Soundscapes

 In the following chapter, Cesaro discusses soundscapes which she defines as the “ecological relationship between humans and the sonic environment” (p. 21) or “the ecological network of sounds, bodies, aesthetics, materials, technologies, and special features that make up an environment” (p. 71), and she demonstrates, through examples, how “training listeners to become attuned to a range of different soundscapes can heighten their sensitivity to the functions, effects, affects, constraints, and possibilities of sound …” (p. 22). The emphasis in this chapter is to illustrate how sonic environments can influence how people listen, what they hear, and how they interact with sound and sonic environments.  She explains how sound can be used as a rhetorical device which is why she believes it is important for students to recognize that becoming more “attuned to how soundscapes affect their embodied experiences in a range of settings” (p. 70) will result in them being better equipped to receive a sonic experience in a more objective way, and more able to produce an effective and affective sonic experience for others. She goes into detail about how acoustic designers pay close attention to the interaction between “aesthetic, material, and spatial characteristics of an environment” (p. 73) to achieve their desired sonic effects.  She shares the ideas of Thomas Rickert who explains the idea that sound, like other elements in an environment, can act as a rhetorical agent that can be incorporated to influence the experiences a listener has in a given space.  Using the examples of lobbies, music halls, and shopping malls, Ceraso illustrates how sound can be an influential force which demonstrates that people create “conditions with sounds to persuade and affect people in different contexts” (p. 85).  In this chapter, Cesaro “situates multimodal listening practices within a broader system of relationships among sounds, bodies, and environments” (p. 70).  Chapter 3 includes a project called “Mapping Sound Project” which involves having students work collaboratively to create and analyze a digital sound map that includes a physical space in an effort to demonstrate how sound has a profound influence on one’s sense of place.  The project gives students a chance to experience how sound can influence the way a person responds to a specific environment highlighting the ecological nature of listening and composing practices.