Minds On
Today’s vocabulary
Let’s get started!
The character of a place, its identity, is shaped by its people (social) and its physical characteristics.
A place may get its character from its natural features and its built or humanmade features.
Explore the following images from across Ontario. These images display natural spaces such as rivers, forests, and shores, as well as humanmade spaces like houses, streets, and buildings.
Grand River, Kitchener
Houses in Kingston, Ontario
Shops in Owen Sound, Ontario
Elora Gorge in Elora, Ontario
Chinatown in Toronto, Ontario
Student Success
Think-Pair-Share
Consider a space or location of your choice.
Examples might include:
- your place of residence
- your learning space
- a town centre
- a park
- sports stadium
- movie theatre
- concert hall
Answer the following question about the space you selected. You can record your ideas using a method of your choice.
- How might you describe this location or space? What details would you share or choose to include?
If possible, share your ideas with a partner.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Action
Get ready, get set…
Return to your description of a place from the Minds On section. Did you include sounds in your description?
Sound can also be part of what creates a sense of place. You may have noticed natural sounds and humanmade sounds when describing your place.
Press the tabs to explore some examples of natural and humanmade sounds.
Natural sounds may include animal noises, the wind blowing, raindrops, or birds singing.
Humanmade sounds can include laughing, singing, talking, a screeching streetcar, a chugging train, or a lawnmower.
What is a soundscape?
A soundscape is a piece of music that, through sound, depicts a picture or an event or creates a mood or an atmosphere. For example, using musical instruments to imitate the sounds people may experience at a park or playing a flute to imitate the sound of a bird.
Investigate
“Listen” by Murray Schaffer
Soundscapes can be used to help people relate to their surroundings.
Explore the following soundscape, “Listen” by Murray Schaffer.
Listen – Murray Schaffer
Explore the soundscape again. Record the natural and humanmade sounds that you notice.
You can record your ideas in the following fillable and printable Soundscapes table. You can also use another method of your choice to record your ideas.
|
Natural sounds |
Humanmade sounds |
|---|---|
Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Soundscapes.
When you’re ready, press the ‘Answers’ button to reveal some possible answers to this exercise.
|
Natural Sounds |
Humanmade Sounds |
|---|---|
|
Crows cawing Birds chirping and birdsong The wind |
A hum of a highway or main road in the distance A train whistle in the distance |
Now that you have explored a soundscape, let’s think about how we might represent this soundscape using visuals.
To do this, revisit the sound clip of “Listen” by Murray Schaffer:
Listen – Murray Schaffer
Think about when each sound occurs and where. This will guide you to map out the scenery.
For example, sounds that are louder might appear larger and in the foreground to create emphasis. Sounds that are softer might appear smaller and in the background to show diminishing size and softer dynamics.
Record your ideas about the sounds using a method of your choice.
Connections
Visual arts terms
Check out the following definitions of emphasis, foreground, middle, ground, and background.
Press the tabs to learn more.
Special importance given to one part or element in an artwork. Emphasis directs the audience’s attention to the chosen element first. Emphasis can be created using design elements such as contrast, colour, and size. For example, a shape can be emphasized by making it the largest.
A picture of people standing with some trees behind them and some mountains in the distance. The front where the people are standing is labelled “foreground.”
The part of an artwork that appears to be closest to the audience. The area in front of the other objects. It is often at the bottom of the picture plane.
A picture of people standing with some trees behind them and some mountains in the distance. The area with the trees is labelled “middle ground.”
The area that appears to be in the middle of the art. It can have objects appear to be in front and behind it. The middle ground appears to be between the foreground (in the front) and the background (in the back).
A picture of people standing with some trees behind them and some mountains in the distance. The area with the mountains is labelled “background.”
The part of an artwork that appears to be the farthest from the audience. A background is often behind the other objects in an artwork.
Let’s return to the soundscape by Murray Schaffer. This time, we’ll explore the soundscape video.
Student Success
Think-Pair-Share
How is the landscape that you imagined similar to the video? How is it different?
Record your ideas using the following fillable and printable Soundscape Venn Diagram. You can also record your ideas about similarities and differences using another method of your choice. When you’re done, consider adding your Venn diagram to your portfolio.
If possible, share your ideas with a partner.
Note to teachers: See your teacher guide for collaboration tools, ideas and suggestions.
Go!
Part one: “Eagle” from Vancouver Soundscapes
Explore the following audio clip. This clip is from a soundscape called “Eagle” that was created in 1996 for the Vancouver Soundscapes project.
As you explore the clip, think about the natural and humanmade sounds that you notice.
Eagle – Vancouver Soundscapes
Now, record any natural and humanmade sounds that you noticed in the clip.
You can record your ideas in the following fillable and printable Natural vs. Humanmade document. You can also record your ideas using another method of your choice.
|
Natural sounds |
Humanmade sounds |
|---|---|
Press the ‘Activity’ button to access Natural vs. Humanmade.
When you’re ready, press the ‘Answer’ button to reveal some possible answers for this activity.
|
Natural Sounds |
Humanmade Sounds |
|---|---|
|
|
Part two: From soundscape to landscape
How could a visual representation of the soundscape “Eagle” appear?
Now that you have recorded the sounds in “Eagle,” express your response to the soundscape by creating a landscape.
You can draw your landscape, write about it, describe it in an audio recording, or use another method of your choice.
Make sure you explain why you chose to place the items where you did.
Student Tips
Images to inspire
Portfolio
Portfolio
Consider adding your landscape to your portfolio.
Consolidation
Putting it all together
Select one of the soundscapes we explored today. Use the following questions to reflect on your learning.
Record your responses using any method of your choice.
- In what way do soundscapes evoke ideas, feelings, and/or images?
- What do you think is the theme or subject of the soundscape? (For example, what is the composer trying to communicate, and why?)
- What message or meaning do you think the soundscape conveys?
Reflection
As you read through these descriptions, which sentence best describes how you are feeling about your understanding of this learning activity? Press the button that is beside this sentence.
I feel...
Now, record your ideas using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.