Field Recording and Soundscape

Sound (Art & Technology)

Lorenz Schwarz
Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG)

Winter Semester 2023/24
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Early experimental electronic music

Institutional and government-supported establishments played a crucial role in fostering the aesthetic discussion about musique concrète (Pierre Schaeffer) and elektronische Musik (Meyer-Eppler) in the 1950s:

• Studio für Elektronische Musik (WDR)
• Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM)
• Radiophonic Workshop (BBC)

Musique concrète

Composing with recorded sounds rather than traditional musical notes, pioneered by French composer Pierre Schaeffer.

• use of recorded natural sounds as raw material
• sounds are altered using tape music techniques like splicing, looping, pitch-shifting, reversing, and layering

→ Replaced traditional notation and instruments, and redefined the relationship between composer, sound, and performance.

Luc Ferrari (1929 – 2005)

French composer of Italian heritage and a pioneer in musique concrète and electroacoustic music.

• Amassing a large archive of recorded sound (interior and exterior)
• Creating environmental soundscapes, anecdotal sound

Presque rien No. 1
'Le Lever du jour au bord de la mer'

Condensation of a one-day recording on a Yugoslavian beach into a 21-minute composition.

• Montage after musical principles
• Expanding the timescale of musique concrète
• Shifting background and foreground relationships

Expanding musical materials

Together with technological developments, Mid-century avant-garde composers turned toward environmental sounds, noise, and everyday acoustic phenomena as musical material.

• Luigi Russolo (1913): Orchestration of industrial and urban sounds
• Pierre Schaeffer (1948): Blurring the lines between "music" and "noise"
• John Cage (1952): 4′33″ - Ambient sound as compositional material
• Luc Ferrari (1960s-70s): Environmental sound as musical subject
• R. Murray Schafer (1977): Established soundscape as analytical framework

→ Schafer systematizes environmental listening into analytical framework

Soundscape

R. Murray Schafer (1933–2021): Canadian composer who coined the term in The Tuning of the World (1977)

Etymology: Neologism modeled after landscape (sound + landscape)

Definitions:

• Oxford: A musical composition consisting of a texture of sounds; the sounds which form an auditory environment
• Merriam-Webster: A mélange of musical and sometimes nonmusical sounds

Earlier uses of "soundscape"

Before Schafer's theoretical framework:

• Richard Buckminster Fuller (1966) - First documented use
• Michael Southworth (1969) - Urban planning context

Previously used poetically to describe surrounding sonic environments, but without systematic theoretical foundation.

→ Schafer transformed it from poetic metaphor into analytical concept

Origins of acoustic ecology

Noise contamination due to the development of new technologies and processes in the age of post-industrial society.

• Increase in mobility (air and car traffic)
• Machines in the world of work

Soundscape studies

Also referred to as soundscape ecology or acoustic ecology.

Interdisciplinary approach:

• Between science, society, and art
• Basis for acoustic design
• Examines interactions between humans, nature, and technology

Key shift: Moves beyond noise control to treat sound as a resource rather than waste product

Intention

Shaping the social, psychological and aesthetic quality of an acoustic environment.

• Evaluation of new sounds
• Elimination or containment of certain sounds
• Preservation of certain sounds
• Current compositional approaches in music

World Soundscape Project (1969-present)

Schafer's research team at Simon Fraser University systematically recorded and analyzed acoustic environments worldwide, establishing field recording as scientific methodology and compositional practice.

• 1969-70: Foundation, early publications
• 1973: Vancouver study, cross-Canada tour
• 1975: European five-village research (300+ recordings)
• 1977: The Tuning of the World published
• 1978: Handbook for Acoustic Ecology (Barry Truax)
• 1993: World Forum for Acoustic Ecology founded

Schafer's soundscape concept

Paradigm shift: The world as a macrocosmic musical composition where we are simultaneously performers, audience, and composers.

Primary meaning: Acoustic characteristics of geographical, physical, ecological conditions

• Nature, culture, religion create specific ambient sounds
• Interaction between humans and acoustic environment
• Constitution of place's sonic identity

Listening as analytical practice

Soundscape analysis requires trained, conscious listening that moves from passive hearing to active attention.

