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78-399: A soundscape is a sound or combination of sounds that forms or arises from an immersive environment . The study of soundscape is the subject of acoustic ecology or soundscape ecology . The idea of soundscape refers to both the natural acoustic environment, consisting of natural sounds , including animal vocalizations, the collective habitat expression of which is now referred to as

156-429: A root mean square (RMS) value. For example, 1 Pa RMS sound pressure (94 dBSPL) in atmospheric air implies that the actual pressure in the sound wave oscillates between (1 atm − 2 {\displaystyle -{\sqrt {2}}} Pa) and (1 atm + 2 {\displaystyle +{\sqrt {2}}} Pa), that is between 101323.6 and 101326.4 Pa. As the human ear can detect sounds with

234-445: A comprehensive approach to soundscape design. The National Park Service Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division actively protects the soundscapes and acoustic environments in national parks across the country. Acoustic resources are physical sound sources, including both natural sounds (wind, water, wildlife, vegetation) and cultural and historic sounds (battle reenactments, tribal ceremonies, quiet reverence). The acoustic environment

312-401: A computerized acoustic device with a camera may also offer synthetic vision to the blind, utilizing human echolocation , as is the goal of the seeing with sound project. Papers on noise pollution are increasingly taking a holistic, soundscape approach to noise control. Whereas acoustics tends to rely on lab measurements and individual acoustic characteristics of cars and so on, soundscape takes

390-482: A deep, almost growling sound to it and is technically related to Sardinian bass singing in Cantu a tenore choirs. It uses both the vocal and the vestibular folds (also known as "false vocal cords") simultaneously, creating two connected sources of sound. By constricting the larynx , the vestibular folds can be brought together (adducted) and, under certain conditions, vibrate. It can produce an undertone exactly half

468-585: A former student of Kevin Lynch, led a project in Boston in the 1960s, and reported the findings in a paper entitled "The Sonic Environment of Cities" in 1969, where the term is used. Around the same time as Southworth's project in Boston, Schafer initiated the World Soundscape Project together with colleagues Barry Truax and Hildegard Westerkamp. Schafer subsequently collected the findings from

546-663: A given area as modified by the environment and understood by people, in context of the surrounding environment. There are, historically, six experimentally separable ways in which sound waves are analysed. They are: pitch , duration , loudness , timbre , sonic texture and spatial location . Some of these terms have a standardised definition (for instance in the ANSI Acoustical Terminology ANSI/ASA S1.1-2013 ). More recent approaches have also considered temporal envelope and temporal fine structure as perceptually relevant analyses. Pitch

624-405: A medium such as air, water and solids as longitudinal waves and also as a transverse wave in solids . The sound waves are generated by a sound source, such as the vibrating diaphragm of a stereo speaker. The sound source creates vibrations in the surrounding medium. As the source continues to vibrate the medium, the vibrations propagate away from the source at the speed of sound , thus forming

702-444: A melody. The history of Tuvan throat singing reaches far back. Many male herders can throat sing, but women have begun to practice the technique as well. The popularity of throat singing among Tuvans seems to have arisen as a result of geographic location and culture. The open landscape of Tuva allows for the sounds to carry a great distance. Ethnomusicologists studying throat singing in these areas mark khoomei as an integral part in

780-412: A midrange fundamental and is characterized by strong, flute-like or rather piercing harmonics, reminiscent of whistling. Also described as an imitation of the gentle breezes of summer, the songs of birds, the ideal sound for the harmonics is called Чистый звук—Russian for clear sound . To perform sygyt , the tongue rises and seals around the gums, just behind the teeth. A small hole is left back behind

858-488: A particular pitch is determined by pre-conscious examination of vibrations, including their frequencies and the balance between them. Specific attention is given to recognising potential harmonics. Every sound is placed on a pitch continuum from low to high. For example: white noise (random noise spread evenly across all frequencies) sounds higher in pitch than pink noise (random noise spread evenly across octaves) as white noise has more high frequency content. Duration

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936-545: A top-down approach. Drawing on John Cage 's ideas of the whole world as composition, soundscape researchers investigate people's attitudes to soundscapes as a whole rather than individual aspects – and look at how the entire environment can be changed to be more pleasing to the ear. This body of knowledge approaches the sonic environment subjectively as well, as in how some sounds are tolerated while others disdained, with still others preferred, as seen in Fong's 2016 research comparing

