabling users to manipulate a series of parameters to investigate if there is group correlation between factors such as source selection, positioning and level. The basis of the simulator stems from fieldwork and recordings carried out in London and Manchester. Through the use of an enhanced version of soundwalking, respondents are led on a walk around an urban space focusing on the soundscape, whilst answering questions in a semi-structured interview. The data collected is then used to inform the ecological validity of the simulator. The laboratory based tests use simulations based on spaces recorded in a series of urban locations, as well as an ‘idealised’ soundscape simulation, featuring data from all recorded locations. The sound sources used are based on user highlighted selections from all locations, based on preferences extracted from soundwalk field data. Preliminary results show the simulator is effective in obtaining numerical data based on subjective choices as well as, effective qualitative data which provides an insight into the reasoning behind the respondents choices. This work forms part of the Positive Soundscape Project

Monitoring sound levels and soundscape quality in the living rooms of nursing homes : a case study in Flanders (Belgium)

Recently there has been an increasing interest in the acoustic environment and its perceptual counterpart (i.e., the soundscape) of care facilities and their potential to affect the experience of residents with dementia. There is evidence that too loud sounds or poor soundscape quality more generally can affect negatively the quality of life of people with dementia and increase agitation. The AcustiCare project aims to use the soundscape approach to enhance the Quality of Life (QoL) of residents and to reduce Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD), as well as improving the everyday experience of nursing homes for both residents and staff members. In order to gain further insights into the sound environments of such facilities, sound level monitoring and soundscape data collection campaigns were conducted in the living rooms of five nursing homes in Flanders. Results showed that sound levels (dB) and loudness levels (sone) did not vary significantly between days of the week, but they did so between moments of the day and between living rooms. From the perceptual point of view, several soundscape attributes and the perceived prominence of different sound source types varied significantly between the living rooms investigated, and a positive correlation was found between sound levels and the number of persons present in the living rooms. These findings claim for further attention on the potential role of the sound domain in nursing homes, which should promote (and not only permit) better living and working conditions for residents and staff members of nursing homes

The positive soundscape project : a synthesis of results from many disciplines

This paper takes an overall view of ongoing findings from the Positive Soundscape Project, a large inter-disciplinary soundscapes study which is nearing completion. Qualitative fieldwork (soundwalks and focus groups) and lab-based listening tests have revealed that two key dimensions of the emotional response are calmness and vibrancy. In the lab these factors explain nearly 80% of the variance in listener response. Physiological validation is being sought using fMRI measurements, and these have so far shown significant differences in the response of the brain to affective and neutral soundscapes. A conceptual framework which links the key soundscape components and which could be used for future design is outlined. Metrics are suggested for some perceptual scales and possibilities for soundscape synthesis for design and user engagement are discussed, as are the applications of the results to future research and environmental noise policy