Soundscapes

A soundscape is a sound, or a combination of sounds, that surrounds us. They can be both naturally occurring and artificially created by humans or machinery. It can be the sound of a forest, an amusement park, a classroom, an airport or a marketplace. It’s like a painting but made only with sounds.

In a soundscape, there are both foreground sounds, that suddenly appear, such as a phone ringing or a door creaking, and background sounds, such as traffic, wind and birdsong, which are present all the time. [1]

A landscape with children playing, a tractor, a dog, a far, cows and a bird singing, created with AI.

 

Listening to a landscape

You can look at a landscape with your eyes and enjoy the colours and shapes, but you can also listen to a landscape and hear the wind in the grass, the trickling of the stream and the chirping of birds. You can recognise places by listening to the sounds they make. You can easily hear whether you’re in a city or in the countryside, whether you’re indoors or outdoors, and whether there are few or many people around.

 

The role of educators and teachers

You can play different soundscapes and use them to spark conversations with children. It is important to listen to the children’s input and follow their associations. However, it can be helpful to have a range of questions prepared for each soundscape.

 

Talking about sounds

Depending on the characteristics and needs of the group, you may begin with open-ended questions, such as “What do you hear?“, and use the children’s responses as a basis for further dialogue.

If the children require additional support to engage with the activity, you can start with very simple questions that only require a yes or no answer. Are there animals in the soundscape? Are there machines? Are there people? Then you can expand the questions to ask: which animals or machines can you hear? Are there a few or many people?

Finally, you can make the questions more complex: What are the people doing? What mood are they in? Are they happy or sad? What atmosphere is present in the soundscape? It is important to be attentive to the children’s responses and to be open to the fact that they may hear different things. The absence of a single correct answer helps create an inclusive environment where every child’s contribution is appreciated.

 

Sounds enhance understanding

By listening to soundscapes, you can help activate children’s prior knowledge of various topics. For example, hearing sounds of ice, snow and dog sleds, can help children understand the environment in which the story is set, if you are telling a story from Greenland or introducing a topic about Greenland. This can also support bilingual children in better understanding the story or topic.

 

Key outcomes

  • A soundscape is a sound, or a combination of sounds, that surrounds us.
  • A soundscape is like a painting but made only with sounds.
  • In a soundscape, there are both foreground sounds that occur suddenly and background sounds that are present all the time.
  • When working with soundscapes with children, it is a good idea to have questions prepared. You can start with simple questions and move on to more complex ones.
  • Listening to soundscapes can help to stimulate children’s prior understanding of various topics or subjects.

 

Resources 

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