Fall/Winter 2004
Volume 1, Number 2
Contents
Whither the ASAE?
The Origin of "Shhh"
NY Chapter Report
Member Announcements
Upcoming Events
ASAE Board
American Society for Acoustic Ecology Home
World Forum for Acoustic Ecology Home
Archived Newsletters
September 2004
Whither the ASAE?
by Jim Cummings, ASAE President
Well, folks, we seem to be chugging along in establishing some footholds of acoustic ecology awareness here in the U.S., with the New York chapter leading the way (see below). Their ongoing planning meetings and multi-faceted events set a great tone for the rest of us. Here in New Mexico, there seems to be an inkling of local interest in the wake of our four-lecture series this fall (see Sept. 2004 ASAE newsletter). I'm not sure if any of them actually sent in memberships, but somewhere between eight and twelve local folks became dedicated fans of the talks, and we probably brought in a total of about a hundred different people over the course of the series. And out in California, they're starting to gather, too.
Spurring and supporting these kinds of regional initiatives was a primary goal when we formed the ASAE, so it's good to see them beginning to take root. The tricky part is figuring out what to do with the interest. . . . I'd love to hear from the New York group, maybe in the next e-newsletter, about some of the ways that their group process has evolved. It seems from what I've heard that there's a strong dose of finding ways to fold together a good variety of interests and desires there. Perhaps by then we will have had some more informal brainstorming/visioning sessions out here, rather than just formal lectures.
I'm wondering whether there is a need or desire for any national projects yet. Or, are we content to be working regionally, directly with other people, for now? How are the "scattered" members, who don't have local groups, doing? Is it rewarding enough to simply be part of the WFAE and ASAE network, or do you want something more to chew on?
We had talked of a number of possibilities, any of which could provide some focus of time and energy for those interested. There was the thought of pulling together more curriculum materials, something Gary has done an admirable job of for WFAE—how might we complement or feed into this effort? (See "Educational and Teaching Resources" at http://interact.uoregon.edu/MediaLit/WFAE/resources/index_resources.html.) Could we create a curriculum package that is published for teachers to use? A mention was made of organizing the individual recording archives of members (perhaps creating a web-based reference to what individuals have?). And the idea of a "100 Soundscapes" type project for the U.S. was floated.
I sense that the energy in the group is tenuous still, so I'm not sure about a large project like the 100 Soundscapes just yet, though I certainly hope we get there. I wonder what sort of projects really fit the state we are currently in. Perhaps working to expand the total active membership, through both local group outreach and personal networking, would be a good goal for 2005, with an eye toward reaching a critical mass of enthused members, with which we can pursue more ambitious projects, such as the 100 Soundscapes or a conference, in 2006?
It doesn't seem crucial to me that we try to be more engaged/active than we are at this point; there's some sort of taoist "responding to what is" at work in me here. Yet it may also be that we need a bigger project to spur more energy. . . . The question is whether this would be pushing the river or a necessary catalyst. What is the proper timing?
I hope that these thoughts can help spur some discussion on the listserv about all this.
Perhaps the seed is happily germinating, preparing to sprout as moisture and warmth are contributed over time. Thanks to all of you reading this; your interest is that warmth. I'm excited at what has come so far, and look forward to the unfolding of the ASAE's vision and mission in the years to come.
Let's stay in touch!!
The Origin of "Shhh"
by Jeff Rice
He has been listening to choirs for months now. My son has spent much of the last nine months accompanying his mother to her job as a choir director. His life in utero has included Bach and Brahms, the occasional English madrigal. We have wondered sometimes what he has really heard inside there. I've tried out my CD collection and played him some Radiohead, the Beatles, Miles Davis, whatever we thought he might like.
There is no doubt that babies can hear external sounds from inside the womb. Their ears are well developed by around the end of the second trimester. A baby can identify its mother's voice before birth. It's a good idea to keep this in perspective, though, and realize that some of the subtleties of the sound may be lost to them. What they hear in general is a strange underwater melange, filtered by the powerful rush of the mother's blood. The constant noise in the womb is roughly 80 to 90 decibels, which is louder than a vacuum cleaner. Pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp of the UCLA Medical School describes it this way: "To get a good idea of what this sounds like to your baby, try dunking your head under the bathwater while the faucet is turned on—full blast." Karp has studied what babies hear in the womb and has discovered—or, rather, rediscovered—how it affects them after they are born.
Karp has become famous for showing parents how to calm so-called "colicky" babies that won't stop crying. One of his techniques involves the use of white noise. "Did you ever notice how the sound of the wind or the rumble of the ocean makes you feel relaxed and at peace?" he writes in his popular book The Happiest Baby on the Block. Those sounds resemble the rush of blood that we hear in the womb, Karp says, and it is why newborns are calmed by sounds of staticy radios, vacuum cleaners, hair dryers or the rumble of washing machines. Many parents have known this for generations, and long before electricity, parents have been making their own static sounds.