Schafer's approach:

• Ear cleaning: Exercises to remove perceptual habits and noise

• Clairaudience: Developing clear, discriminating hearing

• Goal: Transform everyday acoustic experience into analytical awareness

Listening modes in electroacoustic music

Acousmatic (Schaeffer):

• Darkened space, invisible sources
• Reduced listening focuses on internal sonic qualities

Soundscape (Schafer/Truax):

• Environmental sounds remain recognizable
• Contextual listening engages associations

— R. Murray Schafer, “Yes, but Is It Music?” in The New Soundscape: A Handbook for the Modern Music Teacher.

Soundscape elements

Natural sounds: Water, wind, animals, insects

Human activity:

• Rural: Agriculture, livestock, hunting
• Urban: Church bells, handicrafts, street vendors
• Industrial: Machines, factories, traffic
• Electronic: Telephone, radio, computer

Keynote, signal, soundmark

Analytical framework:

• Keynotes define place character
• Signals structure time and communication
• Soundmarks create cultural identity

Understanding these elements enables:

• Documenting soundscapes systematically
• Identifying sounds worth preserving
• Designing acoustic interventions

Keynote

Background sounds, often not consciously perceived:

• Highway noise, traffic hum
• Wind, rain, ocean waves
• Insect and animal sounds
• Electrical hum, ventilation systems

→ Forms the sonic foundation of a place

▶ Play example

Signal

Foreground sounds with specific information content:

• Warning devices: Bells, whistles, sirens
• Communication: Telephone, doorbells
• Temporal markers: Church bells, factory whistles

→ Demands conscious attention

▶ Play example

Soundmark

Unique sounds with cultural/historical significance:

• Specific church bell patterns
• Traditional street vendor calls
• Characteristic industrial sounds (blacksmith, mill)

→ Sonic landmarks worth preserving

Hi-Fi und Lo-Fi

Analogous to the signal-to-noise ratio, the figure-ground relationship between signal and key note varies in strength, indicating the level of clarity or masking present.

Rhythm and tempo

Soundscapes are organized into temporal patterns ranging from micro-level vibrations to macro-level seasonal cycles:

• Rhythms of activity
• Circadian rhythm (day-night)
• Seasons
• Biological rhythms like heartbeat, breathing
• Mechanical tempo of machines (trains)

▶ Play example

Schizophonia

The separation between natural sound production and electroacoustic reproduction.

• Synthetic soundscapes
• Unnatural distance
• Background music (Muzak) as example

Analyzing sound events

Schafer's analytical framework:

• Notation: Envelope, pitch, fluctuation, dynamics
• Classification: Physical, psychoacoustic, semantic characteristics
• Perception: Figure-ground relationships
• Morphology: Material transformations over time
• Symbolism: Cultural meanings and associations

Acoustic design

Schafer defines acoustic design as the positive quest to organize the soundscape to stimulate aesthetic satisfaction.

Approach:

• Preservation of soundmarks (culturally significant sounds)
• Avoidance of unwanted noise
• Critical examination of soundscape as a social task

Schafer's Approach - Summary

Methodology:

• Bridges scientific discipline and artistic imagination
• Combines physical measurements with perceptual analysis
• Uses historical accounts and social surveys

Classification system based on:

• Physical characteristics (frequency, amplitude, duration)
• Referential/aesthetic aspects (symbolic meanings, beauty, appropriateness)

→ Goal: Restore balance to the global soundscape

Criticism: The use of the term "soundscape"

Critical issues:

• Disconnected from Schafer's original framework
• Applied generically to "nearly any sonic phenomenon"
• Frequently misapplied and redefined

→ "Indispensable and elusive, provocative and limited" (Kelman 2010)

Criticism: Hi-Fi and Lo-Fi distinction

Schafer's value judgments:

• Preference for rural sounds and natural environments
• Implied hostility towards technology and urban soundscapes
• Binary opposition between "desired" and "undesired" sounds

Critiques (Kelman 2010, Helmreich 2010, Arkette 2004):

• Pastoral/romantic conception idealizes rural quietude
• Urban prejudice against mechanical and electric sounds
• Sometimes overemphasis on acoustic dimension

• Objectifies sound rather than treating it as experiential (Ingold 2007, Helmreich 2010)
• Irony: Crafted using technologies Schafer criticized

Soundscape and spatial sound

Soundscape composition explores the spatial nature of environmental sound through different listening modes.

