Acoustic Environments in Change (1998–2004)was an international, multi-disciplinary project, studying the changes of soundscapes in six European villages. It involved European researchers, artists, journalists, local inhabitants and Canadian pioneers of soundscape studies. They all shared an interest in the relationships between the soundscape, the environment, and its various inhabitants. 

Project website: http://6villages.tamk.fi (1998–2004)

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere: www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html

Acoustic Environments in Change

The train passing the Skruv railway station. In the winter of 2000, Swedish Rail had left the premises, and since 1984 the trains had not picked up passengers anymore.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Skruv: The train

On this track we can hear an extract of a group interview that Helmi Järviluoma carried out along with Emmi Tavela in Skruv. Four villagers were involved. The group gathered at the house of a retired couple. The wife, Asta, had worked in health care, and her husband, Kalle, was a glass- and metalworker, Jan an excavator operator, and Ove was a retired railway officer. The alternation of ‘listening points’ in the group interview is typically polyphonic, making fleeting trips from past to present. With their broad Småland accent they talk about the past busy life and activities of the village, concluding with a discussion on past and present train sounds in Skruv. Recorded by Helmi Järviluoma and Emmi Tavela in February 2000.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Skruv: Group interview on sonic memories

Also the glass factory still gives work to the people of Skruv. The presentation hall has become a tourist attraction. Workers give demonstrations of glass blowing. The products of the factory are sold in a factory shop. In this recording you can hear machines and assembly line sounds. Also radio entertains the glass factory workers during every day of production.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Skruv: Glass factory

We were invited to climb the clock tower of Bissingen church to see and listen to the bells. The loud ringing near our ears startles us and interrupts our guide. A sound level meter tells the intensity: 102 dB. The guide goes on telling that during World War II the bells were removed, because the metal was needed for military purposes.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Bissingen: In the Bissingen bell tower

The organ player of Bissingen church presents and plays the church’s old organ. It was built before 1914 when the old style of bellows system was still used. The recording is made from beneath the level where the organ was situated, near the big bellows. The blowing of the air to the organ pipes is more uneven than in a modern mechanized instrument and this can be heard.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Bissingen: The old bellows of Bissingen's church organ

The slaughterhouse operates in the same building as Gasthaus Adler – as it did already in 1975. It is used only once in a week, on Mondays. One big pig was killed just before the recordist entered the slaughtering hall. Did the pig say something when killed? The hair of the animal has already been removed in a hot metal bin. In this long recording we can hear the processing of the pig as well as the omnipresent Bissingen 11 a.m. church bells in the background. The echoing hall enhances the workers’ negotiations with their strong Schwabian dialect. After all the machine noise subsides, the older experienced worker starts opening the animal carcass with his knife and only two fingers of his left hand. But he does the work quickly and in the end finds the heart of the pig.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Bissingen: Slaughterhouse

Our microphone listens near the old, partly wooden equipment, while the old owner of the Bissingen mill explains its history. The surroundings are wooden and covered with white dust. The mechanical movements of the machine parts and the source of sounds can be seen and heard at the same time.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Bissingen: The mill in Bissingen

The hunters of Bissingen practice together in a big storage hall in Dettingen village near Bissingen. The volume is loud! Hunting horns are still played even when hunting wild boars. The older hunters still know a number of meanings for these short tunes, as they tell us later on.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Bissingen: Hunting horns

Sounds of early spring. Quiet birdsong provides a background to the steps of people walking through the labyrinth of houses in the old part of Cembra village. The ambience is occasionally filled with fragments of hymns sung during a procession. The recordist moves into the Santa Maria church during daytime mass where a woman is reading a liturgical text. Then the recordist moves outside again. The choir singing inside the church can be heard coming through the doors in the piazza outside the church. Recorded by Noora Vikman.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Easter rituals of Cembra

In springtime 2000 the elderly men of Cembra still often gathered together at the old shoemaker Lorenzo’s workshop. His friends silently sit and follow the work. Sometimes they comment about matters of life. In this recording one can hear the atmosphere. After the details of the work are explained to the recordist one can hear quiet talking, the clicks of tools, and electric machines. We can also hear Lorenzo’s weak voice and the materials moving in his shaking hands. At the time of this recording he was more than 80 years old. Lorenzo passed away in spring 2007 and his workshop is now empty. Recorded by Noora Vikman.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: At an old shoemaker in Cembra

