Constructing Urban Space With Sounds and Music

137 Pages·2014·1.571 MB·English

by  Ricciarda Belgiojoso

ConstruCting urban spaCe with
sounds and MusiC
Happy new ears!
John Cage
Constructing urban space with
sounds and Music
riCCiarda belgiojoso
© ricciarda belgiojoso 2014
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
ricciarda belgiojoso has asserted her right under the Copyright, designs and patents act,
1988, to be identified as the author of this work.
published by
ashgate publishing limited ashgate publishing Company
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
belgiojoso, ricciarda.
[Construire l’espace urbain avec les sons. english]
Constructing urban space with sounds and music / by ricciarda belgiojoso.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4724-2464-8 (hardback) -- ISBN 978-1-4724-2465-5 (ebook) -- ISBN 978-1-
4724-2466-2 (epub) 1. Soundscapes (Music)--History and criticism. 2. Music--Philosophy
and aesthetics. 3. Music and architecture. 4. City sounds. 5. City planning. i. title.
Ml3877.b4513 2014
780'.071--dc23
2013049430
ISBN 9781472424648 (hbk)
ISBN 9781472424655 (ebk – PDF)
ISBN 9781472424662 (ebk – ePUB)
V
printed in the united Kingdom by henry ling limited,
at the dorset press, dorchester, dt1 1hd
Contents
List of Figures ix
Introduction to the English Edition 1
Introduction 5
Part I Urban SoUndS Set to MUSIc 11
1 the art of noises 13
Machine Aesthetics and Enharmonic Intervals 13
Families of Noises 16
Noise Intoners 18
2 Is a truck Passing by Music? 21
In Search of Unknown Timbres 21
Silence and Indetermination 24
The Only Problem with Sounds is Music 25
3 concrete Music 27
Studying Noises 27
Acousmatics 29
Typology and Morphology of Musical Objects 31
4 Soundscape 33
Soundscapes 33
Keynote Sounds, Signals, Soundmarks,
Hi-Fi and Lo-Fi Soundscapes 36
Sonography and Analytic Proceedings 38
Tuning the World 42
vi Constructing Urban Space with Sounds and Music
Part II Urban SPaceS reSoUnd 47
5 the city is an orchestra 49
Bell Concerts 49
Harbour Symphonies 52
Tuned Cities 54
Public Music 59
6 Instruments for transforming noises 61
Converting Traffic Noise into Music 61
Resonating Vases 64
Tuning Tubes 66
Filtering Everyday Sounds 68
7 Sound Sources and resonance 71
Sound Networks 71
Natural Sources and Artificial Environment 73
Acoustical Perspectives 74
Sound Sculptures 76
8 Public Spaces Set to Music 79
Sound Situations 79
Constructing Imaginary Spaces 83
9 tuned Promenades 85
Sound Walks 85
Vocal Strolls 88
Urban Excursions 89
Part III conStrUctIng Urban SPace wIth SoUnd 93
10 Urban Sounds, notes of Life 95
Aural Architecture 95
Listening to the Urban Environment 1v0i1i
Soundscape and Urban Planning 96
Evaluating the Acoustical Properties of an Urban Environment 98
11 Listening to the Urban environment 101
The Sound Identity of a City 101
For a Conscious Listening 104
12 guide Lines for constructing Urban Space with Sound 107
Silent Disco vs. Muzak 107
Community Opera 108
Music en plein air 110
Conclusion 111
Bibliography 113
Discography 121
Index 123
This page has been left blank intentionally
List of Figures
1.1 Luigi Russolo, Awakening of a Capital 14
3.1 Table of the Sound Objects Solfeggio by Pierre Schaeffer 32
4.1 Representation of a sound object 39
4.2 The Isobel map of Stanley Park in Vancouver 40
4.3 Sound event map prepared by Michael Southworth in
downtown Boston relating areas with similar and contrasting
acoustic environment 41
5.1 Harbour symphony in Pointe-à-Caillère, 1–8 March 2009 53
5.2 François Bernard Mache, Une ville sonore 56
6.1 O+A, Garden of Time Dreaming 62
6.2 O+A, Tor 63
6.3 O+A, Traffic Mantra 65
6.4 Overtones in Tuning Tubes 68
8.1 Max Neuhaus (1967), Drive in Music, Buffalo, NY 81
8.2 Max Neuhaus (1977–92, 2002–), Times Square,
Times Square, New York 82
9.1 Janet Cardiff, Münster Walk, 1997 87
11.1 Pascal Amphoux’s Sound Identity Card 103
12.1 An image of Yo!Opera Festival Utrecht 109
12.2 Jay Pritzker Pavillion, Millennium Park, Chicago 110