Augmented Noise
Exploring mobile technology design as an enabler
of social interaction and spatial awareness.
Author: Sebastian Hastrup
Master Thesis, 15 credits, advanced level
ME604A Media Technology, Malmö University
Supervisor: Daniel Spikol
Examiner: Maria Engberg
Abstract
Since the introduction of the Walkman in the 1980s, an increasing amount of people are using mobile music devices in our urban environments. The research on the sociological aspects of this phenomenon has become known as the ‘iPod culture’. It describes people aestheticising these noisy urban environments by replacing them with mobile music listening, which presents obvious benefits regarding personal entertainment and wellbeing. However, some studies have revealed several cases of users experiencing social isolation as a consequence of using mobile music devices. Therefore, this study explores the problem of designing a user experience that can provide the appealing qualities of mobile music listening while simultaneously enabling spatial and social awareness of the urban environment. The study explores this problem by applying a methodology inspired by research through design, involving an iterative design process centred around the design of a mobile reactive music prototype application, which was eventually named Reactiscape. To validate and evaluate the success of the prototype design, different stakeholders have been involved throughout the entire design process. The results show that the users experienced a stronger connection to the urban soundscape when using Reactiscape, while still maintaining a musically appealing user experience. In a broader sense, these results indicate that novel mobile technology design has every opportunity to increase real world social interaction, rather than being a source of social isolation.
Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I want to thank my supervisor Daniel Spikol for pushing, motivating and encouraging me during this undertaking. I greatly appreciate our many conversations. I also want to thank the Media Technology staff at Malmö University, especially Maria Engberg, Suzan Boztepe and Bahtijar Vogel, for valuable feedback and support.
I want to thank my classmate Lisa Brolin for all the moral support and encouragement. I also want to thank my dear friend Mikael Berger at Lund University for great discussions, academic support and linguistic wisdom. And a big thank you also goes out to all the people that participated in the focus group discussions, expert interviews and user tests in this study.
I also owe a huge thank you to my partner in life for her support and patience during the year of studying for my master’s degree. And last but not least, I want to thank my family and friends for their support and encouragement.
Table of contents
1.Introduction ...6 1.1.Personal motivation ...8 1.2.Research question ...8 1.3.Ethical considerations ...10 1.4.Thesis outline ...10 2.Theoretical framework ...12 2.1.iPod culture ...12 2.2.Soundscape ...14 2.3.Soundwalking ...17 2.4.Synthesis of concepts ...19 3.Methodology ...21 3.1.Scientific approach ...21 3.2.Design process ...21 3.3.Soundscape analysis ...233.4.Critical review of current applications ...24
3.5.Online focus group discussion ...26
3.6.Interviews ...27
3.7.Survey ...27
3.8.User Experience Questionnaire ...28
4.Design phase I ...29
4.1.Initial design idea ...29
4.2.Prestudy procedure ...29
4.3.Findings from the prestudy methods ...40
5.Design phase II ...47
5.1.First prototype design implementation ...47
5.2.Structure and procedure of the expert tests ...53
5.3.Findings from the expert interviews ...55
6.Design phase III ...60
6.1.Second prototype design implementation ...60
6.2.Structure and procedure of the user tests ...62
6.3.Findings from the user tests ...64
7.Discussion ...72 7.1.Research results ...72 7.2.Reflections ...73 7.3.Limitations ...75 8.Conclusion ...76 8.1.Future work ...76 9.References ...78 10.Appendix ...83
List of figures
Figure 1: Illustration of the design process methodology with its design phases. ...22
Figure 2: Path of the first soundscape recording. Images courtesy of Google Maps. ...30
Figure 3: Path of the second soundscape recording. Images courtesy of Google Maps. 31 . Figure 4: Path of the third soundscape recording. Images courtesy of Google Maps. ...31
Figure 5: Number of unique sounds within a category in a soundscape. ...40
Figure 6: Example of a spectrogram used in the temporal analysis method. ...41
Figure 7: Early experimental prototype demonstrating basic functionality. ...48
Figure 8: Functional diagram of the first prototype design iteration. ...49
Figure 9: The main pure data patch for the first prototype design iteration. ...51
Figure 10: Graphical user interface of the first prototype iteration. ...52
Figure 11: Functional diagram of the second prototype design iteration. ...61
Figure 12: Graphical user interface of the second prototype iteration. ...62
Figure 13: User responses regarding Reactiscape’s music replacing capabilities. ...65
Figure 14: User responses regarding Reactiscape creating soundscape awareness. ...67
Figure 15: User responses regarding Reactiscape enabling social connection. ...68
Figure 16: UEQ results presented by its three main classifications. ...69
Figure 17: UEQ results presented in its six under categories. ...70
Figure 18: UEQ results compared to the benchmark. ...70
Figure 19: User input data from in-situ test with Expert A. ...84
Figure 20: User input data from in-situ test with Expert B. ...85
Figure 21: User input data from in-situ test with Expert C. ...85
Figure 22: User participants distribution according to gender. ...87
Figure 23: User participants distribution according to age. ...87
Figure 24: Distribution over users’ mobile music device usage habits. ...87
Figure 25: Distribution over the locations of users’ mobile music device use. ...88
Figure 26: Distribution over the motivation for users’ mobile music device use. ...88
Figure 27: The audio recording object used for audio looping. ...88
Figure 28: The audio looping object. ...89
Figure 29: The clock object with several clock division outputs. ...89
Figure 30: The polyphonic synth sequencer object. ...90
Figure 31: The FM synth object. ...90
Figure 32: The musical scale generator object. ...91
Figure 33: The rhythmic sound sampler object. ...91
Figure 34: The sequencer for the rhythmic sounds. ...92
Figure 35: The kick drum generator and sequencer object. ...92
Figure 36: The user input logging object. ...93
Figure 37: The ambient level detector object. ...93
Figure 38: The main pure data patch for the second prototype design iteration, Reactiscape. ...94
1.Introduction
Through the last three decades, personal mobile music devices such as the Walkman, the iPod and the smartphone have had a profound impact on how, when and where people listen to music. Today, it is common to see people wearing headphones on busses and trains, in the streets, on bicycles and in stores. Practically anywhere in the urban environment can be a place for a private music listening experience. The research on the sociological aspects of this phenomenon has become known as the ‘iPod culture’ (Beer, 2007; Bull, 2007; Prior, 2014). Some of these studies have shown that many people experience benefits from being able to choose when and where to listen to music. The most common benefits being to be able to create one’s own soundtrack to one’s life and also to be able to filter out the polyrhythmic sounds of the city in order to cope with everyday life (Bull, 2007).
