Portfolio Task

Soundscape: School Library 15/05/2016 3.45 pm

Every day at 3.45 pm is the last hour for students who carry out personal studies to vacate the library. In the library, there is an automated door where students have to insert their school identity cards to open it. However, in the process of capturing student details, the door produces a sound to signal that a student’s card is genuine. Most students perceive this sound as a mechanical process. Many people do not understand that sounds reflect various issues of their lives in their immediate society (Zhang & Kang, 2007).

The soundscape that I have recorded is a regular thing to the student, as it is a ‘sound signal’ that reminds them of when to leave the library (Murray, 1977). I chose to record the sound of the door during departure time because of its significance to an individual. There is a difference between the ‘keynote sounds’ of the acoustic environment both in the morning and evening. In the morning, everyone arrives individually but in most evening hours people tend to depart in groups. The reason I took the soundscape is because of the level of suspense that one goes through when the door captures the details on one’s card. It is usually frustrating in the evening, because there are several ear-witnesses. Murray (1977) indicates that an ear-witness is a person who can testify based on what he/she heard; in this case, fellow students can fail to hear the buzz sound, meaning that the respective user has not cleared his/her library fees.

The sound from the automated door is similar, but because of time difference, it creates different emotions to the student using it. The door denies access to students who have not cleared library fees. If someone has not cleared fees, the door fails to open, hence denying such a person access to the library. In the evening it is worse, because one’s library fee could get depleted while still in the library. The indication here is that such a person will have to be detained until the chief librarian authorizes his release. Therefore, students who doubt their library status are always in suspense when they reach the door. If the door opens for someone who was not sure about his/her status, such a student is elated, because he/she feels as part of the community. Duffy (2010) addresses the use of emotions and belongingness as well as its relationship with sounds. In the evening, it is embarrassing for a student, because if the door does not produce that sound, it means that you have to be detained.

Detention is an unpleasant experience if it happens in the full glare of other students. The sound from the door represents freedom but its failure is a symbol of limited freedom. Many students fail to draw any emotional attachment between the sound and the life of the user (Dubois, Guastavino & Raimbault, 2006). A detained person develops a feeling of being unwanted by systems within a society. It could have been different if the door denied a student access to the library in the morning, because there are always few ear-witnesses. However, when it happens among many students, the affected student will be subjected to a public trial by students at the scene.

References

Dubois, D., Guastavino, C., & Raimbault, M. (2006). A cognitive approach to urban soundscapes: Using verbal data to access everyday life auditory categories. Acta acustica united with acustica, 92(6), 865-874.

Duffy, M. (2010). Sound ecologies. Cultural Studies Review, 16(1), 43-59.

Murray Schafer, R. (1977). The soundscape: Our sonic environment and the tuning of the world. Vancouver: Destiny Books.

Zhang, M., & Kang, J. (2007). Towards the evaluation, description, and creation of soundscapes in urban open spaces. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design, 34(1), 68-86.

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Posted on May 21, 2016Author TutorCategories Question, Questions