This part of the map is dedicated to soundscapes. These are longer recordings of “ambient” noise, in which students do not create any sounds, but rather authentically capture what is happening in a given space. The soundscape is the foundation of the Soundmap, which is built on the original theory introduced in R. Murray Schafer’s The Tuning of the World. This book defines the concept of the soundscape, outlining its components and applications. Students may recognize it from required reading in MUS 131 early in the semester. For those who haven’t read it, this page will summarize the key points.
You’re probably familiar with the term landscape, the visual composition of an area. A soundscape is its aural equivalent. Schafer defines it as:
The soundscape is any acoustic field of study. We may speak of a musical composition as a soundscape, or a radio program as a soundscape or an acoustic environment as a soundscape. We can isolate an acoustic environment as a field of study just as we can study the characteristics of a given landscape. However, it is less easy to formulate an exact impression of a soundscape than of a landscape. There is nothing in sonography corresponding to the instantaneous impression which photography can create. With a camera it is possible to catch the salient features of a visual panorama to create an impression that is immediately evident. The microphone does not operate this way. It samples details. It gives the close-up but nothing corresponding to aerial photography.
A soundscape can truly be anything. Popular soundscapes captured at the Claremont Colleges include athletic events/games, fountains, dining halls, and common areas. Each recording preserves what that moment in that place truly sounded like.
“We can isolate an acoustic environment as a field of study just as we can study the characteristics of a given landscape.”
Schafer, The Tuning of the World
What makes up a landscape? The background, the rolling hills, a bright sky? Defining structures like buildings or plants? What about the color of the clouds, which might suggest rain is coming?
Soundscapes have similar components: keynote sounds, signals, soundmarks, and archetypes.
Keynote Sounds:
If you come from a musical background, you’ll recognize the term keynote. Schafer explains, a “keynote is a musical term; it is the note that identifies the key or tonality of a particular composition.” The keynote of a soundscape is its core sound—the one that remains if you were to strip everything else away. Think of a jackhammer at a construction site—there are many sounds layered on top of it, but the jackhammer is the constant underpinning the soundscape.
Signals:
A signal is a sound that carries meaning and communicates something almost instantly. The buzzer at a basketball game signals the end of the half. When Pomona’s Smith Memorial Tower rings, it signals to the whole campus that it’s 47 minutes after the hour.
Soundmarks:
Soundmarks is derived from landmarks. They’re important parts of the landscape but may not necessarily communicate anything. A book falls, a student coughs, a squirrel chitters.
Archetypes:
The literary definition of archetype is a symbol that occurs again and again; soundscape archetypes work the same. Archetypes can also have a cultural element. Take the numerous fountains at Scripps—they’re a soundmark that repeats throughout the campus, because Scripps values serene, natural spaces.
