Essay 1

A hi-fi sound is when the system is “one in which discrete sounds can be heard clearly because of the low ambient noise level”. (Schafer, 43) Some examples of hi-fi sounds are the country and a library. Sounds overlap less frequently in a hi-fi soundscape compared to a low-fi soundscape. A lo-fi soundscape occurs when “individual acoustic signals are obscured in an overdense population of sounds.” (Schafer, 43) This means there is an overlapping sound throughout the space. Some examples of lo-fi sounds are the city, a coffee shop. A specific sound mark from Murray Schafer’s childhood is the churning of butter. After identifying this sound and goes on to further explain how as a child “... the churn was pumped for half an hour or more, an almost imperceptible change in tone and texture occurred as the sloping cream gradually turned to butter.” (Schafer, 48) This description aids in understanding how the sound changed over time. This sound is cemented into his youth because the use of the hand-operated pump hasn't been a part of his life since then. For me, the sound of my Nintendo DSi’s start-up menu music is a sound mark from my childhood.