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# 5 Soundscapes

The concept of ‘soundscape’ has been fundamental to a number of important scholarly studies, in musicology and other disciplines, since the 1960s. The entry for ‘Soundscape’ in Grove Music Online defines this as:

> A term generally referring to the entire mosaic of sounds heard in a specific area. A soundscape comprises the wide array of noises in which we live, from sounds of nature, to the clang of church bells, the pulse of a salsa band at a local dance club, or the hum of traffic on a city street.

> (Hill, 2014)

Though, as the Grove article also states, not every scholar’s approach to or definition of ‘soundscape’ has been exactly the same, most align with the theoretical concept outlined by the composer and writer R. Murray Schafer (1933–2021), who is generally credited as introducing the term into broad scholarly discourse. In several publications of the late 1960s and 1970s, Schafer called for the development of the discipline of ‘acoustic ecology’ – ‘the study of sounds in relationship to life and society’ – which he believed could not be achieved through objective, scientific research but only through ‘considering on location the effects of the acoustic environment on the creatures living in it.’ (Schafer 1977 [1994], p. 205). For Schafer, the relationship between the individual and the sounds they hear is reciprocal: while the soundscape might give its community a sense of local identity, it also encourages certain kinds of behaviour from its inhabitants, whose activities in turn shape their sonic environment (Hill, 2014).

As part of his theoretical framework for ‘soundscape’, Schafer developed a typology of the three main kinds of sounds that might be created and experienced within a single location. He categorised these as follows:

- Keynote: The constant, background sounds created by the geography and environment of a particular place (such as water, wind, birdsong, animals or even indistinct sounds of traffic or human voices). Keynote sounds are ubiquitous and do not have to be listened to consciously. The term derives from the musical concept that denotes, according to Schafer: ‘the anchor or fundamental tone of a particular piece … although the material may modulate around it, often obscuring its importance, it is in reference to this point that everything else takes on its special meaning’ (Schafer 1977 [1994], p. 9). While keynote sounds might not be heard consciously, as they are everywhere, they have the potential to have a deep influence on the behaviour of those within that particular soundscape and represent the character of the inhabitants.

- Signals: Sounds in the foreground that are listened to consciously by a community, because they act as a form of communication (such as bells, horns, sirens).

- Soundmarks: Deriving from the word ‘landmark’, this term describes sounds that are unique to a particular community and which possess qualities that are noticed by the people in that community (for example, recognisable performances by local musicians). As Schafer states, ‘Once a soundmark has been identified, it deserves to be protected, for soundmarks make the acoustic life of the community unique’ (Schafer, 1977 [1994], p. 10).

These three categories of sounds should be viewed on a continuum and the same kind of sound source (e.g. human, animal, instrument) might be labelled differently depending on the context in which it is heard by a particular listener or a particular community of listeners. Church bells, for example, might be regarded as a ‘keynote’ if they ring constantly in the background, mingling with other indistinct sounds; however, once they serve as a means of communication by calling the community to prayer, they are regarded as ‘signals’. Furthermore, some bell sounds become ‘soundmarks’ when they adopt a distinctive form associated with a particular location or community: think for example of the hourly chimes of the Elizabeth Tower (the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster), which end with the ringing of Big Ben. Schafer’s particular categorisation above might also not identify sounds that are atypical, non-local or unfamiliar; for example, unusual birdsong, or visiting musicians. Nevertheless, there are many kinds of sounds that do fall into the typology he proposes.

## Activity 8 Keynotes, signals and soundmarks

Timing: Allow around 20 minutes to complete this activity.

Take a moment to listen and think about your sonic environment. You can conduct this exercise either right where you are studying or nearby – for example, by stepping outdoors if you are working inside a building. You may find that closing your eyes helps you to focus on what you are hearing.

As you listen, try to identify:

- 1–3 keynotes
- a signal
- a soundmark
- a sound that you struggle to fit into the typology, or that could belong to more than one of the categories.

Make a note of these in the text box below.

Signals may not be audible at the moment you conduct this activity, so try to think about something that you might commonly hear within your sonic environment. Similarly, you may not be able to hear a soundmark from where you are conducting the activity, but try to think of something fairly close to you.

(A text entry box would appear here, but your browser does not support it.)

### Discussion

I started this activity with my window shut and heard two keynotes within my immediate environment: the constant hum of the extractor fan from the next room and a quieter whirr from the external hard drive connected to my computer. I then opened my window and heard several keynotes from the wider daytime environment, Wood Green in London. These included birdsong, traffic along West Green Road, and children playing in a nearby school playground.

A number of signals are common in this area, including the warning beeps of delivery vehicles reversing and the sirens of ambulances and police cars.

The soundmark closest to me is at All Hallows’ Church in Tottenham, a little over a mile away. The tower has a set of eight bells that I have heard from a neighbourhood park some weekday evenings.

Some of the sounds I have listed could be understood to belong to more than one category. For example, the sound of children in the school playground is not only a keynote but a signal, since it occurs only during certain times of the day, week and year. Similarly, the bells at All Hallows’ Church are both a soundmark and a signal: they are at once the sound of the neighbourhood and the signal that a service (or a weekday bell-ringers’ rehearsal) is being held. As this belonging to more than one category suggests, sounds can have different meanings for different communities of listeners.

The activity you have just completed gets you working with theory: it asks you to use an abstract or general concept to make sense of something: in this case, your immediate sound environment. You may have noticed that even as you were encouraged to work with Schafer’s typology, you were also invited to consider whether it accounted for everything you heard. This is because it is important to reflect critically on the usefulness of theoretical frameworks when using them.

Researchers in music regularly draw on theoretical concepts and frameworks developed by others, but each use is an opportunity to re-evaluate that concept or framework. Is the theory relevant? Is it fully ‘exportable’, or does it really only work for particular epochs, places and cultures of music and sound? Does it help to explain what you are studying? If not, could it be modified or improved?

As you read further in your music studies, be sure to pay attention to how authors engage with theory. Some accept the theoretical frameworks of others, while others call them into question, and some use them as they receive them while others adapt or build on them.

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