However, the personalisation of the urban soundscape can also be interpreted as a negative phenomenon. Although it can add a layer of comfort and stress-relief for people in the urban spaces, which are often perceived as noisy and chaotic, one study has shown that it can also create an intangible but still perceptible wall around the users of mobile music devices, as they filter out the urban soundscape (Beer, 2007). Consequently, the people employing the strategy of creating a personal soundtrack to their lives simultaneously risk being socially disconnected from the environment that they are trying to cope with being in.
In the context of this study, iPod culture represents a negative-minded approach to urban noise, as the strategy of coping with it often results in noise abatement, meaning that people choose to block out the noise. However, it is clear that the people of the iPod culture want to aestheticise and personalise their own soundscapes. Therefore, for this study, exploring a way to maintain an appealing mobile music experience while keeping a
connection to the urban soundscape, and in turn reducing the risk of social isolation, seems to be the way forward.
One way to consider this problem could be to look for a positive-minded approach to the urban soundscape, which naturally leads to the work of Schafer and his studies on the world soundscape. Schafer’s (1977) studies of soundscapes emerged from the 1970s debate on noise pollution in big city areas. Much like the iPod culture, the debate on noise pollution have had a negative-minded approach, again leading to noise abatement. With his studies and analysis of soundscapes, Schafer (1977) promoted a positive-minded approach to dealing with noise. Instead of filtering and blocking noise, Schafer (1977) proposed several methods of soundscape recording and analysis that he hoped would lead to the understanding and embracing of any soundscape. For this study, the soundscape approach poses an opportunity to bridge the gap between the headphone-encased people of the iPod culture and the urban soundscape. However, a positive-minded approach alone can not solve the problem of connecting people to their sonic surroundings. Arguably, there needs to be a mediating link between the iPod culture and the urban soundscape, and this link is what will come to define the research gap in this study.
The main purpose of this study is to explore this gap by designing a digital artefact that enables a connection between the urban soundscape and the everyday citizen passing through it. To accomplish this, the decision to design a mobile reactive music experience has been made, as it represents a natural way of bridging an acoustic space with an aesthetic experience. Reactive music is a kind of interactive musical composition that reacts to the listeners actions in the environment in realtime, often by means of the sensors in a mobile device such as a smartphone (Bauer & Waldner, 2013). In its very core, reactive music
enables the listener to transform the urban soundscape into music, creating a musically appealing experience for the listener while maintaining a clear connection to the soundscape.
1.1.Personal motivation
One of the main reasons that this study exists is my passion for sound perception and music technology. I grew up with music in the family, and joined my first band as a drummer at the age of thirteen. In high school I studied electronics and took as many extra music classes I could manage. Being mainly a self-taught musical instrumentalist, I have always approached new music technology with great enthusiasm and inspiration. As an artist in the music scene, I have always tried to find new ways to approach an instrument or a piece of technology, in order to get new and interesting results. Beyond having a deep personal interest in audio and music, I have worked in the field of music recording for the past decade, producing, mixing and mastering numerous records for external clients in many different musical genres.
In addition, my bachelor’s degree in media technology focused on digital audio production. Furthermore, I have worked as a lecturer at Blekinge Institute of Technology within the bachelor programme called Digital Audio Production, where I have been involved in courses spanning from applied audio technology and sound design to audio storytelling and audio programming. In the last couple of years, I have found my inspiration in sound art, where artistic and technological practices often are combined to form new and interesting artefacts. And these practices are also the main components that has formed the foundations of this thesis.
1.2.Research question
As the introduction section indicates, this masters thesis intersects between three main areas of study; the iPod culture, the soundscape and digital artefact design. Previous research
describes the benefits of using mobile music devices to enable ways of coping with life in the noisy urban environment, but it also rises questions about the problems it inhabits (Beer, 2007; Bull, 2007; Prior, 2014). As mobile music devices has become more available through products like the Walkman, the iPod and the smartphone, people seem to have embraced the possibility to create personal soundscapes that block out the outside noises and leaves them to focus or relax. However, as previously described, it is evident that some people find that the use of mobile music devices also has negative aspects. These devices can induce the feeling of being disconnected from the world, prevent people from connecting with each other, or even worse; missing a cry for help. This study aims to explore a solution to this problem through the design of a mobile reactive music experience, Reactiscape, deployed on a smartphone. With this background in mind, the following research question has been phrased: RQ: How can a mobile reactive audio experience be designed to appeal to a mobile music
device user, and concurrently enable social interaction and spatial awareness, in the context of an urban environment?
This research question raises a number of criteria that should be met in order to successfully obtaining an answer. Firstly, in contrast to the users’ prior mobile music listening experiences, the mobile reactive music experience should enable the users to connect and interact with the social and spatial landscape around them. Secondly, the mobile reactive audio experience should provide an experience that is similar to the users’ regular mobile music listening experiences, in order to fit within the context of the study. Lastly, in order for the first and second criteria to be met, the mobile reactive audio experience should be designed in an iterative manner, involving stakeholder evaluations and a variety of research methods to ensure the highest probability of success.
Therefore, to answer the research question, this study applies a critically planned design process inspired by research through design. It builds on a literature review over the main research areas, which are then translated into design requirements. This is followed by an iterative design process with three distinct design phases; a prestudy, a first prototype design iteration and a second prototype design iteration. The first and second design phases contain analysis and refining of requirements, in order to finally arrive at the end of the third design phase with a mobile reactive music experience, Reactiscape, that can be evaluated by users.
1.3. Ethical considerations
As this study involved the participation of stakeholders, several measures were taken to ensure their privacy and safety. All participants were asked to agree verbally, or in writing if demanded, to have their user data and voices recorded. All user data that were collected throughout this study were anonymised at the point of data entry, to ensure participant privacy and data validity. Furthermore, as some users were subject to wearing closed back headphones in an urban environment, actions were taken to ensure their safety.
1.4.Thesis outline
In chapter two of this thesis, the main theoretical concepts are critically discussed and then conceptually concluded in order to generate initial requirements for the prototype design. In chapter three, the methodology is laid out in detail, introducing the design process with three distinct iteration phases, and thoroughly describing the entire selection of methods that was applied throughout the design process. Chapter four, five and six each chronologically describe the procedure and findings of each of the three design phases leading to the
development of the final prototype, Reactiscape. Finally, chapter seven and eight critically discusses, reflects and concludes the findings of this study.