1014-851: A wide range of throat singing vocalizations, and were the pioneers of six pitch harmonics. There are several different classification schemes for Tuvan throat singing. In one, the three basic styles are khoomei , kargyraa and sygyt , while the sub-styles include borbangnadyr , chylandyk , dumchuktaar , ezengileer and kanzyp . In another, there are five basic styles: khoomei , sygyt , kargyraa , borbangnadyr and ezengileer . The substyles include chylandyk , despeng borbang , opei khoomei , buga khoomei , kanzyp , khovu kargyraazy , kozhagar kargyraazy , dag kargyraazy , Oidupaa kargyraazy , uyangylaar , damyraktaar , kishteer , serlennedyr and byrlannadyr . These schemes all use Tuvan terminology. Khorekteer refers to

1092-466: A wide range of amplitudes, sound pressure is often measured as a level on a logarithmic decibel scale. The sound pressure level (SPL) or L p is defined as Since the human ear does not have a flat spectral response , sound pressures are often frequency weighted so that the measured level matches perceived levels more closely. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has defined several weighting schemes. A-weighting attempts to match

1170-488: Is also known as the Newton–Laplace equation. In this equation, K is the elastic bulk modulus, c is the velocity of sound, and ρ {\displaystyle \rho } is the density. Thus, the speed of sound is proportional to the square root of the ratio of the bulk modulus of the medium to its density. Those physical properties and the speed of sound change with ambient conditions. For example,

1248-717: Is an early soundscape composition. Soundscape composer Petri Kuljuntausta has created soundscape compositions from the sounds of sky dome and Aurora Borealis and deep sea underwater recordings, and a work entitled " Charm of Sound " to be performed at the extreme environment of Saturn 's moon Titan . The work landed on the ground of Titan in 2005 after traveling inside the spacecraft Huygens over seven years and four billion kilometers through space. Irv Teibel 's Environments series (1969–79) consisted of 30-minute, uninterrupted environmental soundscapes and synthesized or processed versions of natural sound. Music soundscapes can also be generated by automated software methods, such as

1326-399: Is an undesirable component that obscures a wanted signal. However, in sound perception it can often be used to identify the source of a sound and is an important component of timbre perception (see below). Soundscape is the component of the acoustic environment that can be perceived by humans. The acoustic environment is the combination of all sounds (whether audible to humans or not) within

1404-478: Is characterized by) its unique sounds. Many species, such as frogs, birds, marine and terrestrial mammals , have also developed special organs to produce sound. In some species, these produce song and speech . Furthermore, humans have developed culture and technology (such as music, telephone and radio) that allows them to generate, record, transmit, and broadcast sound. Noise is a term often used to refer to an unwanted sound. In science and engineering, noise

1482-424: Is commonly used for diagnostics and treatment. Infrasound is sound waves with frequencies lower than 20 Hz. Although sounds of such low frequency are too low for humans to hear as a pitch, these sound are heard as discrete pulses (like the 'popping' sound of an idling motorcycle). Whales, elephants and other animals can detect infrasound and use it to communicate. It can be used to detect volcanic eruptions and

1560-442: Is deeper, while xovu is raspier and sung at a higher pitch with more throat tension and less chest resonance. There are also the distinctive kargyraa styles of Vladimir Oidupaa and Albert Kuvezin , the latter also bearing the name kanzat . This is sometimes described as the howling winds of winter or the plaintive cries of a mother camel after losing her calf. Of the following list, two effects that commonly employed in

1638-445: Is defined as "(a) Oscillation in pressure, stress, particle displacement, particle velocity, etc., propagated in a medium with internal forces (e.g., elastic or viscous), or the superposition of such propagated oscillation. (b) Auditory sensation evoked by the oscillation described in (a)." Sound can be viewed as a wave motion in air or other elastic media. In this case, sound is a stimulus. Sound can also be viewed as an excitation of

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1716-418: Is heard; specif.: a. Psychophysics. Sensation due to stimulation of the auditory nerves and auditory centers of the brain, usually by vibrations transmitted in a material medium, commonly air, affecting the organ of hearing. b. Physics. Vibrational energy which occasions such a sensation. Sound is propagated by progressive longitudinal vibratory disturbances (sound waves)." This means that the correct response to