A short piece of atmosphere in old Cembra. People talking and human traffic is lively around lunch time. If one pays attention to the acoustics and reverberation no wonder many have asked if the recordings were made indoors. Recorded by Noora Vikman.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Human traffic in Cembra

Every morning the neighbourhood around Cembra bakery wakes up to the smell of bread. The routines in the little bakery begin early. People come to buy their fresh breakfast, lunch and dinner bread following a regular rhythm. Like children, different kinds of white bread have various names. Chiabatta makes a beautiful rustling sound when exposed to cooler air after a short, hot time in the oven. Machines work with the dough in the back room.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: In the panaderia

Antonio Nardon has been working on a huge Nativity scene since 1970. He has built thousands of details and moving parts, with dolls and creatures in several different scenes. Nardon still prepares them from nuts and pieces of wood found in the forest. He voluntarily shows his life work to visitors. Music is an essential part of the atmosphere of this mechanized miniature world.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Precipio of Cembra

The sound of woodworking dominates the open mountainous space on a windless spring day. Traditional ways of cutting wood belong to the mountain life. The owner of the baita, Mario, shows how to do it properly – first with the saw and then with an axe – even if it is Sunday.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Sawing and cutting wood

One Sunday afternoon in autumn 1999 Franco’s baita is full of friends. Between drinking their homemade wine and eating castanas and raw minced meat, the whole group sings polyphonic songs from their huge repertoire. A dog is barking outside, madly hunting a little lizard.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: In the forest hut

Steep hills make forest work here a little harsh. The practice is to hang the logs on a metal cable and send them down to the valley. This device makes a fantastic solo instrument!

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Forest work with Giorgio

As well as a place to clean the football uniforms of the youngsters from Cembra and nearby villages, the laundry is a social meeting place for the women – just as the wells had been before. Many women popped in just to chat awhile with Luigina. It is amazing how many ciaos one living above the lavanderia could hear during a day.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Lavanderia in Cembra

Claudio Lagomarsini presents the idea and the FVS and AEC projects in Cembra’s scuola media. He also translates the guidelines of the sound preference test into Italian, when the Finnish AEC researchers introduce the test in English. However, it is difficult to prevent the lively Italian children from co-operating when writing their answers. The classroom is bubbling with excitement. Soundscape is a collective creation in many senses!

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere: http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Sound preferences of the pupils of scuola media

An old lady Silvia spends her days outside her flat in Piazza Pozzamaura. Also her 13 cats like to lie and dream in the springlike sun. Silvia is talking to them. All the cats come quickly back home when they hear the sound of the cardboard package of crokattini, dried cat food.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Cembra: Silvia and her 13 cats

Counting traffic was a routine method of becoming familiar with the local sound- scape. The recordist is following the traffic patterns in the main street. On the other side of the street is the Bissingen bakery and its tiny parking place for bread shop- pers. This recording starts with accelerating cars. Again the church bells do not let us forget the flow of time.

Acoustic Environments in Change project website (1998–2004)
http://6villages.tamk.fi

Recordings published in cooperation with the Folklife archives of the University of Tampere. http://www.uta.fi/yky/en/research/folklifearchives.html 

Prepared by Helmi Järviluoma, Heikki Uimonen and Noora Vikman 
Recordings edited by Ari Koivumäki and Meri Kytö 

List of equipment used
Field recording equipment: AKG C 522 Eng Microphone, Sony ECM-999PR, Sony TCD-D8 DAT Recorder, Sony SBM-1 Super Bit Mapper 
For interviews: Sony ECM - MS 907 Microphone, Sony MZ-R35 MiniDisc Recorder 
Editing was made with: Pro Tools LE 7.4 software Digidesign Digi 002 Workstation

Bissingen: Counting German traffic

Äänimaisema-arkisto avattiin 20.2.2017 ja sitä täydennetään hiljalleen seuran arkiston kokoelmista. Arkistoa koskevevat kysymykset voi kirjoittaa arkiston kuraattori Meri Kydölle (aanimaisemat@gmail.com).
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This is the soundscape archive of the Finnish Society for Acoustic Ecology. For any questions please contact Meri Kytö at aanimaisemat@gmail.com.

Acoustic Environments in Change

Suomen Akustisen Ekologian Seura