2. Theoretical framework
In this chapter the main theories of previous research are presented and discussed in relation to the present study. As the previous research comes from different fields, the discussion and argumentation made in this section is an important key to understanding the overall context of this study.
2.1.iPod culture
Bull (2007) describes the iPod culture as “the first time in history the majority of citizens in Western culture possess the technology to create their own private mobile auditory world wherever they go.” (p. 4). The iPod culture represents the worldwide spread of personal mobile music devices, and as previously mentioned in the introduction of this thesis, there is evidence almost everywhere that this is indeed the case. Bull (2007) depicts the use of iPods and similar devices as an “aestheticisation of urban space” (p. 39), meaning that people improve their experiences of being in an urban space by closing out the acoustic soundscape in favour of a soundscape of their own choice. However, as mentioned earlier, the act of utilising mobile music devices in an urban and social environment can have implications. Bull (2007) describes:
Increasing numbers of urban dwellers are sounding out the sensory environment of the city, plugged into their earphones, listening to their own auditory soundtrack. Unlike the polyrhythmic descriptions of cities in urban literature, the city of the iPod user is made up of parallel and privatised soundscapes in which each iPod user looks around the subway compartment at others equally enclosed in their private soundscape, each ‘inhabiting their own reality’ (p. 29).
What Bull really describes is a social situation where people travel and live together, but in reality they are alone and isolated in the togetherness. Bull (2007) continues his argument by
stating that people: “[…] never voluntarily interact with others whilst using their iPods in public.” (p. 10). This, arguably pessimistic, depicting of the iPod culture has been object for criticism.
Prior (2014) argues that mobile music devices indeed are used “to withdraw them [mobile music device users] from the urban, for sure, but also to enhance their social spheres, to reflect on their predicaments, to resist and prick their bubbles.” (p. 36). The use of mobile music devices in urban environment does not just enhance the experience of the individual, but it also has implications to others around him or her. Prior (2014), reporting on his findings, describes that “many users […] questioned and critically reflected on their use, working through the broader social implications of mediated withdrawal, including its impact on recognizing (in its broadest sense) fellow urbanites” (p. 30). It seems reasonable to assume that many individuals are thinking and reflecting upon their everyday situation while situated in it. Indeed, Prior’s (2014) findings show that although people have good reason to isolate themselves from the urban soundscape through the use of mobile music devices, they simultaneously reflect on their behaviour as being: “a barrier for social interaction” (p. 31).
Beer (2007) also distances himself from Bull’s description of the iPod culture by introducing the act of ‘tuning out’; an alternative way of picturing the iPod culture. Beer (2007) argues that: “Tuning out is to use mobile music reproduction devices, such as the iPod, to actively stimulate and prioritize the virtual mise-en-scéne over the physical one.” (p. 858). The difference from Bull’s theory is that the consequence of utilising mobile music devices in the urban environment is not a total replacement of aural perspective, but just a way for the user to prioritise one source of audio over another. This conceptually different depicting of the use of mobile music devices opens a door for the urban soundscape to enter the privatised soundscape. Beer (2007) continues his argumentation:
Clearly, despite this prioritization the user continues to experience the material properties of the city, including its aural ecology, and these continue to be a part of the experience, they cannot always be controlled or managed, nor is the user experiencing the music in isolation away from this context (p. 858).
The isolating properties of Bull’s (2007) iPod culture is not to be considered literally, as his term “auditory bubbles” (p. 3) may imply. Although, this may well be his intention.
In the context of the iPod culture, this study proposes a more philosophical approach. As the user puts on headphones and strolls through the city, he or she experiences a kind of auditory isolation from the urban soundscape, but as Beer points out, this is just a prioritised way of listening. The mobile music user chooses to hear the music and not the city, but nevertheless does the city penetrate the user’s virtual soundscape. Previous studies on the iPod culture have a common denominator in that there is a certain tension between the iPod user and the urban soundscape, that there indeed is a conflict. People utilise these privatised soundscapes to filter out unwanted noises, but the unwanted noises refuses to be completely filtered out. This conflict is important to this study, as the resolving of this conflict not only could loosen the aforementioned tension, but also could, as will be discussed in the following sections, potentially increase awareness and appreciation of the act of actively listening to our urban soundscapes.
2.2.Soundscape
The study of soundscapes emerged from a notion that our sonic environments were getting louder and potentially dangerous to people’s wellbeing. In 1969, Schafer founded The World Soundscape Project (Westerkamp, Woog, Kallmann, Truax, 2006), which was intended to raise public awareness of the issue of noise pollution through documenting and analysing
soundscapes all over world. Schafer (1977) advocated deliberate design of soundscapes as a counteract to noise pollution.
Schafer’s (1977) definition of the soundscape includes “any acoustic field of study” (p. 7). Thus a soundscape can be a piece of music, a field recording or a realtime acoustic event. But it is important to note that the study of soundscapes has its origin in the recognition of noise pollution, mainly in an urban context. And as earlier mentioned, Schafer (1977) advocated for a positive-minded attitude towards noise: “Only a total appreciation of the acoustic environment can give us the resources for improving the orchestration of the world soundscape” (p. 4). Indeed, the studies of soundscapes where intended to reveal which sounds we enjoy listening to, and as a result make it evident which sounds we want to eradicate. In other words, to study the soundscape is to study the cultural, social and political aspects of sound, just as much as it is about studying sound itself. In contrast, Bull (2007) describes the urban soundscape as “unordered, chaotic and polyrhythmic” (p. 24) and presents mobile technology as a commonly used solution to isolate the citizen from the noise, replacing it with a soundscape of their own.
For this study, the aim is to retain Schafer’s positive-minded methodology. Therefore, isolation through technology will not be the preferred solution. Conversely, technology has many opportunities to be the mediating link between the citizen and the urban noise. Kaye (2013) argues that “to try to use […technology…] as complete barriers against the sound of the (social) world requires volume levels that aside from risking damage to one's hearing also makes their use a fundamentally antisocial act.” (p. 9). Kaye proposes mobile technologies and artistic implementation of binaurally recorded soundscapes as a way to employ a more fruitful technological solution to dealing with the noises of the urban soundscape. His
approach is seemingly in tune with the Schafer’s soundscape ideology. As an example, Kaye (2013) argues:
We must resist the tendency to view urban sound as a collection of unwanted noises, an idea that can easily extend to technically naïve strategies for mobile personal sound media that conceive of them as little more than devices used to shut out these noises (p. 13).