1794-430: Is lost within the broad-band of noises. In lo-fi soundscapes everything is very close and compact. A person can only listen to immediate encounters; in most cases even ordinary sounds have to be exuberantly amplified in order to be heard. All sounds are unique in nature. They occur at one time in one place and cannot be replicated. In fact, it is physically impossible for nature to reproduce any phoneme twice in exactly

1872-583: Is noted for including overtone singing . In 2009, it was included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO . The term hömey or kömey means ' throat ' and ' larynx ' in various Turkic languages . In Tuvan [throat singing], the performer hums a fundamental pitch and—simultaneously—manipulates the overtones that belong to that fundamental pitch, creating

1950-465: Is perceived as how "long" or "short" a sound is and relates to onset and offset signals created by nerve responses to sounds. The duration of a sound usually lasts from the time the sound is first noticed until the sound is identified as having changed or ceased. Sometimes this is not directly related to the physical duration of a sound. For example; in a noisy environment, gapped sounds (sounds that stop and start) can sound as if they are continuous because

2028-457: Is perceived as how "low" or "high" a sound is and represents the cyclic, repetitive nature of the vibrations that make up sound. For simple sounds, pitch relates to the frequency of the slowest vibration in the sound (called the fundamental harmonic). In the case of complex sounds, pitch perception can vary. Sometimes individuals identify different pitches for the same sound, based on their personal experience of particular sound patterns. Selection of

2106-422: Is perceptible by humans has frequencies from about 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. In air at standard temperature and pressure , the corresponding wavelengths of sound waves range from 17 m (56 ft) to 17 mm (0.67 in). Sometimes speed and direction are combined as a velocity vector ; wave number and direction are combined as a wave vector . Transverse waves , also known as shear waves, have

2184-428: Is the combination of all the acoustic resources within a given area – natural sounds and human-caused sounds – as modified by the environment. The acoustic environment includes sound vibrations made by geological processes, biological activity, and even sounds that are inaudible to most humans, such as bat echolocation calls. Soundscape is the component of the acoustic environment that can be perceived and comprehended by

2262-474: Is used in some types of music. Tuvan throat singing Tuvan-Mongol throat singing , the main technique of which is known as khoomei ( / x u ˈ m iː / or / x oʊ ˈ m eɪ / ; Tuvan : хөөмей , höömey ; Mongolian : ᠬᠦᠭᠡᠮᠡᠢ , хөөмий , khöömii , Russian : хоомей ; Chinese : 呼麦 , pinyin : hūmài ), is a style of singing practiced by people in Tuva and Mongolia . It

2340-415: The audio frequency range, elicit an auditory percept in humans. In air at atmospheric pressure, these represent sound waves with wavelengths of 17 meters (56 ft) to 1.7 centimeters (0.67 in). Sound waves above 20  kHz are known as ultrasound and are not audible to humans. Sound waves below 20 Hz are known as infrasound . Different animal species have varying hearing ranges . Sound

2418-405: The biophony , and, for instance, the sounds of weather and other natural elements, now referred to as the geophony ; and environmental sounds created by humans, the anthropophony . The anthropophony comprises a sub-set called controlled sound, such as musical composition , sound design , and language, work, and sounds of mechanical origin resulting from use of industrial technology. Crucially,

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2496-401: The equilibrium pressure, causing local regions of compression and rarefaction , while transverse waves (in solids) are waves of alternating shear stress at right angle to the direction of propagation. Sound waves may be viewed using parabolic mirrors and objects that produce sound. The energy carried by an oscillating sound wave converts back and forth between the potential energy of

2574-483: The hearing range for humans or sometimes it relates to a particular animal. Other species have different ranges of hearing. For example, dogs can perceive vibrations higher than 20 kHz. As a signal perceived by one of the major senses , sound is used by many species for detecting danger , navigation , predation , and communication. Earth's atmosphere , water , and virtually any physical phenomenon , such as fire, rain, wind, surf , or earthquake, produces (and

