Soundscape Installation: Weather Systems Composition

Variable 4 (6:22) This is a documentary short about a generative outdoor sound installation based on translating weather patterns into musical patterns in real time, by James Bulley and Daniel Jones. With the use of meteorological sensors connected to a custom software environment, the weather itself acts as conductor, navigating through a map of 24 specifically-written movements.

Every aspect of the piece, from broad harmonic progressions down to individual notes and timbres, is influenced by changes in the environment: wind speed, rainfall, solar radiation, humidity, tropospheric variance, temperature, and more. The resultant composition is performed over a 24 hour duration through a field of 8 speakers integrated into the landscape."

For more information please see: variable4.org.uk. Video footage: Drew Cox (drewcox.co.uk) Source: Vimeo.

Lecture: Your Brain on Sound

Your Brain On Sound (5:17) Jack Moffitt reveals how the brain hears sound and how what you think you hear isn't always what's really there. Moffitt explores aural illusions, psychoacoustics, and how sound can be compressed in MP3 recordings. This is a presentation of Ignite New Mexico 5! Source: YouTube.

Noise Issues: What is Noise?

What is Noise? (7:53) Host Mo Rocca of the CBS program "The Tomorrow Show" addresses the future of noise in our complex modern culture. He notes that whereas the future is often represented as a place of quiet, as in Science Fiction films, it seems that we are becoming nosier. Noise is wasted energy and quiet machinery and appliances are much more efficient. He then asks, can things get too quiet.  Source: CBS News.

Education: Teen Hearing Loss

Teen Hear Loss On The Rise. Will young people be able to clearly hear the soundscape around them as they age? A stunning number of teens have lost a little bit of their hearing - nearly one in five - and the problem has increased substantially in recent years, a new national study has found. Some experts are urging teenagers to turn down the volume on their digital music players, suggesting loud music through earbuds may be to blame - although hard evidence is lacking. They warn that slight hearing loss can cause problems in school and set the stage for hearing aids in later life. Click2Read related article.  Source: CBS News

Research: Sound of Grieving Beavers

Sound of Grieving Beavers (2:44) Dr. Bernie Krause has traveled the world recording and archiving the sounds of creatures and environments large and small. Many of his sound recordings are from habitats that no longer exist. One of his most disturbing recordings happened after wild life management officials dropped dynamite into a beaver’s home killing the mother and babies. The male beaver was wounded, and this is the sound he made later that night traveling alone across a lake. Source: FORA-TV

Project: Mapping Architectural and Urban Spaces

Klando (1:08) 'New Maps of Time' is a project and workshop about mapping architectural and urban spaces using sound and site-specific activity. The workshop was held in Prague and Kladno, October 9-13, 2009 and was made in collaboration with FAMU, Four Days in Motion festival and International Biennial Vestiges of Industry. Kladno is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. This project was coordinated by Milos Vojtechovsky and led by John Grzinich.

Soundscape: Times Square, Weather & Acoustics

Times Square is the center of New York City and it is a soundscape that is full of life all day and night. The acoustic environment is modified, in part, by the weather as is illustrated in these three videos: sunny day, rainy night, and snow storm.

Times Square (2:27) Known as the "cross roads of the world" is the heart of a continually active acoustic environment. On a bright sunny day the street activity reverberates throughout the canyon of buildings.

Rainy Times Square (2:55) A March 2011 rain storm changes the sound characteristics of the street scene.

Snowstorm in Times Square (1:28) A 2009 December snow storm softens the acoustic environment of time square.

Video Source YouTube

Research: Soundscape change at Samford

Listening to the Soundscape (6:04) Automated recordings of soundscape changes during a day at the Samford Queensland Ecological Research Facility, Site SA01, 18 November 2010. See also the Real Lab website at: http://real.msu.edu.