Resonant Ecologies: Exploring Interrelationships between Ecological Disciplines and Music Composition

• Main Author: Gerard, Garrison C.
• Other Authors: May, Andrew, 1968-, Itkin, David, Klein, Joseph, Chung, Andrew
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of North Texas 2023
• Subjects: Music; Composition; Electronic Music; Electronic Composition; Music Composition; Field Recording; Ecology; Acoustic Ecology; Chile; Patagonia; Iceland; Texas; Omora; Westfjords; Big Bend National Park; Soundscape; Soundscape Studies; Landscape Ecology; Sound Studies; Non-Linear Music Composition; Improvisation; Spatialized Music; Acoustic Survey; Biology
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.12794/metadc2179199; https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2179199/

The histories of acoustic ecology, field recording, and soundscape composition are intertwined. This combination of disciplines has lead to the potential for powerful insights, but an over-emphasis on music composition using recorded sound has to led to some problematic tendencies in the study of soundscapes. I begin by tracing the development of acoustic ecology and related disciplines, leading to a proposal for a practice of acoustic ecology that centers the study of all sounds from an ecological perspective and incorporates the insights of creative practices. I include the results and data from my acoustic surveys in Patagonia, Iceland, and Texas. These three locations are varied in their climate, and they are all threatened by noise pollution or human interference from one source or another. Each survey plots out the daily sound activity in a given location and then includes information such as decibel level and the amount of anthropogenic noise. Using the field recordings from my acoustic surveys, I composed a non-linear piece, Resonance Ecology, that generates soundscapes by combining sounds from different locations based on connections such as geography or weather patterns. There is also the option for acoustic performers to perform alongside the electronics, creating an unpredictably evolving soundscape. The structure of the piece mirrors the ecosystems that serve as the foundation and inspiration of the piece. Importantly, the composition is not meant to represent the real ecosystems, but rather serves as an surreal ecosystem portraying my experience in these locations.