Geluidenatlas (Sound Atlas)
Sound Atlas: finding words together for what we hear. How do you describe the sound of rain on a window? Or the rustling of wind through trees? We often lack the words to describe what we hear. Sound Atlas is a tool to help us talk about sound more effectively. An atlas that grows thanks to your contributions.
There is (too) little vocabulary available to communicate about sound. aifoon wants to do something about that. Together with S.M.A.K., and the blind and visually impaired individuals at the BuSo Sint-Rafaël rehabilitation center and Symfoon, we developed a 'Sounds Atlas'.
Fill out our survey and help build the Sound Atlas
Our 'Sound Atlas' will be a tool to help us better navigate the world of sound. And we need your help to make it happen!
Vul onze survey in en help ons om geluiden beter te omschrijven. The more people who participate, the more useful the atlas will be for communicating about sound. The results are processed in real time, so the Sound Atlas is constantly evolving.
The results of our survey form an online Sound Atlas. It premiered on June 19 at the S.M.A.K..
Various participants shared their experiences with the project; there was a demonstration of echolocation, and a sound designer (who creates sounds for TV and film) attempted to translate a verbal description into sound live.
Watch a report on the presentation here.
Listen to the Sound Atlas Podcast
In a world where the visual dominates, we sometimes forget how sound plays a major role in our daily lives and in how we interact with one another. In our research project, we’re interviewing all kinds of people about sound and language.
Why is there such a limited vocabulary for truly communicating about sound? And above all: what can we do about it? These are the central questions that six experts – each drawing on their own expertise – explore in the three-part podcast Sound Atlas.
In three short episodes, interviewer Thomas Smolders speaks with six experts about sound, the senses, and language, drawing on their personal knowledge and experience.
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Stijn Dickel (artistic director of aifoon) on the artistic possibilities of sound, listening, and the art of listening
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Ria Decoopman (director of Symfoon) on the importance of sound for the visually impaired and how sighted people are “blind” when it comes to listening
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Philippe Van Cauteren (artistic director of S.M.A.K.) on how it is an art to observe precisely and find the right words to talk about art
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Frederik Van de Moortel (musician / sound designer) on how sound adds extra meaning to images and film
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Kurt Feyaerts (professor of linguistics at KU Leuven) on the possibilities of language and sound symbolism
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Sepideh Sedaghatnia (sommelier) on linking words to sensory experiences such as taste, smell, and sound
If we want to cultivate a language centered on sound, we need to engage in conversation with a great many people … Only when large numbers of people agree on a particular language can a culture centered on it emerge.
Sound Atlas is a platform that aims to spark this conversation and find words that 'best' describe sound. If you’d like to participate, go to geluidenatlas.org to fill out the survey. But if you’d like to explore in more depth how to approach this kind of project with a group of people, we’ve provided an educational step-by-step guide below.
Preliminary Phase: Workshops with Blind and Visually Impaired People
During the Sound Atlas workshops, blind and visually impaired people describe sounds.
During the former project Zoom, aifoon worked with a group from the Sint-Rafaël School for the Blind to explore fascinating sounds from everyday life in greater depth.
Some participants practiced echolocation, a technique in which you click your tongue and listen to the echo to orient yourself. They noted that the vocabulary used to talk about sounds is far too limited and began collecting words that could describe sounds.
That initial effort sparked enthusiasm and inspiration to work on a comprehensive sound atlas – a tool that both blind and sighted people can use to put their sound experiences into words.
