How the World Listens: The Human Relationship with Sound across the World

How the World Listens explores our everyday and professional interactions with sound. The book aims to uncover the human relationship with sound across the world and to reveal practical ways in which a better understanding of listening can help us in our daily lives. This book asks how sound is perceived, expressed and interacted with in both remarkably similar and dramatically different ways across the world. Using findings from a new scientific study, conducted exclusively for this book, we embark on a globe-trotting adventure across more than thirty countries, through exclusive interviews with more than fifty individuals from all walks of life, from acousticians and film composers to human resource managers and costumiers. How the World Listens is essential reading for anyone with an interest in human relationships with sound, including but not limited to sound design and music composition professionals, teachers and researchers.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements INTRODUCTION Origins and precedent The habitus Sociocultural theory CHAPTER ONE: SOUND AND THEORY Asking the right questions A (quite) brief review of sound theory & perspectives What is sound? Sound as a soundwave Sound as an object or an event (or both […] or neither) Extending sound theory even further Beyond the acoustic definition What is listening and how is sound controlled? Typologies of listening The function of sound Acoustic ecology Chapter One summary: questions begetting questions CHAPTER TWO: SOUND AND RESEARCH The madness, the methodology, and the method The chain of study design, and its four links The research onion Approaching ethnography Qualitative v. quantitative The function and values of ethnography (and when to use it) Some key trends in ethnography Autoethnography Is ethnography the right choice for studying sound? Making sense of sound studies Ethnomusicology, for a bit of history Does sound studies actually study sound? Approaching sound studies So, you want to do some interviews? When and how to use an interview The ethnographic interview Analysing interview results How can technology help? The chosen method Chapter Two summary: So, how did it all go then? CHAPTER THREE: SOUND AND MEANING Immediate reactions Emergent themes Objective aspects of sound Meaning through definition Perceptual responses Immersion and persistence in sound The listener Functions and values The affordances of sound The value of sound Affect and identity Feeling and the emotional aspects of sound Music, affect, and identity Sound and spirituality Meaning through work Chapter Three summary: the meaning of sound’s meaning CHAPTER FOUR: SOUND AND CULTURE Themes of culture and sound in research Earlier research More contemporary perspectives How should we be defining ‘culture’? Initial thoughts from the interviews Short and sweet responses Detailed, and a little more intimate Emerging topics for further discussion The sound of coffee Synaesthesia Music and culture Local, historical, and seasonal effects Voice and language Religion and ceremony Chapter Four summary: not something I normally think about CHAPTER FIVE: SOUND AND PLACE How does the world sound? Conceptualising the soundscape Continental soundscapes The Big Ice Application of soundscape studies Pre-interview observations of sound and place Some local perspectives A question of sport The quiet revolution of electric vehicles Application of soundscape studies Europe and the Russian federation Sonic boundaries and the sounds of city and countryside Meteorological effects Asia and Oceania Defining the Eastern soundscape Different beeps and louder dogs Soundscapes and routine Common features, topology, and long-term human influences The Americas Biodiversity and the effects of migration The calls of commerce Africa Tradition and spirituality Transportation A brief epilogue: sound everywhere and nowhere Chapter Five summary: there’s a lot going on CHAPTER SIX: SOUND AND EVERYDAY EXPERIENCE How does sound function in your everyday life? Background sound Situational awareness Challenges with sound What is your relationship with sound within your home? Outside sound sources and architectural effects Sources of sound from inside the home Sound, stress, anxiety, and relaxation in the home Good and bad sound in an everyday context Pre-interview observations The good, the bad, and the "well, it depends…" The etiquette of sound Sound-etiquette in domestic life Respectful sound in public Social sound and vocal expression Chapter Six summary: who doesn’t like the sound of a crow cawing? CHAPTER SEVEN: SOUND AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE How does sound feature in your profession? General functions of sound at work Sonic warfare Sound professional by industry Digital games Film and theatre Sound professionals’ relationships with sound Awareness and readiness to capture Impact on everyday enjoyment Changes in perspective Perceptual effects Cultural factors, expectations, and creative response Cultural effects on practice Universality and concerns over detracting from the art Different standards and expectations The return of the East-West dichotomy A few further examples Chapter Seven summary: on the verge of global sound? CONCLUSION Final answers Is the human relationship with sound different around the world? What did you learn from your autoethnography? Do you still hate qualitative research? Index