The Sound Collage: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Own Soundscape

Can you hear what you see? Move from listening to creating by recording sounds with your group and turning them into visuals. Participants create their own soundscapes: they capture sounds, draw what they hear, and then transform those drawings back into sound.

A playful, creative journey from ear to hand. The step-by-step guide begins with a few listening exercises to warm up your ears. Make recordings with a recording device and then try to draw the sounds you’ve captured. Use those drawings to create a collage, which you’ll then turn back into sound. This way, everyone ends up with a graphic collage and a corresponding soundscape.

Materials needed:

a good speaker system for listening to sound clips;
a recording device with headphones for each participant, a smartphone can be used;
paper, drawing materials, glue, and scissors;
a computer with a basic audio-editing programme such as Audacity or Reaper.

This workshop consists of four sessions, each lasting 2.5 to 3 hours.

Are the participants not yet familiar with audio editing? In that case, it’s best to schedule an additional session to help them become comfortable with the editing software.

Use this step-by-step guide in your classroom or group. Discover how sound becomes visual and how images become sound. Share your most beautiful creations! We’d love to hear and see what you’ve created.