More About I Hear Too 3 May 2009

Sound is often considered the poor relation of visual stimuli, yet plays a significant role in conveying information for rapid assimilation by a listener, and is a key component in the multi-modal perception of virtual/augmented reality applications. I-Hear-Too encompasses the understanding and preservation of heritage through the consideration of sound objects (recordings, sound archives, music, instruments), the built environment (architectural acoustics, archaeological acoustics, auralization), sites and landscapes (sound in context). All of these elements are subject to change over time and so their audio/acoustic preservation is just as important for understanding of the past by future generations as any of their other material aspects or properties.

Key research issues include the use of sound recordings and archives in heritage preservation, their restoration, organisation and access together with what to record now for future preservation; virtual acoustic reality and immersive sound as a means to preserve and render sounds and environments in new forms; the role of sound, sound-art and archival recordings as a means to access, enhance understanding, or experience the diversity of heritage; the importance of formalising acoustics research in heritage together with its proper contextualisation; the use of soundscape for conveying information to a listener or wider audience.

I-Hear-Too Live, a programme of sound works, installations, demos and audio interactives to be held in and around York Minster in October 2009 will showcase these aspects of science/heritage research and set a benchmark for future work.

I-Hear-Too will facilitate a step-change in how audio is used for preserving, experiencing and researching heritage, and by the end of the project will have brought together communities to form a newly focused stream of multi-disciplinary research.