Indeed, there are several valid reasons to question the act of merely shutting unwanted noises out, as it has both social and cultural implications. In the context of this study, the standpoints of Schafer and Kaye are brought forward, proposing the embracing of urban soundscapes into our daily lives, and doing so through the use of novel technology design.
2.2.1.Soundscape analysis
Due to Schafer’s intentions to document and analyse the soundscape of the world, frameworks and categorisations needed to be developed. Inspired by the concepts of figure and ground from visual arts and the notion of visual perception, Schafer (1977) developed an analogy for auditory perception that he named keynote sounds, signals and soundmarks (p. 9). Keynote sounds are described as sounds emerging naturally from a geographic location and its climate, such as weather sounds, terrain sounds and the sounds of flora and fauna. The keynote sounds are the sounds we expect to hear in a given location, such as birdsong in the forest or the splash of the ocean at the beach. Compared to the visual analogy, these sounds are considered to be more ground than figure. Signals are sounds meant to gain the listeners attention, such as car horns and fire alarms. Compared to the visual analogy, these sounds are considered to be figure sounds. Soundmarks are linguistically derived from the term landmarks, meaning sounds that are unique to a location. It can both be something rather obvious, like a church bell, but it can also be the acoustic properties of an architectural
structure, such as a unique reverberation or echo characteristic. According to Schafer (1977) “Once a soundmark has been identified, it deserves to be protected, for soundmarks make the acoustic life of the community unique” (p. 10).
For the purpose of this study, the aforementioned analytical framework is too broad. Most of the sounds of an urban soundscape will probably be classified as keynote sounds as they are a result of the environment and culture they exist in, with the exception of the odd car horn which might be considered a signal sound. Instead, Schafer’s (1977) more detailed system of classification, the “classification according to referential aspects” (p. 137), will be used for analysis. This system of classification describes the origin of sounds in greater detail by utilising several subcategories, which will be much more beneficial for the comparison of soundscapes than the previously mentioned system. The soundscape analysis will be utilised to create requirements for the artistic transformation of urban soundscape recordings. As the objective of the study is to create a reactive audio experience based on realtime location recording and resampling, studying the urban soundscape beforehand using a structured method will provide insights into how the sounds can be transformed to create an appealing musical experience.
2.3.Soundwalking
Soundwalking as a method of sonic inquiry has its origins in the World Soundscape Project, initiated and lead by Schafer in 1969 (Westerkamp et al., 2006). It was a new means of education in sound ecology and an analytical tool for understanding the world of sound around us. In general, a soundwalk is a walk led by a guide, often performed by a group of people along a predetermined route. The purpose of the soundwalk is to explore the soundscape, critically listening to all sounds occurring during the walk, paying attention to
unusual and interesting sounds as well as the ordinary sounds of the environment (Schafer, 1977). Critical listening is especially important in this context, as it involves reflective judgement of auditory perception, meaning that we reflect and discuss the appropriateness and authenticity of a sound in a given context (Tuuri & Eerola, 2012).
Truax (1974) elaborates on the concept of soundwalking: “Soundwalking and listening involves not simply a passive monitoring, but an active mental and physical participation as well in the ongoing composition forever being created” (p. 38). It is clear that soundwalks were intended to counteract the otherwise negative-minded debate regarding noise pollution. Truax (1974) discusses the cacophony of sound in the city, pulling us from the sonic awareness of ourselves, but similar to Schafer (1977), he does not advice noise abatement as a solution. Instead Truax (1974) argues:
The environment has a poor signal to noise ratio; that is, it has become low fidelity in character. When the balance is destroyed, the first victims are the delicate and beautiful sounds of man and nature. Unless we can listen critically and act on our awareness, the balance will not be regained.” (p. 38).
What is helpful to this study in the early descriptions of soundwalks is the diversion of focus from the notion of ‘noise’ as a source of annoyance, to the participatory act of listening as a way of creating a mutual understanding of the soundscape and its internal components.
Since its initiation, the contributions to the studies of soundwalking has been many. With the advert of mobile technology such as the Walkman and later the mp3 player, prerecorded soundwalks such as the artworks of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller has gained much attention in the field. These artworks are site-specific guided soundwalks that offer a new perspective of space, and create new connections between the listener and the space through their narratives (Schaub, Cardiff, & Contemporary, 2005). These kinds of
soundwalks are very much in keeping with Schafer’s and Truax’s philosophy of creating awareness through listening. Although they don’t involve true acoustic listening in realtime, they still manage to intellectually connect the listener with the environment. In recent years, soundwalks with increased interactive properties has been constructed by the use of smartphone technology. Virtual guided soundwalks created for specific locations with audio cues connected to GPS coordinates enables anyone to participate in a virtual soundscape at any given time. Projects like Echoes.xyz and the soundwalk platform Walk With Me 1 2
enables users to partake in customised soundwalks connected virtually to physical locations, often using spatialised sound to convey an increased sense of realism.
2.4.Synthesis of concepts
As the virtual soundwalk develops in tandem with technology, this study has observed that there seems to be a trend among creators to produce narratives and tell stories of specific locations, rather than opening up to the critical listening of soundscapes. And despite the fact that technology advances and enables mobile realtime processing of audio, very few applications seems to utilise the technology as a means of soundscape awareness in the realm of commercial soundwalk applications. This study will seize this opportunity to explore new media technology as means to create ‘ear opening’ experiences that can incorporate a more critical sense of awareness of the urban soundscape into everyday situations, while still maintaining an musically appealing quality to the experience.
The theoretical converging of iPod culture and soundscapes also reveals an interesting antithesis; the people versus the urban soundscape. The iPod culture is, in theory, people coping with life in urban environments by using technology to block out the soundscape that
Echoes.xyz by Echoes.xyz Ltd, 2015, https://echoes.xyz
1
Walk With Me by Strijbos & Van Rijswijk, 2011, https://strijbosvanrijswijk.com/portfolio/walk-with-me
they perceive as noise (Bull, 2007). However, the noise can be perceived in different ways. The studies of soundscapes reveal a positive-minded approach to dealing with noise pollution, again using technology. But in this case we instead record our sonic surroundings in order to preserve, analyse and understand them (Schafer, 1977). It seems that the common denominator of the iPod culture and the soundscape, as seen in contemporary context, is technology. Never before have technology in general, and mobile technology in particular, offered so many possibilities to resolve the tension between the urban soundscape and the mobile music user, and this study aims to do so by the design of a novel digital artefact.