2652-542: The khoomei , sygyt and kargyraa styles: Borbangnadyr and Ezengileer . There were a few female throat singers in Tuva's history, though it was believed a woman performing throat singing could cause infertility. Choldak-Kara Oyun, the mother of the famous throat singer Soruktu Kyrgys and grandmother of the husband of famous Tuvan actress Kara-Kys Namzatovna Munzuk, throat sang throughout her life while milking her cows, singing lullabies to her children and sometimes while she

2730-488: The "chest voice". This is the voice that throat singers use when using khoomei , kargyraa , or any other harmonic-inducing style. The term can also be used to refer to all styles of Tuvan throat singing, much like khoomei . It can also refer to the feeling of chest resonance or pressure that one experiences when throat singing. Khorekteer is often used as a launching pad into the khoomei , sygyt , or kargyraa styles of throat singing. Ethnomusicologist Zoya Kyrgys, on

2808-678: The 1950s and 1960s. But her sister, who also sang khoomei as a girl, gave up when others repeatedly reminded her of the supposed dangers. Valentina Salchak performed throat singing in public in 1979. Valentina Chuldum from Mongun-Taiga (1960 – Autumn 2002) toured European countries as a throat singer in the early 1990s. With the start of the International Symposium of Khoomei women could sing publicly there. Tyva Kyzy (Тыва Кызы, pronounced [tɯˈva kɯˈzɯ] ) (Daughters of Tuva, in Tuvan language), founded in 1998,

2886-500: The 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th and 13th partial in accordance with the harmonic series . Thus, if the fundamental frequency were C3, the overtones would be G5, B♭5, C6, D6, E6, G6, A6. However, it is possible to reach as low as the 2nd and also way above the 16th. The fundamental pitch is typically around E and G below middle C , and this affects the range of partials the singer can reach, with higher partials more easily reached on lower notes, and vice versa. The people of Tuva have

2964-404: The additional property, polarization , which is not a characteristic of longitudinal sound waves. The speed of sound depends on the medium the waves pass through, and is a fundamental property of the material. The first significant effort towards measurement of the speed of sound was made by Isaac Newton . He believed the speed of sound in a particular substance was equal to the square root of

3042-433: The ancient pastoral animism still practiced today. Often, singers travel far into the countryside looking for the right river, or go up to the steppes of the mountainside to create the proper environment for throat singing. The animistic world view of this region identifies the spirituality of objects in nature, not just in their shape or location, but in their sound as well. Ordinarily, melodies are created by isolating

3120-512: The basis of all sound waves. They can be used to describe, in absolute terms, every sound we hear. In order to understand the sound more fully, a complex wave such as the one shown in a blue background on the right of this text, is usually separated into its component parts, which are a combination of various sound wave frequencies (and noise). Sound waves are often simplified to a description in terms of sinusoidal plane waves , which are characterized by these generic properties: Sound that

3198-411: The duration of theta wave cycles. This means that at short durations, a very short sound can sound softer than a longer sound even though they are presented at the same intensity level. Past around 200 ms this is no longer the case and the duration of the sound no longer affects the apparent loudness of the sound. Timbre is perceived as the quality of different sounds (e.g. the thud of a fallen rock,

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3276-416: The ear and its mechanisms". The origin of the term soundscape is somewhat ambiguous. It is often miscredited as having been coined by Canadian composer and naturalist, R. Murray Schafer , who led much of the groundbreaking work on the subject from the 1960s and onwards. According to an interview with Schafer published in 2013, Schafer himself attributes the term to city planner Michael Southworth. Southworth,

3354-675: The ecological quality of urban green spaces through targeted planning and design and that in turn has psychological benefits. Soundscaping as a method to reduce noise pollution incorporates natural elements rather than just man made elements. Soundscapes can be designed by urban planners and landscape architects. By incorporating knowledge of soundscapes in their work, certain sounds can be enhanced, while others can be reduced or controlled. It has been argued that there are three main ways in which soundscapes can be designed: localization of functions, reduction of unwanted sounds and introduction of wanted sounds, each of which should be considered to ensure

3432-467: The environment. A hi-fi system possesses a positive signal-to-noise ratio . These settings make it possible for discrete sounds to be heard clearly since there is no background noise to obstruct even the smallest disturbance. A rural landscape offers more hi-fi frequencies than a city because the natural landscape creates an opportunity to hear incidences from near and afar. In a lo-fi soundscape, signals are obscured by too many sounds, and perspective

