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The Book of Noise
R. Murray Schafer
The Book of Noise
Newly revised
Arcana Editions, 1998
52 pages
Ordering Info
Excerpts:
About the Book
Psychological
Disturbance: Social Complaints
The Basic Module
About the Book
The Book of Noise was originally
written in 1968 as a primer for concerned citizens, to explain the dangers of
noise pollution in simple language and to suggest some solutions. In updating
it thirty years later, my only regret is that it still seems necessary. Over
the years I have noted the sustained growth of citizens' organizations
dedicated to solving noise problems; but I have also witnessed the reluctance
of governments to introduce tough legislation and enforce it, while the
manufacturers blithely go on pouring out their cornucopia of noisy toys. On the
positive side, I have witnessed and participated in the growth of soundscape
studies and the birth of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, dedicated to the
intelligent design of quieter environments for the future. Thanks to the
sustained efforts of countless people, solutions to some of the worst problems
are being found or now seem attainable, though a larger effort is still
necessary, particularly in the area of public education, if we are to succeed
in restoring a balanced and ecological soundscape to the world.
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Psychological
Disturbance: Social Complaints
A noise need not be at all loud to be
disturbing. Think of the dripping tap. I have known musicians, for instance,
whose ire is immediately aroused if they enter a room where background music is
present. Others may be irritated by the sound of a certain voice, a neighbour's
pet, or even the modest hum of a computer.
Regardless of the magnitude of
annoying sounds, there is no doubt that public complaints everywhere are on a
massive upward swing. Noise complaints received by Environmental Health
Officers in Britain
more than doubled between 1983 and 1992, and complaints against aircraft noise
quadrupled. In Rio de Janeiro, 60
percent of all public complaints in 1998 were noise-related. According to the
U.S. Census, noise ranks higher than crime, traffic and public services as a
cause of dissatisfaction with urban environments. When New
York City opened a hot line for complaints, 70 percent
of all calls dealt with noise, far above those concerned about crime, alcohol,
or prostitution, much to the surprise of public officials.
Whatever its effects on health, as a
psychological irritant noise is moving to the top position in modern society.
As a former U.S. Surgeon General said, "Calling noise a nuisance is like
calling smog an inconvenience."
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The Basic Module
A module is a basic unit that we may
use as a guide for measuring. In the human environment it is the human being
who forms the basic module. When architects organize spaces for human beings to
inhabit they use the human anatomy as the guiding module. The door frame
accommodates the human frame, the stair the human foot, the ceiling the human
stretch. To demonstrate the binding relationship between architectual space and
the human beings for whom it is created, Le Corbusier made a man with an
upstretched arm his aesthetic symbol and imprinted it on all his buildings.
The basic modules for the acoustic
environment are the human ear and the human voice. We know a good deal about
the behaviour and tolerances of each of these organs. Thus we may speak of
acoustic ecology, the delicate balance between living organisms and their
acoustical environments. When environmental sound reaches such proportions that
human vocal sounds are masked or overwhelmed, we have created an inhuman
environment. When the ear is forced to listen to sounds that may endanger it
physically, we have created an inhuman environment.
It is interesting to consider that
while the voice can be raised to quite a loud level (about 75 dB) at no time
can it be raised beyond a level where it might endanger the ear (about 85-90
dB). In discriminating against low-frequency sounds the human ear conveniently
filters out deep body sounds such as brainwaves and the movement of the blood
in our veins. Also the human hearing threshold has been set conveniently just
above the level that would introduce a continuous recital of air molecules
crashing together. The quiet efficiency of all body movements is another stroke
of genius.
God was a first-rate acoustical
engineer.
Imagine what you'd sound like if you'd
been manufactured by General Motors.
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Last Updated: 08-Jun-2020
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