R. Murray Schafer: The Soundscape Of The World

R. Murray Schafer asks us to stop neglecting the negative effects of noise pollution and unplug our technological devices. Schafer desires to have a change in the world when it comes to the pollution of certain sounds and noises. He acknowledges that there is a shift in the way music, silence and noise are now perceived. He asks “is the soundscape of the world an intermediate composition over which we have control or are we its composers and performers responsible for giving it form and beauty? (Schafer, 1973, p. 30). We utilize selected spaces to consume sounds differently. We are expected to focus and concentrate when we go to concert halls and galleries. Music outdoors such as at folk festivals does not demand our full attention, while when we use our headphones we are giving …show more content…
The birds and the wind caused the leaves to rustle making the parking lot the quietest most peaceful place on my walk. Cars, trains and sirens all seemed to emerge at once as I reached the sidewalk of 17 Avenue. High pitch squeals of children and the deep barks of dogs I passed sent chills down my spine as I walked. My own footsteps and whistling became the background music throughout my walk. The drips of a nearby decorative water fountain joined in with the other sounds around. The loudest sounds were the construction vehicles and workers and people chatting away on their phones in different languages. This seemed to be the most upsetting for me, it added to the business of the city, but as Schafer stated it was truly just noise.Throughout my walk I constantly desired my own music and earphones to cancel out all the loud noises around me. I can honestly admit that my walk wasn’t a normal experience, I am very used to walking with friends or with music and this time it felt lonely. But putting away the electronics really allowed me to hear and take in more of the