Document all your work in a post on the course website.
Begin creating the acoustic profiles of two spaces. You will need to revisit them; therefore, make sure they are accessible throughout the semester.
During this exercise, you will learn about auditory perception and how the human brain interprets it. The focus is on understanding how everyday sounds can evoke emotions and influence perception. As you proceed, you will become familiar with the terminology used to describe the acoustic features of spaces. Your ability to perceive nuances in sound will be enhanced through attentive listening.
Instructions
Select
Choose two different everyday spaces (preferably indoors) where you encounter distinct sounds. At least one of them should be a fully enclosed room, not outdoors. Visit each chosen location and spend 10-15 minutes at each, paying close attention to the sounds you hear.
Document
- Take some representative photos of the spaces and sketch their floor plans.
- Record your own voice with the handheld recorder at different distances while keeping your volume constant, and add the recordings to your online documentation.
Map
On the floorplan sketch, produce a soundscape sketch, marking every sound event you noted and encoding the following for each one.
- Location — where the source is (or, for sources outside the room, an arrow at the perimeter pointing toward it).
- Type — natural vs. man-made, or your own finer categories (voices, mechanical/HVAC, traffic, footsteps, etc.), distinguished by symbol shape.
- Duration — momentary/impulsive, intermittent/recurring, or continuous, distinguished by fill style (e.g. dot / dashed outline / solid fill).
- Intensity — how loud the sound is as you perceive it, distinguished by symbol size.
- Frequency — the sound’s pitch character as you perceive it (low/mid/high — not a measured value at this stage), distinguished by color or hatching.
Design your own simple legend for these attributes and include it with the sketch, so someone unfamiliar with your notation could still read it. You’ll refer back to this sketch in the Describe step below.
Describe
Write a short text describing your personal interpretation of how the places sound as accurately as possible using your own vocabulary and any acoustic ‘slang’ terminology from the lists below. Use the following list as a guide for what to include.
- What’s the main purpose of these spaces?
- Describe what makes these spaces noteworthy in terms of acoustics. Is it the ambient sounds, how the room responds to the sounds you produce, or the overall atmosphere that attracts your attention?
- Listen to the recordings and comment on the differences.
- Which sounds catch your attention the most, and which are the most likely overheard sounds?
- How did each soundscape influence your emotional state and overall perception of the situation?
- Discussion of how factors like sound volume, frequency, and context contributed to your emotional responses.
- Which sounds cause discomfort; which ones alert you?
- Which surfaces or objects do you think are most responsible for the sound character you’re describing?
- Looking at your soundscape sketch, do louder or higher-pitched sounds cluster in particular zones of the space? Does that spatial pattern match how the space actually feels to be in?
A list of slang words used in room acoustics
Slang words can vary regionally and may not be universally understood, so it’s essential to consider your audience when using them to describe acoustic properties. Additionally, these terms are often subjective and may be open to interpretation, so it’s a good idea to provide more specific technical descriptions when needed.
- Dead: Refers to a room with very little reverb or echo, resulting in a muted, quiet sound.
- Live: Describes a space with much reverberation, making sounds echo and linger.
- Boomy: Used for rooms where low frequencies are overly pronounced, creating a muffled or heavy sound.
- Tinny: Indicates an environment where high frequencies predominate, resulting in a sharp, piercing sound.
- Boxy: Refers to spaces with a pronounced midrange frequency resonance, making the sound seem trapped within a box.
- Echoey: Describes a room with strong, clear echoes, often with a delay between the original sound and the echoes.
- Warm: Suggests a space with a pleasing balance of frequencies, typically with a gentle reverb that makes the sound feel cozy.
- Harsh: Used for rooms with excessively high-frequency reflections, causing sounds to be sharp and uncomfortable.
- Dull: Refers to a space with poor sound reflections, resulting in a lifeless and unexciting acoustic environment.
- Muddy: Describes a room where frequencies are muddled and unclear, often due to excessive midrange resonance.
- Crisp: Indicates a clear and distinct sound, typically with well-defined high frequencies.
- Sterile: Used for environments with almost no reverb, making the sound feel clinical and lifeless.
- Sizzly: Refers to an environment where high frequencies are exaggerated, creating a sharp, sizzling sound.
- Open: Describes a space with a natural and spacious acoustic quality, often associated with large, well-designed rooms.
- Reverb-y: Informal slang for a room with much reverb or reverberation.
- Dense: Suggests an environment with numerous, tightly packed reflections, resulting in a complex sonic character.
- Lush: Indicates a rich, full sound, often associated with spaces that offer a pleasing balance of reflections.
- Cavernous: Used for very large spaces with pronounced echoes and reverberation, often resembling a cave-like acoustic quality.
- Resonant: Describes a room where certain frequencies resonate strongly, creating a pronounced emphasis on specific tones.
- Balanced: Refers to a room with an even distribution of frequencies, resulting in a well-rounded and natural sound.
Further adjectives that might apply to the spaces:
- Loud
- Silent
- Reflective
- Discreet
- Diffuse
- Noisy
- Quiet
- Clear
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeic adjectives are words that imitate or resemble the sound they describe. These adjectives can add vividness and sensory detail to your descriptions and writing, as they directly evoke the sounds they represent. Here’s a list of onomatopoeic adjectives:
- Buzzing: The sound of a continuous, low-pitched humming or vibrating noise.
- Hissing: The sound of a sharp, hissing noise, often associated with air escaping or a snake.
- Whirring: The sound of something rapidly spinning or rotating.
- Creaking: The sound of a slow, squeaking noise, often associated with old or wooden objects.
- Rustling: The sound of something moving or stirring with a gentle, soft noise, like leaves in the wind.
- Sizzling: The sound of something cooking or frying in hot oil, often accompanied by a crackling sound.
- Purring: The soft, rhythmic sound made by contented cats.
- Gurgling: The bubbling or gurgling sound of liquid flowing or being poured.
- Splashing: The sound of liquid hitting a surface, often accompanied by droplets scattering.
- Chirping: The high-pitched, repetitive sound made by small birds or insects.
- Beeping: The short, intermittent sound of an electronic device, like a beep from a computer.
- Ding-dong: The onomatopoeic sound of a doorbell or a ringing bell.
- Clanging: The loud, ringing sound of metal striking metal.
- Hoot: The onomatopoeic sound made by owls is often associated with a deep, resonant sound.
- Bang: The loud, sharp sound of an explosion or collision.
- Thump: The dull, heavy sound of something hitting a surface with force.
- Rattle: The sharp, clattering sound of objects shaking or vibrating.
- Swoosh: The sound of something moving quickly through the air, like a gust of wind.
- Slurp: The sound of someone loudly and messily drinking a liquid.
- Pop: The sound of something bursting or exploding, often associated with a small, sharp noise.