3. Methodology
This chapter describes the scientific approach of this study, and how the methodology was designed to fit the explorative nature of the research question. Each method of inquiry is also thoroughly explained and motivated in this chapter.
3.1.Scientific approach
This study builds on a relativist perspective and an inductive approach. The approach of the relativist researcher is that meaning is constructed through people’s perceptions and interpretations of what is real (Gray, 2013). We are not not objective to the world, but experience it through our preconceptions and values, and therefore the consensus of a given problem will be subject to change (Walliman, 2010). The construction of the methodology was inspired by research through design, mainly due to its approach to design that can lead to new theory through creation of artefacts (Zimmerman, Forlizzi & Evenson, 2007). Furthermore, in research through design, the artefact is not only an end product, but a means of understanding and contributing to the research field (Zimmerman, Stolterman & Forlizzi, 2010).
3.2.Design process
By approaching the methodology using research through design, an artefact would evidently be designed. And that artefact should ideally be designed and tested in collaboration with users. Therefore, it was decided that an iterative design process would be the appropriate way to approach the designing of the methodology. Buxton and Sniderman (1980) describe each iteration of an iterative design process as being “[…] a prototype whose purpose is to test a critical mass of the overall problem” (p. 2). This means that different parts of the study can be studied with the appropriate methods, involving different stakeholders when applicable.
When dealing with stakeholders in the iterative process, Buxton and Sniderman (1980) argue that there are three key aspects needed to succeed: “[…] suitable prototyping tools, techniques of observation, and methods of evaluation” (p. 14). The design of the methodology in this study was an extension of Buxton’s and Sniderman’s (1980) iterative process. By strategically placing the chosen methods of this study in an iterative structure inspired by Buxton’s and Sniderman’s (1980) three iteration aspects, a methodology could be designed that allowed for an agile approach to research. Furthermore, the methodology would also naturally require interaction with different stakeholders in order to answer the research question, which for this study was an important key to drawing any conclusions. The iterative design process is presented in Figure 1, and illustrates in a clear way how each method was conducted and evaluated through the design phases.
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Figure 1: Illustration of the design process methodology with its design phases.
As the model in Figure 1 shows, the study was initiated with a research question and a literature review. These dictated initial design requirements that lead to an initial design idea. In order to refine the initial requirements and to be able to design a first iteration of the prototype, a prestudy consisting of soundscape analysis, critical review of current applications and an online focus group discussion was performed. The refined requirements were then fed into the first prototype design implementation, which was evaluated by experts through in-situ testing followed by interviews in order to collect data on the first prototype.
INITIAL DESIGN IDEA SOUNDSCAPE
ANALYSIS, CRITICAL REVIEW
& FOCUS GROUP
ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF FINDINGS
FIRST DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION IN-SITU TEST AND
INTERVIEW WITH EXPERTS ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF FINDINGS SECOND DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION IN-SITU TEST AND
SURVEY WITH USERS ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF FINDINGS RESEARCH QUESTION & LIT. REVIEW DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION REFINED REQUIREMENTS REFINED REQUIREMENTS
After performing pattern analysis and evaluation of the interview data, the design requirements were once again refined and fed into a second prototype design implementation. The final prototype, Reactiscape, was eventually evaluated by end users through in-situ tests followed by a survey to collect data on their experiences. The results were once again evaluated and analysed for patterns and the whole process was finally discussed in order to draw conclusions. The following sections describe the methods in detail for each iteration of the design process.
3.3.Soundscape analysis
Soundwalking as a critical form for soundscape analysis has been broadly used in the field of sound studies and acoustic ecology (Adams et al., 2008; Davies et al., 2007; Drever 2013; Truax 2012). Typically, a soundwalk consists of a group of people lead along a predetermined route. During the walk the participants must be silent and the experience is first discussed by the end of the walk (Schafer, 1977). With audio recording technology becoming portable and affordable, the recording and thorough analysis of soundscapes have become a viable method. Through the use of digital spectrograms, recorded soundscapes and soundwalks can be critically analysed with a level of detail that was not possible in the early days of soundscape analysis (Pijanowski, Farina, Gage, Dumyahn, & Krause, 2011).
In this study, shorter versions of soundwalks and soundscape analyses were conducted. The first step was to record three different soundscapes in three different locations. The locations were predetermined as the following: a train station, a busy street and a city bus. These locations were chosen to represent common places of many people’s daily commute to and from work or school. In keeping with the tradition of soundwalks, these recordings were made in movement, either by walking or in the case of the bus ride, by
means of an automobile. Moreover, as the prototype that was being created through this study was to be utilised in a moving state, it made sense to perform the recordings in the same manner. The next step was to analyse the recordings using Schafer’s categorisation system as described in the previous chapter of this thesis. The expected outcome of these soundscape analyses was to have detailed records of the sampled soundscapes that could be the basis for the development of artistic requirements for the prototype. The recordings were also used as a substitute for realtime urban sounds when the prototype was tested in the lab environment.
3.4.Critical review of current applications
In order to deepen the understanding of what a reactive audio experience could be, and to ensure that this study did not reinvent the wheel, a critical review of existing applications within the field of reactive and generative audio was conducted. Considering that this study mainly addressed the auditory aspects of the reactive audio application user experience, the decision was made to focus the critical review on these. Nevertheless, points were also made about the usability of the applications, as it comes naturally to reflect on these aspects when engaging with a mobile application.
To sample for relevant applications on the market, a search on the Google search engine was performed using the search term “reactive music app”. The first three results pointing to a relevant and current mobile application available for download on either Apple App Store or Google Play were chosen as samples. As a result, the following three applications became subject for review: The app formerly known as H__r , Aitokaiku - 3
Augmented music and ScenePlayer . In order to further narrow the focus of the critical 4 5
The app formerly known as H__r developed by Reality Jockey Ltd, 2016, http://hearapp.io
3
Aitokaiku - Augmented music developed by Aitokaiku, 2016, http://www.aitokaiku.com
4
Sceneplayer developed by Peter Brinkmann, 2013, https://puredata.info/downloads/sceneplayer
review, the following three aspects were chosen as a framework for analysis; immersion, audio transformation and technical limitations. These three aspects were chosen by the researcher as they were deemed the most important to evaluate. A well designed reactive music experience should be immersive enough to keep the listener interested, it should transform the audio in a way that is seamless and high in audio quality, and the audio should not suffer from the drawbacks of technical limitations, such as glitching or similar noises. The next three subsections will explain these aspects in detail.
