Researching sonic environments: exploring audio methodologies

在最近的一次采访中，环境录音师克里斯·沃森提出，声音“以一种独特的方式与人们接触，因为它直接打入你的心灵和你的想象力，它非常刺激……你走过街上的栅栏，或者你走过一座以特殊方式吱吱作响的桥梁，或者你听到一扇门，或者冰箱的嗡嗡声，或者鸟的歌声……一旦你与一个地方的声音联系在一起，你就会开始以各种方式更好地理解它。”艺术家们越来越有兴趣使用音频媒体来探索声音和环境之间的这些联系。例如，2010年的特纳奖被授予苏珊·菲利普斯的《远离低地》，这部作品在克莱德河边的桥下播放了一段传统苏格兰哀歌的录音。随着便携式数字设备和在线平台的日益普及，现在经常可以看到艺术家制作特定地点的音频装置、声波表演、音频漫步和在线音频地图。该奖学金将探索这种‘音频方法’用于研究声波环境的潜力。它基于这样一种信念，即音频方法可能会比传统的基于文本的研究方法提供显著的优势。常被引用的一句话“写音乐就像在建筑上跳舞”同样适用于声音。与基于文本的研究相比，音频方法允许更丰富、更动态地接触声音。在一个在线多媒体继续激增的世界里，音频方法也可能有助于让更多的受众更容易地接触到研究。然而，使用音频方法进行研究提出了一些问题和问题。为艺术目的开发的技术如何作为研究询问的方式发挥作用？数字音频产生了哪些类型的知识，与使用其他类型的媒体(如图像和文本)产生的知识相比如何？音频数字化的法律和伦理影响是什么？在播客、环绕立体声和使用GPS绘制音频地图等技术中，会出现哪些技术和实际挑战，如何克服这些挑战？音频如何适应和补充其他感官方法和媒体？这些问题将通过与致力于声音艺术和研究之间的边界的专家的参与观察来探索。在十个课程(八个英国课程，两个海外课程)中，我将参与、观察和记录各种音频方法的使用方法。会议将围绕专家正在进行的项目和他们在使用音频方法方面面临的挑战进行设计。将使用数字音频记录和分析会议，并辅之以照片和实地笔记。研究成果将通过制作三篇期刊论文、一系列“正在进行的工作”播客、一个支持研究人员使用数字媒体的网站的案例研究(www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk)和一个广播节目来分享。我还将在会议和研讨会上发表演讲。这一混合的作品将针对两个主要受众：i.使用音频探索声音环境是他们的核心兴趣和发展技能的人，特别是声音艺术研究人员。这项研究将帮助他们批判性地反思、提炼和进一步发展自己的工作实践。更多的研究人员对使用音频媒体感兴趣，但专业知识和技能有限。这将包括音乐学家、人类地理学家、人类学家、历史学家、建筑师、社会学家，以及那些使用视频和其他感官方法的人。这项研究将为他们提供理论、伦理、实践和技术指导，使他们能够在自己的工作中开始试验音频方法。

In a recent interview, environmental sound recordist Chris Watson suggested that sound "engages with people in a unique way in that it strikes directly into your heart and your imagination, it's very stimulating...you walk past a grate in the street or you walk over a bridge that creaks in a special way, or you hear a door, or a refrigerator hum or a bird song...Once you connect with the sound of a place, then you start to understand it better in all sorts of ways." There is growing interest amongst artists in using audio media to explore these connections between sound and the environment. For example, the 2010 Turner Prize was awarded to Susan Phillipsz for 'Lowlands Away', a work in which recordings of a traditional Scottish lament were played beneath bridges along the River Clyde. With the increasing availability of portable digital devices and online platforms, it is now common to find artists producing site-specific audio installations, sonic performances, audio walks and online audio maps.This fellowship will explore the potential of such 'audio methods' for researching sonic environments. It is based on the conviction that audio methods may offer significant advantages over traditional text-based research methods. The oft-quoted saying "writing about music is like dancing about architecture" could apply equally to sound. Audio methods allow for a much richer, more dynamic engagement with sound than text-based studies. In a world where online multimedia continue to multiply, audio methods may also help to make research more accessible to a wider range of audiences.However, the use of audio methods for research raises a number of questions and issues. How can techniques developed for artistic purposes function as modes of research enquiry? What kinds of knowledge are produced by digital audio, and how does this compare with knowledge produced using other kinds of media such as images and text? What are the legal and ethical implications of the digitalization of audio? With technologies such as podcasting, surround sound and mapping audio using GPS, what technical and practical challenges arise and how can these be overcome? And how can audio fit with, and complement, other sensory methods and media?These questions will be explored using participant observation with experts working on the boundary between sound art and research. Over ten sessions (eight UK, two overseas), I will take part in, observe and document a variety of approaches to the use of audio methods. The sessions will be designed to fit around the experts' ongoing projects and the challenges that they are facing in using audio methods. Digital audio will be used to record and analyse the sessions, supplemented by photos and field notes. The aim is to produce a rich, detailed, multimedia portrait of audio methods 'in action'.The results of the research will be shared through the production of three journal papers, a series of 'work in progress' podcasts, a case study for a website that supports researchers to use digital media (www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk) and a radio programme. I will also give conference and seminar presentations. This mixture of outputs will target two main audiences:i. People for whom the use of audio to explore sonic environments is a core interest and developed skill, particularly sound art researchers. The research will help them to critically reflect on, refine and further develop their working practices.ii. A wider group of researchers with an interest in using audio media, but limited specialist knowledge and skills. This will include musicologists, human geographers, anthropologists, historians, architects, sociologists, and those working with video and other sensory methods. The research will provide them with theoretical, ethical, practical and technical guidance that will enable them to begin experimenting with audio methods in their own work.