Essay 1

Nona L. Baldwin

Film 116

Schafer’s Reading: Prompt 1

When I think of hi-fi and lo-fi soundscape differences, I ironically think of a louder dominant sound for hi-fi, and a lower subtle sound for lo-fi.  Schafer goes on to describes these two sound categories as just that. He says, The hi-fi is one in which discrete sounds can be heard clearly because of the low ambient noise level… The quieter ambience of the hi-fi soundscape allows the listener to hear farther into the distance just as the country side exercises long-range-viewing. (Schafer 43)  Schafer compares these differences as a metaphor between the country and the city.  He goes on to describe lo-fi soundscape as … individual acoustic signals (that) are obscured in an overdense population of sounds. (Schafer 43) From personal past experiences, I strongly agree with Schafer.  When I go to the beach, an example of lo-fi would be my footsteps in the sand while an example of hi-fi would be perhaps children playing at the park next door. After reading Schafer’s definitions, I can ultimately relate to my beach experiences of hi-fi soundscape and lo-fi soundscape.

Schafer’s Reading: Prompt 2

From the many soundmarks Schafer describes, the one that seems to continuously be referenced in the sound of a horn.  He gives some background knowledge of the horn and he relates it to that of a hunt, a war, and religion however, the sound I will dig deeper in is the hunt horn.  He describes this horn as the only communication between the hunters and the beaters, a horn signal. As I reflect on my own childhood, one of the soundmarks that stand out the most to me is the sound of a huge cherry blossom tree in the field next to my house.  During a windy summer day, the tree would violently shake and drop the flowers on the grass.  The entire field would be covered in petals and anyone in the neighborhood could distinctively hear the great rustling and swooshing of that beautiful cherry blossom tree.  Whenever I hear the rustling of leaves or trees I think of my childhood and a smile is plastered on my face.