Immersion
In the context of the entertainment business, Pine and Gilmore (1999) categorised user experiences on a two-dimensional scale: participation (active/passive) and connection (absorption/immersion). Here, immersion is defined as “becoming physically (or virtually) a part of the experience itself.” (Pine & Gilmore, 1999, p. 31). They further discuss passive immersion as an aesthetic experience, and active immersion as an escapist experience. The aesthetic experience is described as when users immerse themselves in an experience without having an effect on it. Conversely, the escapist user experience is regarded as complete immersion with the user actively participating in the experience. For the purpose of this study, both of these descriptions were relevant. The user in this study already utilises mobile music technology to escape reality, and this experience is also an aesthetic one. However, the existing user experience of the mobile music device user is in this study considered to be mainly a passive experience. And one important point of the prototype, described later in this report, is that the experience moves towards an active one.
Audio transformation
Audio transformation can be defined as the electronic manipulation of sound from a psychoacoustic point of view. Howard and Angus (1996/2006) define psychoacoustics as the
study of human sound perception, which can be described in terms of pitch, loudness and timbre. Today, psychoacoustic manipulation of sound often takes place within a computer, utilising digital signal processing (DSP). The DSP transforms digitally recorded sound in realtime using a number of different audio processors. Examples of some of these processors and their application are filters (to manipulate timbre), dynamics processors (to manipulate loudness) and time modification (to manipulate pitch). Several other, more specialised, processors also exists, such as phasers, choruses or artificial reverberation processors. All of these tools are used to change the way a sound is perceived, in order to make it fit in a context or to enhance it in some way. For the purpose of this critical review, the terminology of audio DSP was used to describe how the audio transformation was implemented and how the resulting sounds were perceived.
Technical limitations
In any hardware or software system there are technical limitations due to design and implementation. In digital audio systems, some of these limitations can express themselves as audible errors, often described as glitches, clicks and pops (Bates 2004; Hewitt & Cabler, 1998; Stuart 2003). These audible digital errors can be the result of insufficient processing power, clocking problems or incautious software implementation. During the analysis of the mobile reactive audio applications in this study, critical listening for audible digital errors were performed to gain a deeper understanding of when technical limits were exceeded and if, or how, that could have been prevented.
3.5.Online focus group discussion
According to Moloney, Dietrich, Strickland, and Myerburg (2003), online focus groups (OFG) is a convenient and time saving method to collect research data. The participants can
attend the discussion in the comfort of their own home, and the researcher can moderate the discussion in the same fashion that he or she would in real life. An OFG can be synchronous or asynchronous, meaning that participants are either discussing in realtime during a limited period of time, or contributing to the discussion in their own time, not limited by a short time frame (Oringderff, 2004).
In this study an open-ended OFG discussion was performed as part of the prestudy to construct requirements for the first prototype design iteration. The discussion platform of choice was a discussion forum called 99musik. The forum members of 99musik are musicians, audio technicians, sound artists and other audio creatives. The discussion was focused on questions regarding interactivity, user experience and autonomy, as well as artistic and technological aspects.
3.6.Interviews
In qualitative research, the interview is a well recognised method of inquiry (Gray, 2013; Walliman, 2010). In semi-structured interviews a question guide is used, but the discussion is permitted to drift out of the topic in order to gain deeper contextual insight (Walliman, 2010). In this study, the semi-structured interview was used after the first design iteration of the prototype. Experts were interviewed after having experienced the prototype first hand. Here, an open-ended interview format was important in order to cover as many aspects of the user experience as possible.
3.7.Survey
Questionnaires benefit from being accessible, low in cost and easy to administer (Walliman, 2010). However, according to Gray (2013), questionnaires should only be used when they fit the objectives of the research, and should not be the only method of inquiry. In this study, a
classification survey was performed prior to other research methods, in order to establish a baseline of user demographics and prior experiences. The survey was only a part of the tests with non-expert users, as the demographic information of the experts was collected during the interviews.
3.8.User Experience Questionnaire
In order to supplement the qualitative data of most of the methods chosen for this study, at least one quantitative method of measuring user experience was desired. Several methods were reviewed, for instance the repertory grid system which is a structured interview method based on user perceived attributes (Karapanos & Martens, 2008). The repertory grid system, although capable for user experience evaluation, requires at least three different versions of an experience. In this study, only one final version was planned, thus a method that could evaluate a single user experience was required. The User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) is a 26 item questionnaire which is focused on both the hard and soft aspects of a user experience (Laugwitz, Held, & Schrepp, 2008). The UEQ is an easy and accessible method of collecting quantitative data form product user experience, and doing so in a standardised way. The UEQ was developed in collaboration with user experience experts, and have been validated through several studies (Laugwitz et al., 2008; Rauschenberger, Olschner, Cota, Schrepp, & Thomaschewski, 2012; Schrepp, Hinderks, & Thomaschewski, 2014).
The UEQ was chosen as the quantitative method of measuring the user experience of the prototype in this study mainly for reasons of repeatability and added validity, due to the limited number of participants in the study. Furthermore, the UEQ offers a benchmark over a large number of studies that the currently measured user experience can be compared to. In addition, very few data entries are needed to obtain reasonable dependability.
4. Design phase I
This chapter describes the initial prototype design idea based on the research question and the literature review. The procedure and findings of the prestudy methods are also described. Finally, the prototype design requirements derived from the first design phase are listed.
4.1.Initial design idea
Early on in this study, the decision was made to create a digital artefact that would become an integral part of the research process. The purpose of the prototype was to enable the exploration of the possibility of changing user behaviour in regard to personal music usage and urban soundscape awareness. The basic requirements of the prototype were dictated by the theoretical background of the study, thus it needed to provide the user with a musical experience while simultaneously incorporating recorded sounds of the soundscape around the user. Additionally, the prototype was required to do this in realtime on a mobile device, and also give the user control over the experience in the form of physical interaction with the prototype. These initial requirements indicated that the prototype should deliver a reactive audio experience, meaning that a user’s interaction with the prototype would cause a reaction in the generated auditory experience.
