“To use food as a metaphor, sonic events are the raw ingredients, aural architecture is the cooking style, and, as a inseparable blend, the soundscape is the resulting dish” (Blesser, Salter 15). Blesser and Salter use this simple, yet effective metaphor to explain their concept of aural architecture. An aural experience of an environment is not just the sum of its parts; it is the shape of the environment that surrounds the sums that creates the aural architecture. Sound waves travel at a finite speed and reflect off certain objects differently; further more sound waves have different reflective properties based on their frequency and dB level. Imagine a jazz band playing in a typical environment, such as a dark small club. The sum of its’ parts are the band, trumpet, standup bass, piano, drums, and the audience. In the typical setting of a small club with lots of people the sound is mellow, reflection are short and dampened by the shape of the room and the people occupying the room. The sound and feel of the music lends itself to the environment and creates a certain mood that is shaped by the architecture of the room, thus creating an aural experience. Now, make the entire environment, room, bar, tables, chairs and the audience disappear, leaving only the jazz band playing their tunes. In a vacuum you would hear nothing, the sound waves would not have air to ripple through creating sound for our ears to interrupt, much like being in outer space. Now put the band in an empty orchestral theater and imagine how washed out all the instruments would appear, long reflections and echoes would saturate the space and create a different, most likely less desirable, experience of the jazz band. The aural architecture of an environment not only shapes how we as humans experience sound in a space, but also how we feel in relation to the sound.
works cited:
Barry Blesser, Linda-Ruth Salter. Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?
Cory R Gorman | Film 116 | Fall 2014 UW-Milwaukee