3510-401: The equation c = γ ⋅ p / ρ {\displaystyle c={\sqrt {\gamma \cdot p/\rho }}} . Since K = γ ⋅ p {\displaystyle K=\gamma \cdot p} , the final equation came up to be c = K / ρ {\displaystyle c={\sqrt {K/\rho }}} , which

3588-488: The experimental TAPESTREA application, a framework for sound design and soundscape composition, and others. The soundscape is often the subject of mimicry in timbre-centered music such as Tuvan throat singing . The process of Timbral Listening is used to interpret the timbre of the soundscape. This timbre is mimicked and reproduced using the voice or rich harmonic producing instruments. In Schafer's analysis, there are two distinct soundscapes, "hi-fi" and "lo-fi", created by

3666-439: The extra compression (in case of longitudinal waves) or lateral displacement strain (in case of transverse waves) of the matter, and the kinetic energy of the displacement velocity of particles of the medium. Although there are many complexities relating to the transmission of sounds, at the point of reception (i.e. the ears), sound is readily dividable into two simple elements: pressure and time. These fundamental elements form

3744-406: The fastest in solid atomic hydrogen at about 36,000 m/s (129,600 km/h; 80,530 mph). Sound pressure is the difference, in a given medium, between average local pressure and the pressure in the sound wave. A square of this difference (i.e., a square of the deviation from the equilibrium pressure) is usually averaged over time and/or space, and a square root of this average provides

3822-473: The frequency of the fundamental produced by the vocal folds. Therefore, for each second vibration of the vocal folds, the vestibular fold completes a whole vibration cycle. While the larynx generates such rich sound, the mouth cavity may be shaped, just like in the manipulation of vowels, to select some particular harmonics, resulting in a sound that may be perceived as having different pitches simultaneously. This vocal mechanism has been elucidated and shown to be

3900-520: The fundamental. In khoomei , the abdomen is fairly relaxed, and there is less tension on the larynx than in other styles. Pitch is manipulated through a combination of movements of the lips, throat, tongue or jaw. Singing in this style gives the impression of wind swirling among rocks. The term khoomei is also used as a generic term to designate all throat singing techniques in this region. Sygyt (in Cyrillic : сыгыт), literally 'whistling', has

3978-481: The hearing mechanism that results in the perception of sound. In this case, sound is a sensation . Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gasses, liquids, and solids including vibration , sound, ultrasound, and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician , while someone working in the field of acoustical engineering may be called an acoustical engineer . An audio engineer , on

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4056-473: The humans. The character and quality of the soundscape influence human perceptions of an area, providing a sense of place that differentiates it from other regions. Noise refers to sound which is unwanted, either because of its effects on humans and wildlife, or its interference with the perception or detection of other sounds. Cultural soundscapes include opportunities for appropriate transmission of cultural and historic sounds that are fundamental components of

4134-426: The information for timbre identification. Even though a small section of the wave form from each instrument looks very similar, differences in changes over time between the clarinet and the piano are evident in both loudness and harmonic content. Less noticeable are the different noises heard, such as air hisses for the clarinet and hammer strikes for the piano. Sonic texture relates to the number of sound sources and

4212-440: The interaction between them. The word texture , in this context, relates to the cognitive separation of auditory objects. In music, texture is often referred to as the difference between unison , polyphony and homophony , but it can also relate (for example) to a busy cafe; a sound which might be referred to as cacophony . Spatial location represents the cognitive placement of a sound in an environmental context; including

4290-417: The molars, either on the left or right side. The sound is then directed between the teeth to the front of the mouth. The lips form a bell-like shape, usually with an "ee" vowel, and the sound is directed through this small opening. Pitch is manipulated exactly the same way as in khoomei style. The more deep-sounding style of throat singing is known as kargyraa (in Cyrillic : каргыраа). Kargyraa has

4368-440: The negative effects of sound has been widely acknowledged by organizations like EU ( END 2002/49 ) and WHO (Burden of noise disease), the positive effects have as yet received less attention. The positive effects of nature sounds can be acknowledged in everyday planning of urban and rural environments, as well as in specific health treatment situations, like nature-based sound therapy and nature-based rehabilitation. Soundscapes from