4.2.Prestudy procedure
In order to form a baseline of requirements to design the first iteration of the prototype, a prestudy was conducted. The prestudy consisted of three methods; soundscape analysis, critical review of current applications and an online focus group discussion. The soundscape analysis was performed to gain deeper understanding of the spatial context of this study, that being the urban soundscape. The critical review of current applications was conducted to learn and get inspiration from applications similar in function to the prototype. Finally, the
online focus group discussion was done to gain initial user-centred requirements that could help with the design of the user interface and interaction. The following sections describe the procedure of each prestudy method. This will then be followed by the findings from each method.
4.2.1.Soundscape analysis
The soundscape analyses were performed in three steps: recording, classification and temporal analysis. A total of three soundscape analyses were conducted in three different locations, which were a busy city street, a central station and on a city bus. All the recordings were made using a Tascam DR-05 portable digital recorder with built-in stereo microphones in an A/B configuration. The file format for the recordings was chosen to be lossless WAVE format at a sample rate of 48 kHz and a bitrate of 24 bits. The first recording took place on 7 March 2017 at 10.22 and was performed by walking along a busy street in Malmö, Sweden. Figure 2 illustrates the walking path.
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The second recording took place on 7 March 2017 at 10.44 AM and was performed by walking through different sections of Malmö Central Station. Figure 3 illustrates the walking path.
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Figure 3: Path of the second soundscape recording. Images courtesy of Google Maps.
The third recording took place on 13 March 2017 at 11.53 AM and was performed by riding a city bus in Malmö. Figure 4 illustrates the path of the bus ride.
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The soundscape recordings were analysed by noting and analysing every unique sound that occurred. The sounds were then classified according to Schafer’s (1977) “classification according to referential aspects” (p. 137) which enabled easy visual comparison by creating a graph over the occurrence rate of each type of sound in each recording. The individual records of the classification process are available in appendix A.
4.2.2.Critical review of current applications
The critical review of current mobile reactive audio applications was performed as a survey of the current market in order to gain an understanding of how the applications functioned and how they were experienced from a user perspective. As previously mentioned, the following applications were reviewed: The app formerly known as H__r, Aitokaiku - Augmented music and ScenePlayer. The applications were critically evaluated, mainly focusing on the auditory perception aspects and the user experience regarding user interface. As previously explained, the applications were also reviewed based on three different concepts of audio experience, namely immersion, audio transformation and technical limitations. The following sections describe the findings of the critical review for each application.
The app formerly known as H__r
Review date: 2017-03-14
Name: The app formerly known as H__r
Version: 0.3.2
Developer: Reality Jockey Ltd.
Platform used: iPhone 5, iOS version 10.1.1
Peripherals used: AKG K518 DJ Headphones
The app formerly known as H__r is part of the heritage of the mobile application called RJDJ that was a very popular reactive music application from 2008 to 2013, when it was taken off the Apple App Store. The app can be described as a set of different audio filters that takes the incoming audio from the microphone on a smartphone and transforms it to something else with the use of digital signal processing. The audio transformation happens in realtime. The application has seven different audio filters that can be chosen as presets, and these are Super
Hearing, Auto Volume, Relax, Happy, Talk, Office and Sleep.
User experience
When starting the application, the user was instantly faced with the first of seven filter presets that the application had, and audio playback engaged without the need for user interaction. The user interface consisted of a coloured background with several coloured circles that moved slightly in reaction to incoming sound from the microphone. In the bottom part of the application there was a preset name, a button for settings for the specific preset, and a button for starting and stopping audio playback. When pressing the settings button, four sliders and complementary text emerged from the bottom, and settings specific to the preset could be adjusted. To change preset the user had to slide sideways on the screen.
Immersion
The application was at times immersive, especially the more abstract presets like Office and
Sleep, which both displaced the user and created an audio environment that sounded nothing
like the audio it was actually based on. In general, the presets were spatially interesting, utilising the whole stereo field, which often was perceived as creating a deeper sense of immersion. The drawback of how the presets were designed was that they created listening fatigue early on. They did not feel varied or engaging enough to listen to for extended periods of time, and this disrupted the sense of immersion.
Audio transformation
The DSP effects used in this application were quite advanced and the sound quality was high. Sound effects like delay and pitch were well implemented, and precautions had been taken not to stretch the technology to its limits, resulting in lower sound quality. Regrettably, user control over the melodic parts of certain presets were lacking, or at least insufficiently explained. In most cases the settings were self explanatory, but there were cases where the sliders had to be slid up and down several times in order to understand the resulting audio transformation. However, it might have been designed like this on purpose, as a way to create tension or excitement.
Technical limitations
Most of the presets reacted more or less instantly to external sound. Some audio glitches were noticed in some of the presets, suggesting that the application needed more processing power than the iPhone 5 could deliver. But these glitches were minor and not frequent.
Reflection
The app formerly known as H__r was a fun application that showcased many different ways of transforming audio in realtime, and doing so in an autonomous way by giving the user just a little control. The application was not reactive in the sense of user action affecting the sound experience. With the exception of the settings for each preset, the user had to listen to whatever the app produced based on the audio input. The user interface was sometimes frustrating, as buttons and sliders were small and hard to press.
Aitokaiku - Augmented music
Aitokaiku is an audio augmented reality music application that generates a musical composition based on realtime sensory input from the user. The application comes with several different presets and it utilises audio input, movement sensors, light sensors and location sensors as data for generating the musical composition. The sounds that are heard are prerecorded and can’t be changed by the user.
User experience
The user interface was simplistic. Four buttons enabled the user set if each type of sensory input should be turned on, off or controlled by artificial intelligence. There was a big circle in the middle of the screen that enabled the user set the intensity of the composition. Furthermore, there was a menu button in the top right corner, that enabled the user choose between presets. The simple user interface made the application easy to use and understand. However, the big circle in the middle did not explain itself. But its function rapidly became clear when engaging with it.
The core of the application was the variety of sensory inputs it was able to handle, and these made the user experience fun and engaging. Disappointingly, the quality of sound that the application produced was not satisfying. The musical compositions were uneven in
Review date: 2017-03-14
Name: Aitokaiku – Augmented music
Version: 0.5
Developer: Aitokaiku
Platform used: Samsung Galaxy S7, Android 6.0.1
tempo, and the melodic elements of the composition did not harmonise well with each other, resulting in dissonant and unpleasant soundscapes.
