What is a soundscape?

The concept of soundscape was first proposed by Canadian composer R Murray Schafer in the 1960s.

The definition of soundscape is: (Soundscape) studies the interrelationship between people, hearing, acoustic environment and society, which is different from traditional noise control. Soundscapes value perception, not just physical quantities; consider active and harmonious sounds, not just noise; consider the acoustic environment as a resource, not just "waste"?

To put it simply, include sound into the scope of construction and bring excellent sounds to people.

Four techniques of soundscape

There are four main techniques of soundscape in gardens: borrowing, supplementing, masking and contrasting

Borrow

Use sound to trigger visual associations among visitors, thus adding content to the visual landscape.

Fill

An artificial soundscape fill. Such as artificial background music and simulated natural sound environment.

Masking

There are two methods of masking sound. One is to use some pleasant or more harmonious sound to mask the noise, and the other is to Directly block or eliminate sounds that are unpleasant and inconsistent with the entire environment

Contrast

"The cicada forest becomes quieter, and the bird singing mountain becomes more secluded ". In classical gardens, the contrast of soundscape mostly uses some kind of sound to set off the quietness and depth of the environment.

Common soundscapes in classical gardens

Soundscape is still a familiar yet unfamiliar profession in China. Although the concept of soundscape was proposed by Canadians, ancient Chinese gardeners have already considered sound as a part of the garden. For example, "Yuan Ye" records the sound of rain as "the rain on the plantains at night is like the tears of a dragon." scene. The common soundscape elements in gardens mainly include: wind and water. It is subdivided into: the sound of wind, the sound of wind blowing through plants, the sound of waterscape, the sound of raindrops, etc.

Don’t think it’s just talk, many Chinese classical gardens have such applications.

The Fengyin Cave in Geyuan, Yangzhou is a typical example. Open more than ten holes in the wall, and when the wind blows, it can make sounds like flutes and other wind instruments. Let the literati imagine. The technique of borrowing sound is used here to give people a visual association of cold wind.

Although the Maple Listening Pavilion in Suzhou also uses wind as the main source of soundscape, the designer enclosed the courtyard and planted a number of maple trees to make it more attractive. The wind is not only the sound of blowing wind, but also the crisp sound of maple leaves blowing. When combined with the sound reflection of the enclosed yard, the soundscape is very rich in layers, allowing people to listen to it all year round.

Listening to Maple Pavilion uses two techniques: fill-in sound and masking: enclosing the yard makes it easier for wind to spread, and the sound of a few maple trees can produce the effect of a maple forest. This is the fill sound; using the sound of leaves and surrounding walls to cover up the busy traffic outside and reduce the noise, that is, masking.

In traditional Japanese gardens, soundscape development is more elaborate. And it has more to do with water. Japanese gardens emphasize smallness, precision, and tranquility. They also connect soundscape equipment with Zen, forming a complete system. Let the garden and soundscape complement each other.

Commonly used soundscape devices in Japanese gardens are the frightening deer and the suikinkutsu.

Jinglu uses the principle of leverage and uses the continuous transfer of running water at both ends of the bamboo tube (similar to the seesaw). Finally, one end of the bamboo tube hits the stone to make a crisp sound. Moreover, the bamboo is hollow, so sounds will echo. Suikinkutsu refers to a Japanese garden decoration and musical instrument. Its structure includes an inverted sealed pot. Water flows into a small pool inside the pot through a hole in the upper part of the pot, thereby producing a pleasant sound of water splashing in the pot, which sounds like a bell. Or the koto, a 13-string zither.

They are both tools that combine borrowing and contrasting techniques. The crisp and echoey sound is reminiscent of Zen, which is used as a reference; from time to time, a sound breaks the silence of the garden, which is a contrast.

△Shocking Deer

△Shuikinku

From this It can be seen that soundscape is an indispensable part of ancient oriental gardens, and its application is mature.

Modern garden case - Sheffield Railway Station

The station square of Sheffield Railway Station is a park located in the United Kingdom. Examples of soundscape creation in modern landscapes. The various water features in the square are rich in spectrum and sound level dynamic range, and various psychoacoustic indicators such as loudness, roughness, sharpness and fluctuation intensity are used to provide users with a "concert" .

Sheffield is the European steel capital and the city’s history and culture where stainless steel was invented. The main element of the soundscape is stainless steel, which is made into a continuous "blade". While the "blade" blocks traffic noise, there is clear water flowing down the side facing the square, further masking the noise with the sound of gurgling water. In addition to the water curtain wall, there are also fountains and cascading water in the square, making the water sounds diverse.

Field questionnaire surveys show that although the sound of water is not the loudest of all sounds, it is the one that attracts the most attention of tourists.

This case shows that modern soundscape elements not only reduce noise or improve user pleasure through sound, but also create high cultural value and enhance space additionality. Value for modern landscaping features. These are benefits that ordinary untuned voices cannot bring.

Conclusion

Today, when people are increasingly pursuing the quality of landscapes, users of landscapes are no longer satisfied with simply The vision is beautiful. Soundscapes will surely once again become the finishing touch in the landscape.

References:

[1]] SCHAFER R M. The new soundscape:A handbook for the modern musicteacher[M]. BMI Canada, 1969 , 57.

[2]Kang J, Yang W. Soundscape in urban open public spaces[J]. World Architecture, 2002.

[3]Xie Hui, Yang Senqi, Ge Yuzhe. Analysis of space creation techniques for wind and rain soundscapes in classical Chinese gardens [J/OL]. Western Journal of Human Settlements and Environment, 2018(05):1-6[2018-12-01].

[4] Li Qiyan. Analysis of the application of soundscape in garden landscape design [J]. Beauty and Times (City Edition), 2017(08):68-69.

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