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We need three things
to promote change in an acoustic system that is malfunctioning.
-active listening and critical evaluation
-preservation and protection of silence
-social concern and design of alternatives
A greater amount of people concerned with the acoustic quality of
the community might be gained if the focus of any action was more
positively oriented towards the protection of silence and soundscape.
This approach would prove more positive than the common isolated
'noise complaint' which most often only provokes petty arguments
with no results.
It is the responsibility of composers, as well as other artists
and professionals dealing with sound, to create the alternative
experiences and environments that will put what we now experience
into proper perspective by suggesting how it could be different.
It may involve the composer temporarily abandoning an artistic stance
and becoming socially involved in functional acoustic design or
public education.
We can also work to preserve variety in the face of standardization,
and to protect uniqueness from the onslaught of homogenizing forces.
We need to be able to experience alternatives in order to counteract
a stultifying sameness. The most powerful action against noise may
be the preservation of silence. |
