Local Eardonances: Raymond Murray Schafer’s Contribution to the History and Present-Day Practice of Noise Abatement

Abstract

Raymond Murray Schafer’s acoustic ecologist vocabulary, goals and tactics have recently been taken up by European noise abatement societies. Yet how does this relate to their more traditional noise abatement strategies? And what might be behind it? This chapter answers these questions by analyzing the websites and publications of three major European noise abatement societies: the UK Noise Abatement Society (NAS), the Dutch Society Against Noise Nuisance (NSG) and the Working Group on Noise of the German Acoustical Society (ALD). The author suggests we can harvest the increasing interest of noise abatement societies in Schafer’s legacy by linking Schafer’s widely cited ideal of the soniferous garden, to local ordinances—in eardonances that entitle urban citizens to the use of acoustically secluded and enriched spaces.