I was really pleased to be presenting my poster on 'Extending Soundwalking Practice : Soundsitting as an additional method to Soundwalking' at the UKAN+ (UK Acoustics Network) 2022 Conference in Manchester yesterday.

Soundsitting as an alternative to soundwalking offers a number of additional benefits to the traditional soundwalk, including inclusivity for visually impaired and those unable to walk. Soundsitting is a way of obtaining deep immersive listening in a single soundscape context, rather than transitioning through differing contexts on a walk. Both methods are complimentary.

Abstract

Soundwalking has become an established methodology for soundscape research, with applications for a wide range of academic research applications, artist practice and as a method for exploring, educating and understanding soundscapes. From urban planning, pedagogical practice to health and well-being, the soundwalk is used as a tool for phenomenological participant study of sound environments and provides an effective way of engaging participants in a qualitative research.

This work proposes the 'soundsit' as an additional method to extend current soundwalking methodological practice, and to address issues of transition, changing context, event occurrence and temporality which occur on a traditional soundwalk. The soundsit provides the participant and researcher a fixed place, within a defined soundscape context, enabling them to gain a longer term experiential understanding of a space. Soundsitting allows the soundscape to settle into a steady state, comparable to capturing LAEQ measurements.

In addition, soundsitting allows for a participant to disengage the visual sense, allowing for deeper listening to a soundscape, without the safety implications and distractions of walking, allowing for a different type of immersion through engaged active listening, something which is not possible on a soundwalk.

Soundsitting can be used in conjunction with or as part of a soundwalk, however, it can be used as a practice in its own right, soundsitting offers a deeper qualitative analysis and insight to the soundscape of a specific space or location.

Testing

The proposed soundsitting methodology has been tested over a number of years as part of the author's practice, including a range of students from different disciplines, and currently used as part of an exploratory research process on the 'Our Dee Estuary' project. Soundsitting has been trialled with traditional soundwalking methodologies to determine the differences between the participant experience and listening engagement with the soundscape.

Initial Benefits and outcomes

• Comparable to an LAEQ15 measurement, the soundsit enables a soundscape to obtain a 'steady state', with 'peak' or one-off events not given the precedence or importance, unlike if a participant was transitioning the space on a soundwalk.

• Inclusivity and participation for the visually impaired. those with mobility issues and those unable to walk.

• Deeper listening states can be achieved, with participants able to 'close their eyes' and disengage with visual stimuli allowing participants to focus their listening on details, spatiality and temporality within the chosen soundscape context.

• Deeper active listening allows for 'deep topographical' analysis and detail in the participants qualitative assessment of the soundscape.

• Soundsitting allows for specific soundscape contexts to be studied, rather than multiple contexts which would be transitioned through on a traditional soundwalk. The soundsit allows for acoustic measurements and field recordings to be made simultaneous without issues around moving recordings and measurement.

• Soundsit field recordings can be compared directly with the participant experience providing deeper analysis.

• Recording of participant physiological data made possible and without additional variable e.g. movement.

• Soundsitting can be undertaken indoors, to allow for the study of internal soundscapes.
  

Thanks to UKAN for holding such a great and inspiring event.

#soundwalking #soundsitting #soundscape #soundscapes #soundscaperesearch