R. Murray Schafer coined the term soundscape to express the idea that what we hear and what we see are equally important. As the landscape surrounds us so does the soundscape, and it creates an aural identity of the places we inhabit.

For the final podcast you will work in groups of three to analyze the relationships between sound, space, and experience on the UVM campus. Each group will be assigned a specific site on campus to investigate. To complete this assignment you will conduct listening sessions and observations at your assigned site, make field recordings, organize and categorize your research materials in order to identify patterns of behavior and experience organized by sound at your assigned site, and analyze your data in order to say something about the aural culture of UVM.

PART ONE: DATA COLLECTION

Each member of the group should make at least two 30-45 minute field “observations” of their site for a total of SIX observations per group. It is recommended that the group coordinate their site visits so that different days and times at a variety of spaces at the site are captured. During each session you should collect the following information:

• Try to be as specific as possible where you are at or in the site. Take a picture of your location at/in the site.
• Note the day, time and duration of each session.
• Make a list of all of the sounds that you heard. Do not just note the source of the sound (car, skateboard, voice, footsteps) but also be sure to describe the sound (duration, tempo, timbre, volume, pitch, frequency, etc.).
• For each session you should also make a 15 minute recording. This will help you to recall the sounds you heard, but you will also use these recordings to construct the soundscape as part of your final analysis. Be sure to note the times when you made the recording.

In addition to your field observations you should collect information about how the site is used, its history, its construction, and anything else about the site that will help you to analyze its soundscape.

PART TWO: DATA ORGANIZATION

All group members should share their data with each other. Create a central repository for this data (using google docs, or something similar. Once you have done this you should:

• Fully describe each of the sounds that you heard.
• Identify any keynote sounds, signals, and soundmarks (Schafer, p. 100-101) that are characteristic of your site.
• Organize your sounds into categories. To do this you first need to decide what categories are most appropriate for your site. Make sure you can clearly explain your rationale for how you are categorizing your data.

PART THREE: DATA ANALYSIS

For your analysis you will write a soundscape essay and create a soundscape composition.

SOUNDSCAPE ESSAY: Write a 1000 word essay in which you analyze the way in which sound shapes the experience of your site. In this essay you should describe and analyze the “aural identity” of the site and then use the course readings and concepts to analyze what the soundscape tells us about the culture of UVM. In other words, you will describe the specific soundscape that is characteristic of your site as well as analyze the social and cultural implications that this soundscape has for the people who use that site. Your essay should also discuss your soundscape composition and justify the choices that you made in constructing it.

To do this you should consider the following questions:

• What sounds are important for the site’s soundscape? Why do you think they are important (they are common, or occur frequently/infrequently, they dominate, etc.)?
• How does sound encourage, limit or otherwise effect interactions at the site?
• Is sound “managed” in anyway at the site? How (for example, signs, use of pre-recorded sounds and/or music, etc.)?
• What kinds of meanings are attributed to the sounds? How do you know this?
• What role does sound play in your perception of the site? How does sound work to create a sense of “place” (Norman) at your site?

SOUNDSCAPE COMPOSITION: You will also construct a 3-5 minute soundscape recording that captures the “sense of place” (Norman) that represents your site’s aural identity. To do this you will take selections from your field recordings and assemble them into a composition. Think about how the layering and mixture of sounds can create a sonic identity as unique as a fingerprint, and how all of it would sound to a person that finds themself in such a place. Try to recreate that sonic identity using your field recordings. You are not required to “narrate” the composition on your recording, though you may do so if you wish.

SPECIFICATIONS

While you are encouraged to be as creative and exploratory as you like in completing this assignment, the following elements must be present in your final submission:

• Include a title for the submission that best captures your key findings and/or argument.
• Your writing and composition should be focused. Try as much as possible not to ramble. Your essay should be organized and every sentence should count; similarly your composition should be carefully constructed and every sound should count.
• You must engage at least three of the class readings. While you are allowed to draw on outside readings, this is not required. The point of this essay is to actively engage concepts central to our class and to apply them to audible soundscapes in your writing and sound composition.
• Use specific examples from both your field data as well as from the course texts.
• Proofread your writing! Your paper should be free of typos, spelling mistakes, and grammatical errors.
• Support your essay and composition with images and other materials. This could include the photographs you take of your field site, maps, promotional materials, or other media that relate to your assigned site.

Post your essay and composition to the blog by 11:59pm on Tuesday, December 15.