- “Sound Art and the Sonic Unconscious” article written by Christoph Cox
Christoph Cox in his article argues that sound art plays a crucial role in revealing its nature and conception of sound as a continuous, and anonymous process to which human emotions contributes. He also expands on Wilhelm Leibniz’s conception of the perceptual unconscious. Starting with the explanation of the term “sound arts” and bringing the opinions of artists, curators, and critics such as Max Neuhaus who question the nature and viability of the practice. Cox shares some light on Leibniz’s theory by proposing that this sonic flux is composed of two dimensions: a virtual dimension that he terms ‘noise’ and an actual dimension that consists of contractions of this virtual continuum: for example, music and speech. In his opinion noise might be the background of human beings, as it never ceases; it is limitless, continuous, unending, and unchanging. On the other hand, contradicts the common opinion as if noise is something derivative, which disturbs, or interrupts an initial state of calm. “If we accept Leibniz’s argument, we hear each of these sound waves – past and present – but we hear them confusedly. Indeed, like the man who lives near a watermill, this sound remains background to us and constitutes what we call ‘silence’. Only the singularity of a signal – speech or music, for example – stands out against this background, contracts it, and renders sound clear and noticeable.” To sum up, the 20th century was a period in the history of sonic experimentation and the liberation of sound as part of everything that surrounds us like silence, ambiance, and not only in terms of so-called music.
2. “Psychophysiology and psychoacoustics of music: Perception of complex sound in normal subjects and psychiatric patients” article created by Annals of General Hospital Psychiatry
In everyday life situations, humans receive complex sounds which contribute to the way one perceives reality. Studies show an interconnection between the physics and psychology of hearing. Psychics of simple sounds are divided into frequency, amplitude, and phase. On the other hand, psychoacoustics has its own distinct elements of pitch, intensity, and timbre. Everyday sounds such as sea waves, birds singing, and blowing of the wind have the ability to interact with the feelings and moods of human beings. Music is the human effort to express emotions. In order to understand music perception and the way it influences human beings, different studies have been carried out involving the types of music, the emotional experience, psychosomatic and physiological changes, and psychoacoustical characteristics of music. Studies show increased heart rates as a result of stimulating music and decreased heart rates associated with sedative music. Especially Techno-music seems to produce a significant increase in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and stress-related hormones. 50 normal-hearing people with no special interest in music were studied in order to examine emotional experience due to music exposure. Results show differences in emotional experience between women and men, with women experiencing more tension in music, and between different age groups, with older people being more attracted to music than younger ones. What’s more, studies proved that psychiatric patients experience music in a different way according to their sickness. Schizophrenic and obsessive-compulsive patients are more attracted to music, whereas depressive and anxiety neurotics are less sensitive to sound. In conclusion, simpler and shorter sounds affect human being more with differences in perception according to specific sicknesses among psychiatric patients.
3. “How does the brain interpret sound?” article on hear-it.org
The tiny hair cells in the inner ear send electrical signals to the auditory nerve which is connected to the auditory center of the brain, which translates impulses from the ear into sounds that we know and understand. However, the brain loses the ability to process sound. Another study carried out by the University of Colorado Boulder found that the brain adjusts to hearing loss, even if the issue is only mild. Researchers used scanners to study the brain of people with hearing issues and discovered that shortly after they began to lose their hearing, their other senses began to play a more prominent role. What’s more, the brain eliminates unnecessary sounds in the background, as well as turns up the volume of our own speech, and plays a significant role in hearing sounds that come from inside your body, rather than from an outside source described as ringing in the ears. A research team has been able to eliminate tinnitus in a group of rats by stimulating a nerve in the neck and playing a variety of sound tones over a period of time. In summary, it is the brain that receives impulses and translates them into sounds we know. Therefore plays a crucial role in the way everyday sounds affect us and our body.
4. Book called “Ocean of Sound: Ambient sound and radical listening in the age of communication” written by David Toop
Toop outlines his intentions by noting what his work is not, which is “a book about categories of music –ambient, electronic, environmental or any of those other separations which lay claim to the creation of order and sense but actually serve business interests.” David Toop starts off his book with Debussy in 1889, which he calls “a peeling open of systems to make space for stimuli, new ideas, new influences, from a rapidly changing environment. ” Followed by him unwrapping the history and progress of music in the 20th century. Toop traces the pervasiveness of minimalism – its various symptoms and how silence is present in every aspect of our lives.” Furthermore, he unpacks the myriad of influences that seeped into 21st-century ambient music. From Ryuichi Sakamoto’s Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence to Balinese gamelan and Javanese pop via Hong Kong atmospherics, unfold the layers through Toop’s extract below. David Toop concludes that the world has become an “ocean of sound” and so music has developed into something immersive with listeners floating in that ocean, musicians becoming virtual travelers and creators of sonic theatre.