4446-461: The offset messages are missed owing to disruptions from noises in the same general bandwidth. This can be of great benefit in understanding distorted messages such as radio signals that suffer from interference, as (owing to this effect) the message is heard as if it was continuous. Loudness is perceived as how "loud" or "soft" a sound is and relates to the totalled number of auditory nerve stimulations over short cyclic time periods, most likely over

4524-442: The other hand, defines the term khorekteer as a designation for all Tuvan throat singing. The most popular style of throat singing is known as khoomei (or khöömei , in Cyrillic : хөөмей). Khoomei is traditionally a softer sounding style, with the fundamental (or drone ) usually in the low-mid to midrange of the singer's normal voice. In this style, usually two or three harmonics can be heard between one and two octaves above

4602-482: The other hand, is concerned with the recording, manipulation, mixing, and reproduction of sound. Applications of acoustics are found in almost all aspects of modern society, subdisciplines include aeroacoustics , audio signal processing , architectural acoustics , bioacoustics , electro-acoustics, environmental noise , musical acoustics , noise control , psychoacoustics , speech , ultrasound , underwater acoustics , and vibration . Sound can propagate through

4680-580: The placement of a sound on both the horizontal and vertical plane, the distance from the sound source and the characteristics of the sonic environment. In a thick texture, it is possible to identify multiple sound sources using a combination of spatial location and timbre identification. Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than 20,000 Hz. Ultrasound is not different from audible sound in its physical properties, but cannot be heard by humans. Ultrasound devices operate with frequencies from 20 kHz up to several gigahertz. Medical ultrasound

4758-562: The pressure acting on it divided by its density: This was later proven wrong and the French mathematician Laplace corrected the formula by deducing that the phenomenon of sound travelling is not isothermal, as believed by Newton, but adiabatic . He added another factor to the equation— gamma —and multiplied γ {\displaystyle {\sqrt {\gamma }}} by p / ρ {\displaystyle {\sqrt {p/\rho }}} , thus coming up with

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4836-423: The production of harmonics and mixed tones not present in the original sound (see parametric array ). If relativistic effects are important, the speed of sound is calculated from the relativistic Euler equations . In fresh water the speed of sound is approximately 1,482 m/s (5,335 km/h; 3,315 mph). In steel, the speed of sound is about 5,960 m/s (21,460 km/h; 13,330 mph). Sound moves

4914-434: The purposes and values for which the parks were established. Sound In physics , sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology , sound is the reception of such waves and their perception by the brain . Only acoustic waves that have frequencies lying between about 20 Hz and 20 kHz,

4992-555: The question: " if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? " is "yes", and "no", dependent on whether being answered using the physical, or the psychophysical definition, respectively. The physical reception of sound in any hearing organism is limited to a range of frequencies. Humans normally hear sound frequencies between approximately 20  Hz and 20,000 Hz (20  kHz ), The upper limit decreases with age. Sometimes sound refers to only those vibrations with frequencies that are within

5070-443: The response of the human ear to noise and A-weighted sound pressure levels are labeled dBA. C-weighting is used to measure peak levels. A distinct use of the term sound from its use in physics is that in physiology and psychology, where the term refers to the subject of perception by the brain. The field of psychoacoustics is dedicated to such studies. Webster's dictionary defined sound as: "1. The sensation of hearing, that which

5148-570: The same as in Sardinian bassu , which is one of the four voices of Sardinian canto a tenore choirs. It is also similar to the chant practiced in Tibet by the Gyuto monastery and other Buddhist orders, even though the technique is very different. In beatboxing , the kargyraa sound is known as Throat Bass. There are two types of kargyraa : dag (mountain) and xovu (steppe). The Dag style

5226-835: The same manner. According to Schafer there are three main elements of the soundscape: The elements have been further defined as to essential sources: Bernie Krause , naturalist and soundscape ecologist, redefined the sources of sound in terms of their three main components: geophony, biophony, and anthropophony. Research has traditionally focused mostly on the negative effects of sound on human beings, as in exposure to environmental noise . Noise has been shown to correlate with health-related problems like stress, reduced sleep and cardiovascular disease. More recently however, it has also been shown that some sounds, like sounds of nature and music, can have positive effects on health, some of which might be explained by natural sounds increasing cognitive restoration and feelings of calm, for example. While

