| Barry Blesser
- As the author of Spaces
Speak, I am delighted to have an open dialog with anyone interested
in the aural experience of space. Actually, the topic is far broader
because it is also a vehicle for elevating an awareness of sound
in our techno-visual culture. Hearing actually serves three function:
understanding speech, appreciating music, and connecting to the
events of life. We have lost an appreciation for the third use
of sound. We are always connected to sonic events; we have no
ear-lids.
Those who work with sensory disabilities observe that it is easier
to adapt to a loss of vision than hearing. Because decoding the
emotional nuances of speech and recognizing the events in the
environment are so important for our mental and emotional health,
compensating for deafness is not easy. Conversely, blindness places
a burden on reading, navigation, and orientation. Yet paradoxically,
most people still think vision is their primary sensory modality.
Yet in our modern culture, we create spatial acoustics and soundscapes
that produce functional deafness. The most obvious example is
the iPod generation. Not only do the elevated sound levels of
ear-buds produce permanent hearing damage, but while wearing them,
individuals are functional deaf to events in their environment.
You cannot even hear the sound of your own footsteps. Many of
us have had the experience of being functionally deaf in a restaurant
with corrosive acoustics.
My book brings together the issues of aural architecture, but
it is only a beginning. While it provides the initial foundation
and language for discussing the subject, the ideas will not become
relevant until a large number of others add to the starting base.
I have already had dozens of wonderful email dialog with people
who have shared their personal experiences.
Ron Mader - Reading your book I am impressed
with the way you weave the lessons learned from so many disciplines.
I had never given thought to soundmarks and soundscapes, though
it makes perfect sense.
A few years ago a colleague wrote a blistering review of an ecolodge
in Costa Rica
that had received great praise. Her critique -- the neighboring
compound blasted music at all hours of the night. Rarely in our
review of 'eco' travel do we consider sound.
You mention of the iPod generation making individuals functionally
deaf is on the mark. I wonder how this will play out, particularly
as some companies prepare downloadable tours on MP3. Do you have
any suggestions on ways travelers can better appreciate foreign
soundscapes? Also, how can tour guides and tourism planners educate
visitors on what they are hearing?
Barry Blesser - I predict that deafness and
the iPod generation will be a hot topic within a decade, primarily
because there is very little public understanding of hearing loss.
First, the conventional wisdom holds that those who lived in a
jungle in the 19th century never lost any hearing even in old
age.
All hearing loss is the result of abuse. Second, hearing loss
progresses from high frequencies downward. Almost nobody notice
a loss at 10kHz or even 6kHz. But when the loss enters the speech
region, around 3kHz, some people notice. But everyone notices
when the loss extends down to 1 kHz. By that time it is too late.
The best advise is to get yourself tested by an audiologist and
start taking care of your ears while you still have some auditory
capacity. No much for a negative message.
As for learning to appreciate soundscape, not just while traveling,
but also in you home town, consider the following switch in perspectives.
Instead of thinking of sound as such, think of the event that
create the sound. All sounds results from a dynamic action of
some kind. There is no such thing as a static environment producing
sound.
Create a mental picture of the objects, animals, and activities
that are producing sounds. Tune into the children playing by listening
to the sounds they make. Similarly for birds, cars, and cafe dialogs.
One builds a picture of the world through sound. But unlike a
visual picture, the soundscape is dynamic.
If you get more sophisticated, you can also sense the way passive
objects and geometries change sounds. You can hear a building
by its echo or by how it changes spectral coloration. You can
hear a long cavernous street by its reverberation. Both the sound
sources and the passive environment allow you to build a picture
of the world. Vision and cameras are not the only way to acquire
a picture. Smells and touch are also good senses.
In this way, soundscapes, like landscapes, are all part of sensoryscapes.
Ron Mader - Sensoryscapes! That's a beautiful
word.
We have paid attention to the International
Dark Sky Association that works to protect the nighttime environment
(the dark skies) from light pollution. Is there an equivalent
group working to protect the auditory realm?
Barry Blesser - Noise has always been a political
issue especially in the early part of the 20th century. There
were laws and enforcers of laws because the soundscape was far
more unbelievably polluted than now. Nevertheless, noise it is
still a hot topic.
To get a basic education, I recommend starting with the Noise
Pollution Clearinghouse which has many links to other individual
sites. Also, visit Quiet.org,
or the UK
Department of Health
Just a quick web search shows dozen of sites. Washington
State maintains a web site devoted to relevant rules and regulations,
but enforcement is another question. Progress on protecting the
soundscape only arises from grass roots politics.
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