SPACES SPEAK, ARE YOU LISTENING?

ISBN: 9780262513173

22.05

We experience spaces not only by seeing but also by listening. We can navigate a room in the dark, and “hear” the emptiness of a house without furniture. Our experience of music in a concert hall depends on whether we sit in the front row or under the bal

Weight 1 kg
Author

,

Book Language

Pages

436

Size

Year

2007

Cover

Paperback

Publishers

1 in stock

ISBN: 9780262513173 Categories: , ,
Description

Description

We experience spaces not only by seeing but also by listening. We can navigate a room in the dark, and “hear” the emptiness of a house without furniture. Our experience of music in a concert hall depends on whether we sit in the front row or under the balcony. The unique acoustics of religious spaces acquire symbolic meaning. Social relationships are strongly influenced by the way that space changes sound. In Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?, Barry Blesser and Linda-Ruth Salter examine auditory spatial awareness: experiencing space by attentive listening. Every environment has an aural architecture.
The audible attributes of physical space have always contributed to the fabric of human culture, as demonstrated by prehistoric multimedia cave paintings, classical Greek open-air theaters, Gothic cathedrals, acoustic geography of French villages, modern music reproduction, and virtual spaces in home theaters. Auditory spatial awareness is a prism that reveals a culture’s attitudes toward hearing and space. Some listeners can learn to “see” objects with their ears, but even without training, we can all hear spatial geometry such as an open door or low ceiling.
Integrating contributions from a wide range of disciplines—including architecture, music, acoustics, evolution, anthropology, cognitive psychology, audio engineering, and many others—Spaces Speak, Are You Listening? establishes the concepts and language of aural architecture. These concepts provide an interdisciplinary guide for anyone interested in gaining a better understanding of how space enhances our well-being. Aural architecture is not the exclusive domain of specialists. Accidentally or intentionally, we all function as aural architects.

CONTENTS

1. Introduction to Aural Architecture
2. Auditory Spatial Awareness

  • Introduction to Hearing Space
  • The Social Components of Aural Architecture
  • Navigating Space by Listening
  • Aural Enrichments in Architecture
  • Application of Spatiality Principles

3. Aural Space from Prehistory to Present

  • The Aural Experience of Space as a Cultural Filter
  • Auditory Awareness as an Extension of Religion
  • Social Forces Influence Aural Spaces
  • Industrialization Creates New Aural Attitudes

4. Aural Arts and Musical Spaces

  • Musical Space as an Artistic Abstraction
  • Enclosures Produce Temporal and Spatial Spreading
  • Abstract Dimensions and Artistic Concepts

5. Inventing Virtual Spaces for Music

  • Artistic Dimensions of Space and Location
  • Artistic Implications of Technical Issues
  • Art and Engineering Converge in Enveloping Sound

6. Scientific Perspectives on Spatial Acoustics

  • Evaluating the Aural Experience of Concert Halls
  • Scientific Models of Enclosed Spaces
  • Visiting the Inside of Reverberators

7. Spatial Innovators and Their Private Agendas

  • Social Values: Goals, Rewards, and Careers
  • Intellectual Frameworks: Assumptions and Paradigms

8. Auditory Spatial Awareness as Evolutionary Artifact

  • Evolutionary By-Products Define Modern Humans
  • Hearing as a Means for Navigating and Communicating
  • Interdependence of Biology, Nature, and Culture

9. Concluding Comments

436 pages / 18 x 23 cm / English

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