Listening modes:

• Scenic: Foreground-midground-background organization
• Spherical: 360° surround, listener enveloped
• Immersive: "Wrapped" in sound (headphones, reverberant spaces)
• Binaural: Localization via interaural time/level differences

Documentation enables composition

World Soundscape Project's archiving work:

• Directed listener's attention to sonic environments
• Revealed aesthetic component of environmental sounds
• Fostered critical listening and breaking perceptual routines

→ This awareness led to compositional practices using environmental sound as artistic material.

Soundscape composition

The soundscape composition is a form of electroacoustic music, characterized by the presence of recognizable environmental sounds and contexts, the purpose being to invoke the listener's associations, memories, and imagination related to the soundscape.

— Barry Truax

Soundscape composition concepts

• Source material remains recognizable
• Invokes listener's and composer's knowledge of environmental/psychological context
• Heightens awareness rather than exploiting environment
• Reveals alternative roles of individual within surroundings
• Enhances understanding and influences everyday perceptual habits

→ Environmental, abstract, and artificial sonic environments are understood as artistic material.

Continuum of compositional intervention

Listener experience

Modes of spatial/temporal engagement:

• Fixed perspective: Listener positioned in place, experiencing time flow
• Moving perspective: Listener taken on a journey through connected spaces
• Variable perspective: Listener navigates discontinuous, imaginary spaces

→ Each perspective creates different relationships between listener and soundscape.

Hildegard Westerkamp

German-Canadian composer and sound ecologist (* 1946)

• Member of the World Soundscape Project
• Editor of Soundscape Newsletter (1991–1995)
• Composer, radio producer, and educator

Selected works: A Walk Through the City (1981), Harbour Symphony (1986), Kits Beach Soundwalk (1989), Beneath the Forest Floor (1992)

Combines field recordings with spoken commentary, creating "soundwalks" that guide listener attention.

Barry Truax

Canadian composer, theorist, and acoustic ecologist (* 1947)

• Member and director of the World Soundscape Project
• Author, Handbook for Acoustic Ecology (1978)
• Pioneer of real-time granular synthesis

Selected works: Riverrun (1986), Wings of Nike (1987), Pacific (1990), Soundscape Vancouver (1996)

Combines recognizable field recordings with granular transformation, balancing soundscape identity and timbral exploration.

Representative composers

Contemporary composers:

• Natasha Barrett (* 1972) - Ambisonic spatial composition
• Chris Watson (* 1953) - Wildlife and natural soundscapes
• Jana Winderen (* 1965) - Underwater and Arctic recordings
• Annea Lockwood (* 1939) - River and environmental sound maps
• Francisco López (* 1964) - Deep listening and field recording

Related figures:

• Brian Eno (* 1948) - Ambient music

Field recording techniques

Capturing environmental sound requires and understanding of the acoustic environments including:

• Appropriate microphone selection
• Stereo and spatial recording methods
• Specialized equipment for specific contexts

Microphones for field recording

• Dynamic: Robust, no power needed
• Condenser: High sensitivity, phantom power required
• Electret: Affordable condenser variant

Specialized types:

• Hydrophones: Underwater (piezoelectric) - marine life, shipping
• Contact mics: Structure-borne vibration - wood, metal, stone
• Parabolic: Directional long-distance (30-100m) - wildlife
• EMF: Electromagnetic fields - power lines, computers, transformers

Hydrophone recordings

Jana Winderen (* 1965) - Norwegian artist with background in marine biology

• Uses hydrophones to record underwater soundscapes (Arctic, oceans, glaciers)
• Reveals "invisible but audible" marine ecosystems
• Notable work: Energy Field (2010) - Barents Sea, Greenland, Norwegian fjords

▶ Play excerpt

Digital recorders

Portable recorder requirements:

• High-quality preamps, phantom power
• Long battery life, weather-resistant

Common models:

• Zoom H4n/H5/H6: Affordable, XLR inputs, interchangeable capsules
• Sound Devices MixPre: Professional preamps

Stereo recording techniques

• A-B (spaced pair): Time difference, omnidirectional, wide image
• X-Y (coincident pair): Intensity difference, cardioid, precise localization
• ORTF: Combined time + intensity, balanced
• M/S (Mid-Side): Adjustable stereo width, mono-compatible, versatile

