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Abstract

Sound Worlds. A New Research Area in Music
This article discusses the interdisciplinary field of acoustic ecology or “soundscape research” in light of the fact that so few scholars of music have, to date, explored this field. Topical issues relating to sound and the auditory environment will only attain their rightful places in our everyday lives, in the scholarly community and in policymaking when research in this area gains academic status. This is not yet the case, owing primarily to the fragmentation both of research and of the public administration. Generally, both these systems are based on antediluvian pre-electronic sound worlds. Research on sound, on noise, and on the auditory environment is already being conducted within some twenty academic disciplines in more or less splendid isolation from one another. There is a lack of compatibility of methods and theories, and results are seldom disseminated beyond the bounds of the individual discipline. The term “acoustic ecology” is critiqued on the basis of an article by Gregg Wagstaff, and the more neutral “soundscape research” is proposed to replace it, thus avoiding the allusion to ecology and certain associations with New Age. An anthropocentric point of departure (see figure 2) is proposed as an alternative to the rigid bureaucratic and academic systems of today, with a focus on the soundscape in everyday human life. Sound and the soundscape are considered, on the basis. of this kind of holistic model, as equally basic elements to human survival as fresh air, clean water and non-polluted earth. Methods to be applied in individual studies should be determined on a case by case basis. However, it is important to distinguish all kinds of research (basic, applied/commissioned, etc.) from pedagogical activities, political actions and artistic performance. Studies of works of art based on soundscape material (compositions, installations, performance art, etc.) and their relations to aesthetic and ethical value systems are particularly well-suited to being pursued within musicology. Five other areas where there is an urgent need for studies in musicology are also mentioned: 1. Background music, 2. Acoustical design, 3. Hearing impairments / injuries and music, 4. Virtual auditory worlds, and 5. Pedagogy and education.