Synopses & Reviews
Since the first edition was published seventeen years ago social and technical changes have altered the world of acoustic communication. This book draws upon many traditional disciplines that deal with specific aspects of sound,and presents material within an interdisciplinary framework. It establishes a model for understanding all acoustic and aural experiences both in their traditional forms and as they have been radically altered in the 20th century, Digital technology has completely redefined the listening and consumption patterns of sound. We are now able to benefit from the march of technology via a companion CD-ROM, which accompanies this volume for the first time.
Synopsis
Establishes a model for understanding all acoustic and aural experiences in both traditional and radically altered forms.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Sound, Listening, and Soundscape
Acoustic Tradition and the Communicational Approach
The Energy Transfer Model
Signal Processing
A Communicational Approach
The Listener
Hearing and Listening
Listening to the Past
Listening-in-Search and Listening-in-Readiness
Background Listening and the Keynote Sound Listener Preferences and Attitudes
Voice and Soundmaking
Voice and the Whole Person
Paralanguage
Soundmaking in Pairs and Groups
Systems of Acoustic Communication: Speech, Music, and Soundscape
The Continuum
The Model
The Brain
The Acoustic Community
Characteristics of the Acoustic Community
Variety, Complexity, and Balance
Some Case Studies
Noise and the Urban Soundscape
Noise and Acoustic Communication
Interlude: The "Deaf Spots" of Noise
The Path Toward Change
Acoustic Design
Variety and Coherence
Conclusion
Electroacoustic--The Impact of Technology on Acoustic Communication
Electroacoustic Communication: Breaking Constraints
The New Tools: Extensions or Transformations?
Space and Loudness
Time and Repetition
Objectification and Commodity
Schizophonia
Electrification: The New Soundscape
Redundancy and Uniformity
Dynamic Behavior
Response Characteristics
Analog and Digital
The Listener as Consumer
Extension and Simplification
Analytical and Distracted Listening
Consumerism
The Electroacoustic Media: Audio Mediation
Form and Content in Radio
Radio Structure
Characteristics of Radio Formats
The Acoustic Community as Market
Redefinition of the Acoustic Community
Electroacoustic Sound in the Community
The International Audio Industry
Regaining Control: Electroacoustic Alternatives
Recording and the Document in Sound
Text-Sound, Electroacoustic Music, and the Soundscape Composition
Electoacoustic Design
Principles of Electroacoustic Design
Design of the Compositional System
Discography
Bibliography
Name Index