Immersion
The interaction aspects of Aitokaiku helped to create immersion. More specifically, the sensory inputs used to control the application were sufficiently reacting in realtime, making the user feel in control of the musical composition. However, the feeling of immersion was broken by the cacophony of sounds that the application produced. There was no sense of tempo or musical intention when it came to the musical compositions. Most of the time, the application played back the same sounds over and over again, resulting in an unbearably fatiguing listening experience.
Audio transformation
The audio heard in the application was prerecorded sounds of percussion instruments, drum machines, acoustic instruments and synthesisers. There was no audio transformation taking place in this application.
Technical limitations
No latency or audio degradation due to technical reasons were noticed during the review. The musical compositions were, as previously described, poorly implemented. However, this was not a result of technical limitations, but just a consequence of application design.
Reflection
Aitokaiku was a good idea that was poorly realised. The intention to create generative compositions based on sensory input was interesting. But the sound that Aitokaiku produced would probably not pass as music to most people. The compositions were random and dissonant, without the feeling of human musical intention. After 20 minutes of listening, the
sound of the application was becoming more and more annoying due to the same sounds playing over and over in an irregular fashion.
ScenePlayer
ScenePlayer is an application for the Android platform that enables the user to run patches made for RJDJ, an application that is not available to the public anymore. The patches are installed in the application via a memory card. When installed, the user has to click the name of the patch to start it. The user interface of each patch is different. Normally it features an image and a grid that suggests user interaction of some kind.
User experience
This review focused on one patch in particular: add_blips by Martin Brinkmann. The reason being that it featured environmental sampling combined with sound synthesis; the two main components of interest for the design of the prototype of this study. The patch add_blips functioned by sampling a short clip of incoming microphone audio, approximately one second, and then fragmented the sample and played it back in a random manner, making it sound more abstract. This was done in a preprogrammed rhythmical fashion, which created interesting results. The audio experience had a musical ‘feel’ to it, resembling syncopated drum beats. The graphical user interface consisted of a blue background with white and yellow lines whirling around. When pressing different areas of the user interface, musical
Review date: 2017-03-15
Name: ScenePlayer
Version: 0.9.2
Developer: Peter Brinkmann
Platform used: Samsung Galaxy S7, Android 6.0.1
Peripherals used: AKG K518 DJ Headphones
notes were programmed into the sequence, playing in time with the rhythm. The more the user interface was engaged, the more notes were inserted to the sequence. However, even if it was pressed repeatedly, the sequence never became unmusical. The overall user experience was engaging and impressive. The musical sequence could be reset by shaking the phone.
Immersion
The add_blips patch was experienced as immersive, partly due to the way the user interaction was implemented, and partly due to the quality of the resulting musical composition. The withdrawal from reality was strong, meaning that the recorded audio being played back was perceived as abstract. The randomness of the musical composition was beneficial to counteract listening fatigue. However, the prototype of this study would need less abstraction in order to preserve a strong connection between the user and the acoustic soundscape.
Audio transformation
The audio transformation that took place in add_blips was mainly audio fragmentation, or granular sampling. The effect was dramatic, and when played back into stereo delays the effect was perceived as musical.
Technical limitations
No signs of hardware or software limitations were noticed in add_blips. It sounded ‘glitchy’ at times, but that was regarded as a result of design, not technical limitation.
Reflection
This review focused more on the patch “add_blips” than the application ScenePlayer itself. However, the application would not be of interest to the study without the patches. The patch add_blips was perceived as a well implemented reactive music application, and the resulting audio experience was engaging and musical. The physical interaction with the app was simple yet effective, and there were many things to learn from an application like this. One
drawback was that there was no control of the balance between recorded audio playback and synthesised melodic sounds, which the prototype of this study would need. Furthermore, the incoming audio was too abstract in its representation in the musical composition, seen from the perspective of the research question of this study.
4.2.3.Online focus group
The purpose of the online focus group discussion was to collect initial impressions and the critical opinions of experts in the field of audio and music creativity and technology. The online discussion forum 99musik was chosen as the platform for the discussion, as many of the members of the forum are musicians, audio technicians, sound artists and various other creative people. The group discussion was initiated on 6 March 2017 and was open for fourteen days. The initial post of the discussion consisted of a presentation of this study followed by a brief explanation of the prototype that was to be designed and developed. Thereafter, the following questions were proposed as a basis for the discussion:
• Which kinds of features would you want in an application like this? • How would you want to interact with this kind of application?
• Should the application be autonomous, user controllable or a combination of both? • As the application is meant to replace normal music listening, should it have settings for
different moods, and if so, how should that be implemented?
• Should the tempo of the musical composition be user controllable or automatic? • What kind of sampling synthesis would fit this kind of application?
4.3.Findings from the prestudy methods
The following sections describe the findings from each prestudy method. Furthermore, the patterns found in the collected data are briefly reflected on.
4.3.1.Soundscape analysis findings
The analysis of soundscape classifications revealed strong patterns in the occurrence of certain sounds. The graph in Figure 5 clearly illustrates that the three recorded soundscapes were rich in mechanical sounds and human sounds. Meanwhile, natural sounds and quiet and silence were clearly underrepresented.
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Figure 5: Number of unique sounds within a category in a soundscape.
Temporal analysis
For the temporal analysis of the soundscape recordings, spectrograms were utilised. The spectrogram is a powerful tool of audio analysis. It shows the left channel on the top half, and the right channel on the bottom half. The X-axis represents time and duration of sounds, the Y-axis represent frequency from 20 Hz (bottom) to 24000 Hz (top), and the colour represents
0 3 6 9 12
Natural Sounds Human Sounds Sounds of Society Mechanical Sounds Quiet and Silence Sounds as Indicators Walk along busy road. Walk through Central Station. City bus ride.
sound intensity, from a dark purple (low intensity) to bright orange (high intensity).
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Figure 6: Example of a spectrogram used in the temporal analysis method.
The recordings were divided into one minute long parts, as a full spectrogram of the recording wouldn’t show enough details to enable critical analysis of the audio events. Following the spectrograms while listening to the recorded audio provided a deep understanding of the soundscape and its components. The concluding section of this chapter lists the design requirements derived from the soundscape analysis.
4.3.2.Critical review findings
The critical review of current reactive music applications was a successful way of gaining knowledge on implementations, user experiences and limitations. Analysing the selected applications from a user perspective enabled the construction of design requirements for the prototype. The sampling phase prior to the critical review also revealed that the market for reactive music applications is small, as the three applications chosen for this study actually were the only applications available at the time. The design requirements derived from the critical review are listed in the concluding section of this chapter.
