Sound worlds and everyday space

The starting point for this project was my MPhil thesis (University of Leeds, 1995)\nAural Geographies. An Investigation of Sound In Everyday Space, which has as its\nsubject matter the concept of sound in everyday space. The MPhil thesis argued\nthat in considering everyday space more attention should be paid to the aural\nexperience. The argument did not try to `bolt on' what is heard to what is seen.\nRather it contemplated the intricate relationships between the visual and aural\nsenses within everyday space.\nFollowing from the work which was undertaken for the MPhil it became\nclear that further and more substantial research into the area of sound and space was\nmerited. This research has been carried out at the University of East London as a\nPhD programme, under the supervision of Professor Andrew Blake, who introduced\nme to numerous aspects of music analysis. The thesis acknowledges and expands\nupon the work on sound carried out by the limited number of social theorists who\nhave addressed this issue such as Adorno, Attali and in particular Schafer and his\nwork on soundscapes. There is discussion throughout of the inspirational ideas of\nJohn Cage.\nThe aim of the thesis, which is explored through many inter-related pieces of\nanalysis and empirical work, is to expand upon our knowledge of the role of sound\nin everyday life. The thesis contributes towards knowledge by providing many new\ninsights about the soundworld and its place in human experience. As befits a thesis\nwhich centres on the aural, the research methods are also innovatory allowing the\nreaders/listeners themselves to experience sound worlds. The thesis therefore relies\n111\nheavily on newly-developed new recording/mapping techniques, using high quality\naudio recordings which are then used to produce digital sound maps in the form of\nhypermedia made available on a CD-ROM. The thesis demonstrates how these\nmaps enable us to comprehend some of the complex sensory processes associated\nwith sound worlds.\nSound worlds are the main focus here, and in particular the way in which\nsound worlds are constructed by individuals. Where the MPhil examined sound in\npublic spaces, this thesis further reflects on that investigation before going on to\ninvestigate the sound worlds generated in the living room (a key everyday space).\nThis enables us to hear/see how the sound worlds associated with the living room\nlink up with other everyday spaces. The contention is that sound is crucial for the\norganisation and operation of everyday space\nThough the thesis is persuasive in indicating the importance of the aural in\neveryday life, the question arises as to how the relationship between the aural and\nthe visual can be represented in academic work, and especially in the discipline of\ngeography. This question is addressed in the thesis by the presentation of a number\nof specially developed aural terms, such as `sonic order' and `sound maps'. The\nthesis describes how people organise their activities around sonic order, and\nexplains how conflicts arise over sonic order. The thesis concludes that sound maps\nare present in everyday space and that people use them to navigate everyday space.\nThis sensitivity to sound spaces generates geographical (aur/imagin)ations, which\nare in turn subject to study from within the discipline of geography.