Ever wonder why people say "shhh" when you are making too much noise? It undoubtedly goes back to early baby calming techniques, Karp argues. Karp demonstrates that in many cases crying babies can be calmed almost instantaneously by a loud and constant "shhh" sound in the ear. It reminds the baby of the comfort of the womb and sets off a calming reflex that mothers have exploited for thousands of years. "This sound is one of the very few vocalizations understood by all humans, in every corner of the globe," Karp writes. "And in many unrelated languages it's the root of the word asking for silence." From "hush' in English, to "shuh-shuh" in Chinese and "chut" in Urdu to "teeshina" in Slovenian and on and on in cultures and languages throughout the world.
Just as archetypal as the "shush," of course, is the baby's cry. We all start with that same fundamental language. A baby's cry when born will be the same in any part of the world. We are all bound together by this. Recently it was my son's turn. His life outside the womb began with a cry, a sudden crack when he felt the burn of oxygen in his lungs and then a full-throated banshee-like wail that announced his new life. Today on the back deck, his grandmother held him and he heard his first squirrel and countless birds, an airplane or two and a brief dog chorus. The world was answering him and he was listening.
Previously published in Catalyst Magazine (www.catalystmagazine.net), September 2004. Reprinted by kind permission of the author.
New York Chapter Report
by Michelle Nagai, ASAE Treasurer and Membership Coordinator
The New York Society for Acoustic Ecology (NYSAE), a.k.a. the New York chapter of the ASAE, has begun work on a number of projects to be presented in collaboration with The Electronic Music Foundation's spring 2005 event aimed at fostering awareness of human interaction with the environment. The NYSAE plans to present a number of installations, soundwalks, and public talks sure to be of interest to those who navigate the busy city streets of New York City.
More information can be found on The Electronic Music Foundation's web site, www.emf10.org/environment/index.html, or the web site of the NYSAE, http://fm.hunter.cuny.edu/nysae/.
Elliott Berger, Senior Scientist for Auditory Research with E-A-R / Aearo Company in Indianapolis, maintains an educational web site on hearing conservation and related issues. Recently he added a new "Ask the Expert" page to the site. Check it out at www.e-a-r.com/hearingconservation/.
Acoustical consultant David Lubman, FASA, has recently prepared two papers that may be of interest to ASAE members. His 2001 Public Art Review essay with Brenda Kiser, "Ancient Echoes: The Origins of Sound Sculptures," has just been republished online in a PAR Anthology. This essay interprets the soundscape around the temple of Kukulkan in terms of Mayan history and religion. Read it at www.publicartreview.org/pdf/kiser.pdf. His soundscape research at the shrine of a seventh century Saxon saint in Chester cathedral, England is also available as a brief online lay paper with photos and sound files. The paper interprets the aural experience of petitioning pilgrims at the shrine as a powerful and previously unknown form of aural religious theater. The paper was presented at the November 2004 meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. Read and hear it at www.aip.org/148th/lubman.html.
Sound artist Annie Martin is pleased to announce the release of her new CD, Relaxation: Songs for City Dwellers. This CD explores the urban sound environment while questioning the concept of relaxation as a commodity. Martin is a multidisciplinary artist interested in sensitivity and the subtle language of things. Her installation work has been exhibited across Canada, in the United States, and in Bulgaria. For more information, contact her .
This May the Acoustical Society of America will be meeting in Vancouver, Canada. There will be sessions on soundscapes, animal bioacoustics, acoustical oceanography, and architectural acoustics and the green building movement, among many others. See http://asa.aip.org/vancouver/vancouver.html for more info.
The next meeting of the National Hearing Conservation Association will be in Tucson in February 2005. Elliott Berger will be teaching a workshop at the meeting entitled "Happy Ears: Acoustical Literacy and Acoustical Advocacy." There will be many additional events of interest to ASAE members, including an unusual Friday lunchtime lecture on "The Acoustics of Laughter." Visit www.hearingconservation.org/conf_program2005.html for additional details and to download the entire conference announcement brochure.
The Twelfth International Conference on Sound and Vibration, sponsored by the International Institute of Acoustics and Vibration (IIAV), will take place in Lisbon, Portugal from July 10-14, 2005. This is a WFAE-endorsed event, and a session or separate symposium on acoustic ecology is planned. A concert entitled "Lisboa Reloaded: Audio-Visual Projections of the White City" will also be part of the conference; for more info on the concert, visit www.realambient.de and click on "News." To learn more about the IIAV and the conference, visit www.iiav.org.
American Society for Acoustic
Ecology (ASAE)
www.acousticecology.org/asae/
Board of Directors
For email contacts, please send a note to Dave:
Jim Cummings, President and Webmaster
Steven M. Miller, Vice President and WFAE Representative
Dave Aftandilian, Communications / Publications Coordinator
Michelle Nagai, Treasurer and Membership Coordinator
Glenn Bach, Secretary and Regional Coordinator
Gary Ferrington, Listserv Administrator