Critical Reading Review 2

Westerkamp, Hildegard. “Soundwalking.” Autumn Leaves: Sound and the Environment in Artistic Practice, edited by Angus Carlyle. Paris: Double Entendre: 2007. https://www.sfu.ca/~westerka/writings%20page/articles%20pages/soundwalking.html

 Summary: Westerkamp starts her article by explaining the concept of a soundwalk, which is an activity where one walks with the sole purpose of "listening to the environment." She argues that these walks are important because we don't tend to value hearing in our lives and as a result don't attempt to improve our "acoustic environments." She then provides a list of potential things to think about while on a soundwalk before describing what a soundwalk in Queen Elizabeth Park might sound like. Westerkamp closes off by describing in more detail how one might improve their acoustic environment (turning off the radio occasionally or using quieter machines for example) once we come to appreciate sound more.

 Discussion Question:
Westerkamp talks about improving acoustic environments. Are there intrinsically good and bad sounds and volume levels that automatically improve or degrade an acoustic environment? Does the "ideal" acoustic environment vary from person to person, and how do we account for that?

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