Field Recording and Soundscape, what are they?

Field recording and soundscape are two related concepts in the context of recording and using environmental sounds.

Field recording is a recording activity that captures specific sounds in real environments. Soundscape refers to the overall sound composition of an environment.

Field recording is the process of recording real, authentic environmental sounds directly from the environment in which they occur. A field recordist uses specialized audio equipment to capture sounds such as nature noises, urban sounds, human voices, industrial sounds and more. The main goal of field recording is to capture ambient sound accurately and true to reality.

Soundscape is the set of sounds present in a given environment or space. This term, coined by Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer in the 1970s, refers to the overall sound composition of a place. Each environment has its own unique soundscape, which may consist of natural sounds, human sounds, sounds of machinery, traffic, etc. The soundscape considers the quality and organization of sounds present in a given space and can vary greatly depending on location and time. It is a way of understanding and evaluating the acoustic environment.

In summary, field recording is the practice of capturing real sounds by recording in the field, while soundscape is the broader concept that refers to the totality of sounds in an environment and their quality and organization. Field recording can be used to capture and document sounds that contribute to the soundscape of a particular place.