A Case Study on Soundscape Analysis for the Historical and Ethnic Village of Dong Nationality in Zhaoxing County

Abstract

A soundscape is a sound environment of the awareness of auditory perception and social or cultural understandings. Based on a soundscape investigation in 2019 in the historical and ethnic village of Dong Nationality in Zhaoxing County, Guizhou Province of China, a case study on the soundscape analysis with the acoustical sound pressure level and an impressive sound event or soundmark is introduced in this paper. Furthermore, in order to determine the subjective soundscape experience and its influence by the length of background music listening, the independent variable “Length of Listening” and six adjective pairs, such as “Monotonous” to “Rich”, “Clamorous” to “Quiet”, “Stressing” to “Relaxing”, “Boring” to “Vivid”, “Noisy” to “Musical” and “Disliked” to “Preferable” are chosen to obtain a curve-fit, which shows that the length of the music listening background has a higher correlation to the subjective experience, and no sufficient attention has been paid to the context of the traditional soundscape preservation, ethnic music and quiet and soft ambient sounds.

Assessing the Soundscape Characteristics of Historical Urban Environments: An Analysis of the Historical Erbil Citadel and Its Environments

“…They could potentially obscure the essence of Erbil's vibrant life and rich cultural heritage, relegating them to the background. In Deng, Zhiyong, et al's study titled "A Case Study on Soundscape Analysis for the Historical and Ethnic Village of Dong Nationality in Zhaoxing County" [37], and Engel & Fiebig's research on "Detection and classification of soundmarks and special features in urban areas" in Aachen, Germany [38], similar patterns surfaced during the opening remarks. Predominant sounds encompassed natural elements: traffic, occupational noise, and car horns.…”

“…However, sounds can vary between regions due to different cultural practices. For example, in the "Dong Nationality Village in Zhaoxing County", local residents highlighted the historical significance of drum sounds from drum towers, serving various purposes such as religious ceremonies, social events, traditional music and dance performances, and fire alarms [37]. Meanwhile, church bells can be considered signal sounds in Aachen, Germany [38].…”

“…can be classified as soundmarks in the region. In the Dong Nationality Village, traditional music and dance performances serve as prominent soundmarks [37]. A study in Aachen, Germany, reported a scarcity of soundmarks in the area, occasionally leading to confusion with other sound signals, such as church bells [38].…”

Cookin’: O jazz gravado ao ‘vivo’ e ‘à mesa’

“…Da mesma forma que os clubes de jazz de prestígio propõem aos seus frequentadores gastronomia de grande qualidade, também os restaurantes de prestígio recorrem ao jazz ao vivo como forma de complementar e ampliar o prazer gastronómico dos seus clientes. A relação entre jazz e comida está também presente gráfica nas capas de discos 6; nas referências ao ato de comer, cozinhar, ou a alimentos em títulos e letras de standards de jazz 7 ; ou até mesmo no jargão utilizado pelos músicos de jazz americanos onde o valor semântico de algumas palavras e expressões é totalmente alterado como são o caso de "jam" (geleia), "chops" (costeletas), "cookin" (cozinhar), "schmaltz" (enxúndias) "bread" (pão) (DAVY, 2008). A metáfora culinária é muitas vezes utilizada para explicar conceitos musicais relativos ao jazz.…”

Soundscape Evaluation Outside a Taoist Temple: A Case Study of Laojundong Temple in Chongqing, China

“…For urban soundscape protection, five preservation values, namely ecological, comfortable, affective, identifiable, and practical value had been taken into consideration [30]. In the preservation of a historical landscape, the perception of the cultural background, sound events, and urban space form of Lhasa and Dong minority towns in Guizhou, China, were discussed in detail [31,32]. However, the soundscape evaluations in Taoist temples and the corresponding strategies for preserving Taoist soundscape have not been studied yet.…”