Similarities Between Brian Eno And Hildegard Westerkamp

Sound, space and place in soundscape compositions and ambient music reflect the relationship individuals have with the environment. Soundscape compositions and ambient music are asking the listener to take the time to hear sounds that they might typically ignore. In paying attention to sounds, individual’s will gain a new understanding about their surroundings. Work by artists such as Brian Eno and Hildegard Westerkamp demonstrate how sounds can convey a sense of place. The relationship between an individual and their surroundings has been important message for soundscape compositions and ambient music. Soundscapes and ambient music communicate “various sonic environments to the listener in order to foster awareness of sounds that are often ignored” (Truax, 2002, p.5). It is important that soundscape compositions “keep a clear degree of recognizability in its sounds” (Truax, 2002, p.6). This allows the listener to be able to understand where these sounds are coming from and gain a sense of place. Both soundscape compositions and “ambient music [are] intended to enhance” the sounds that are already in the environment (Eno, 1978, p.1). The soundscape compositions of Brian Eno and Hildegard Westerkamp immerse individuals into an environment,
Westerkamp has made several works that use “environmental sounds in ingenious ways” (oxford music). One of Westerkamp’s soundscapes includes A Walk through the City, which “focuses on the people forgotten and unnoticed in today’s urban society” (Dirks, 1999, p.91). In Westerkamp’s work she is “highlighting the minute details of individual sonic events” (Dirks, 1999, p.91). Many of Westerkamp’s work explores the sounds that are often ignored by individuals. Westerkamp’s works demonstrate how soundscapes provide an opportunity for individuals to listen to their environments, and notice something they might not have had