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The countryside is associated with tranquility and well-being, which today seems far from the truth. As I write this the farmer is mowing the field next door, there are a couple of crows chattering on the lawn, and the dog is barking and trying bite a wasp. I am immersed in a countryside soundscape: it is certainly not quiet and peaceful, but is it musical? And what benefits does being immersed in a ‘peaceful' green space confer?
Perhaps music should be a well-known melody, something you listen to when you put on the radio or go out to concerts. Or perhaps music can only be composed by someone who is trained using recognised modes of composition. The countryside soundscape is not musical if music is defined as a simple single melody. But there are distinct rhythms, pitches, and repeating patterns, coming together to form a definite musical soundscape. (Incidently soundscapes are a form of cultural heritage deemed worthy of documenting by the British Library)! Some sounds are soothing and calming, others make me (and the dog) a bit anxious (he keeps walking over to the fence and checking out the tractor).
One well-known psychological function of music is to elicit emotional responses in audiences. We know that listening can elicit a range of emotions - shivers down the spine, tears, or laughter. Some suggest that we manipulate our emotions by playing specific types of music to retain, magnify, or change our emotions. Others have even connected economic and social conditions to our musical choices.
Simply being in the countryside immerses us in a very specific ‘musical' environment, whether or not we are aware of the music. Add to this the many recognised psychological benefits of using green space - a snapshot of recent papers show that; children grow up with more positive creative play if they have access to green spaces, that they function better with greater attention spans developing if they play in green spaces, that adult quality of life is strongly associated with having access to open spaces.
Perhaps it's time to bring disciplines together to look at the aural-emotional impacts of specific sounds around us? Could being immersed in green space (or blue space - see these amazing new projects at Plymouth University) have a greater effect on us than we think? Could we begin to measure the calm some associate listening to the dusk chorus or of crickets chirruping on a balmy evening, or excitement or peace elicited by listening to waves crash onto a beach?
