Originally used as part of a package of measures to map acoustic situations in locations around the world, soundwalks are a good way to understand and internalise the concept of soundscapes through experience.
Hildegard Westerkamp – A Vancouver Soundwalk (1973),map outlining a walking route with numbered listening stops
The practice was introduced by R. Murray Schafer when he launched the World Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, in the late 1960s. In addition to field recordings and drawn sonic maps, soundwalks were also created as part of the cartography through sound promoted by the initiative. They come in various formats.
In 2009, a group of experimental musicians in Berlin offered soundwalks that were undertaken blindfolded. The participants in Gehörte Stadt (Listened City) covered their eyes and walked through the city, guided non-verbally by individual companions.
A soundwalk can also be designed as a group experience along a set route that offers acoustically interesting phenomena. In 1973, composer Hildegard Westerkamp drew a map for A Vancouver Soundwalk, suggesting listening stations along the route from an urban area to the sea and back to the city.
Soundwalks train the ear to work actively
Of course, soundwalks can also be experienced alone – as psychogeographical excursions in which the route is determined by what sounds most pleasant to the ear, e.g. small streets that seem very quiet.
In a variation of this approach for small groups, one person takes the lead while the others try to figure out which sound interests the leader. During one such soundwalk, which I undertook with art students to teach them new perspectives on listening, the participants even felt a strong sense of connection at one point – simply because they were all aware that they were actually sharing the same sound space.
All these different types of soundwalks train the ear to work actively. This can be a helpful skill when trying to analyse a situation that triggers misophonia: What is going on? What is the nature of the sound that causes pain? What else is happening? Is it possible to remain calm?
Soundwalks are exciting sensory experiences and an entertaining way to explore the potential of listening. They can take place both in nature and in cities. No one who has tried this technique has ever been bored.
In her 1974 essay Soundwalking, Hildegard Westerkamp reflects on her observations made during numerous such walks. As a composer, she later made regular use of field recordings. In her 1989 piece Kits Beach Soundwalk, Westerkamp explains how she perceives her surroundings during the recordings.
Unit 3 of Listening with Misophonia covers:
Mapping Acoustic Situations
Various Forms of Soundwalks
Psychogeographical Excursions Based on Listening
Listening as a Sensory Experience
Active Listening as a Prerequisite for Analysing Triggering Situations