Binaural recording

3D spatial recording for headphone listening:

• Dummy head with microphones in ear canals
• Captures interaural time difference (ITD) and level difference (ILD)
• Head-related transfer function (HRTF) preserved
• Natural spatial perception on headphones

Artificial binaural: Software processing can create binaural from stereo/ambisonic

Ambisonics

360° sound field recording (Michael Gerzon, 1970s):

• Horizontal + vertical capture, decodes to any speaker setup
• First-order B-format: W (omni) + X, Y, Z (figure-8 patterns)
• Higher-order (HOA): 9+ channels for improved spatial resolution

Ambisonic recording workflow

Common microphones:

• Zoom H3-VR: Consumer recorder with built-in decoding
• Sennheiser AMBEO VR Mic: First-order, tetrahedral array
• Eigenmike: 32-channel HOA (research/high-end)

Production workflow:

1. A-format (raw capsules) → B-format (W, X, Y, Z)
2. Spatialization in DAW (Spat/Max, Panoramix, IEM plugins)
3. Decode to speaker array or binaural for headphones

Ambisonic playback

Hemispherical speaker arrays:

• Full-sphere spatial reproduction (horizontal + height)
• Multiple elevation layers
• Immersive audience positioning

Notable venues:

• ZKM Klangdom (Karlsruhe): 43-channel dome
• Room 311 (HfG Karlsruhe): Teaching/research dome

Works cited

• Corbin, Alain. Village Bells: Sound and Meaning in the 19th Century French Countryside. Papermac, 1999.
• Fuller, Richard Buckminster. The music of the new life. Music Educators Journal, vol. 52, No. 6, Jun. – Jul., 1966, pp. 52-68., https://doi.org/10.2307/3390717
• Helmreich, Stefan. Listening against Soundscapes. Anthropology News, vol. 51, no. 9, 2010, pp. 10–10., https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-3502.2010.51910.x.
• Kelman, Ari Y. Rethinking the Soundscape. The Senses and Society, vol. 5, no. 2, 2010, pp. 212–234., https://doi.org/10.2752/174589210x12668381452845.
• Schafer, R. Murray. The Tuning of the World. Knopf, 1977.

Works cited (continued)

• Schafer, Murray. The Book of Noise. Price Milburn, 1970.
• Schafer, R. Murray. The New Soundscape: A Handbook for the Modern Teacher. Berandol Music, 1969.
• Schafer, R. Murray. Ear Cleaning: Notes for an Experimental Music Course. Berandol Music Limited, 1969.
• Southworth, Michael. The Sonic Environment of Cities. Environment and Behavior, vol. 1, no. 1, 1969, pp. 49–70., https://doi.org/10.1177/001391656900100104.
• Truax, Barry. Acoustic Communication (Handbook for Acoustic Ecology). Ablex Pub, 2001.

Works cited (continued)

• Truax, Barry. “Soundscape composition as global music: Electroacoustic Music as soundscape.” Organised Sound, vol. 13, no. 2, 25 June 2008, pp. 103–109, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771808000149.
• Westerkamp, Hildegard. “Linking soundscape composition  and acoustic ecology.” Organised Sound, vol. 7, no. 1, Apr. 2002, pp. 51–56, https://doi.org/10.1017/s1355771802001085.

Web Resources

• Truax, Barry. "Soundscape Composition." Simon Fraser University.
  https://www.sfu.ca/~truax/scomp.html. Accessed 19 December 2024.
• Truax, Barry. "World Soundscape Project." Simon Fraser University.
  https://www.sfu.ca/~truax/wsp.html. Accessed 19 December 2024.
• World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. https://www.wfae.net. Accessed 19 December 2024.
• Westerkamp, Hildegard. Official Website. https://www.hildegardwesterkamp.ca. Accessed 19 December 2024.
• Winderen, Jana. Official Website. https://www.janawinderen.com/. Accessed 14 January 2026.
• Barrett, Natasha. Official Website. https://www.natashabarrett.org/. Accessed 14 January 2026.

Copyright and Licensing

Original content: © 2025 Lorenz Schwarz
Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Attribution required for all reuse.

Includes: text, diagrams, illustrations, photos, videos, and audio.

Third-party materials: Copyright respective owners, educational use.

Contact: lschwarz@hfg-karlsruhe.de

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