5304-444: The sensation of experiencing a particular acoustic environment, or compositions created using the found sounds (sounds derived from objects not standardly used for music) of an acoustic environment, either exclusively or in conjunction with musical performances. Pauline Oliveros , composer of post- World War II electronic art music , defined the term "soundscape" as "All of the waveforms faithfully transmitted to our audio cortex by

5382-528: The sound is called the medium . Sound cannot travel through a vacuum . Studies has shown that sound waves are able to carry a tiny amount of mass and is surrounded by a weak gravitational field. Sound is transmitted through gases, plasma, and liquids as longitudinal waves , also called compression waves. It requires a medium to propagate. Through solids, however, it can be transmitted as both longitudinal waves and transverse waves . Longitudinal sound waves are waves of alternating pressure deviations from

5460-420: The sound wave. At a fixed distance from the source, the pressure , velocity , and displacement of the medium vary in time. At an instant in time, the pressure, velocity, and displacement vary in space. The particles of the medium do not travel with the sound wave. This is intuitively obvious for a solid, and the same is true for liquids and gases (that is, the vibrations of particles in the gas or liquid transport

5538-408: The soundscapes of Bangkok, Thailand and Los Angeles, California. To respond to unwanted sounds, however, a typical application of this is the use of masking strategies, as in the use of water features to cover unwanted white noise from traffic. It has been shown that masking can work in some cases, but that the successful outcome is dependent on several factors, like sound pressure levels, orientation of

5616-462: The sources, and character of the water sound. Research has shown that variation is an important factor to consider, as a varied soundscape give people the possibility to seek out their favorite environment depending on preference, mood and other factors. One way to ensure variation is to work with " quiet areas " in urban situations. It has been suggested that people's opportunity to access quiet, natural places in urban areas can be enhanced by improving

5694-417: The speed of sound in gases depends on temperature. In 20 °C (68 °F) air at sea level, the speed of sound is approximately 343 m/s (1,230 km/h; 767 mph) using the formula v  [m/s] = 331 + 0.6  T  [°C] . The speed of sound is also slightly sensitive, being subject to a second-order anharmonic effect, to the sound amplitude, which means there are non-linear propagation effects, such as

5772-402: The term soundscape also includes the listener's perception of sounds heard as an environment, which Truax describes as "how that environment is understood by those living within it" and therefore mediates their relations. The disruption of these acoustic environments results in noise pollution . The term "soundscape" can also refer to an audio recording or performance of sounds that create

5850-566: The vibrations, while the average position of the particles over time does not change). During propagation, waves can be reflected , refracted , or attenuated by the medium. The behavior of sound propagation is generally affected by three things: When sound is moving through a medium that does not have constant physical properties, it may be refracted (either dispersed or focused). The mechanical vibrations that can be interpreted as sound can travel through all forms of matter : gases, liquids, solids, and plasmas . The matter that supports

5928-430: The whir of a drill, the tone of a musical instrument or the quality of a voice) and represents the pre-conscious allocation of a sonic identity to a sound (e.g. "it's an oboe!"). This identity is based on information gained from frequency transients, noisiness, unsteadiness, perceived pitch and the spread and intensity of overtones in the sound over an extended time frame. The way a sound changes over time provides most of

6006-588: The world soundscape project and fleshed out the soundscape concept in more detail in his seminal work about the sound environment, "Tuning of the World". Schafer has also used the concept in music education. One of Soundscape's co-founders is Nezar Kadhem. In music, soundscape compositions are often a form of electronic music or electroacoustic music . Composers who use soundscapes include real-time granular synthesis pioneer Barry Truax , Hildegard Westerkamp , and Luc Ferrari , whose Presque rien, numéro 1 (1970)

6084-512: Was drinking Tuvan araga (fermented milk alcohol). Close relatives of famous singers, like Khunashtaar-ool's niece (in the 1960s) and Kombu's daughter (in the 1940s or 1950s), performed khoomei (throat singing) in public more than once. The wife of the throat singing shaman Bilek-ool from Manchurek, Aldinsova Tortoyavna, said that she has always sung khoomei "because it was innate to [her] from birth". She could not resist singing khoomei after she got married and had children, and sang khoomei in public in

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