Sounds by Water and Trees was created through a participative approach to the sonic environment, where performers produce sounds in dialogue with a specific site: an approach to environ- mental sound art that moves beyond preservation, as a model of ecology, towards interaction and co-operation with the environment through participation rather than representation. ’Natural’ and man-made sounds become enmeshed in and through a network that in many ways instantiates itself. There’s no inherent hierarchy of importance in the flow of sounds, and in the systemic flow different sound constellations emerge as occasional forefronts of the overall soundscape. A sort of recursive dependency evolves in the way sounds of different origins grow out of, and in relation to, each other. Sounds by water and trees: the sound of water rising in a tree at dawn; the wind sonified by an aeolian guitar; the cyclic pounding from the sawmill; the waves hitting the shore as a power boat passes by. But Sounds by Water and Trees is essentially an attempt to stage a set of interactions between human and environment, wherein at times the intentionality of the sound produced by the wind and the waves has a similar agency to that of performers and composers, all engaging in the shaping of sound.

The monitor mixing engineer is a key function in a public music performance when in-ear monitoring (IEM) is utilized. This paper aims to expand our knowledge about monitor mixing in general and IEM mixing in particular by investigating monitor mixing engineers’ reasoning, decisions and actions. Four experienced monitor mixing engineers were interviewed on monitor mixing in general, IEM mixing and hearing health. Among the results are found that the engineers seek to create a fruitful working relationship with the performers. The engineers also describe what creates a functional mix and they show a high awareness of their responsibility for the comfort and well-being of the artist, both in a psychological sense as well as in providing sound levels that are not harmful. 

Different ballistic definitions for the momentary time scale used in live loudness measurement were evaluated. Definitions from the ITU and EBU were compared as well as a faster version of the ITU version, two asymmetric time scales and the deprecated ballistics, defined in EBU Tech 3205-E, for peak program meters. The goal was to identify the ballistics definition that would function as the best complementary tool to a short-term time scale. Engineers within the broadcast industry and students in audio technology performed an audio alignment task in a simulated live broadcast environment using one ballistics definition per trial. Fader movements and output levels were recorded. After each trial, a set of assessment scales were rated by the subjects. Some results were: a decay time constant of 250 ms yielded better representation of the low-level parts of the dynamics in the signal compared to a 400-ms time constant; the present ITU version of the momentary time scale yielded an estimated less eye fatigue; effects on the resulting output levels, related the gate in ITU-R BS.1770 in conjunction with live compensation of unadjusted audio material were shown.

The acoustics of a concert hall is an integral and significant part of a musical performance as it affects the artistic decisions made by performer. Still, there are few systematic studies on the phenomenon. In this paper the effect of concert hall acoustics, mainly reverberation, on musical tempo for a selection of different genres and ensemble types is analyzed quantitatively. The study utilizes audio recordings made in a concert hall equipped with a movable ceiling enabling a variable volume and thus a variable reverberation time. The results show that there are cases where the tempo follows a change in acoustics as well as cases where it remains more or less unchanged.

Qualities of loudness meters were investigated by running a simulated live broadcast show, mixed by subjects with different degrees of audio engineering experience. The subject-induced fader movements and the resulting output levels were analyzed using a general linear mixed model and then interpreted according to a proposed set of quality criteria for live loudness meters. The results show that, for subparts of the program. meters with slower integration lime caused less dispersion of the resulting output levels and a smaller error to a given target level. The varying integration tunes of the meters did not cause any significant differences in reaction time. It is concluded that this type of data may be used in evaluation of loudness meters and the specific study provides insight into the effect of time scales and meter implementation for EBU R 128-compliant meters.

The artistic research project ‘Room for interpretation’ addresses questions concerning the influence of room acoustics on the performance of Western art music from the performers’ perspective. The empirical core of the project is a number of experimental performance sessions carried out in Studio Acusticum, Piteå, a concert hall with mechanically variable acoustics. The authors discuss issues relating to the project’s design and methodology; the focus of the article is thus the research process rather than the results. A presentation of the project, its preconditions, goals, design and methodology is followed by an overview of previous research, mostly in acoustic science, on the same or closely related topics. In the third part of the article, characteristics of the present project are compared to those of the previous studies. In the following part, ’Room for interpretation’ is related to the ongoing discussion on the purposes and means of artistic research. The authors argue that the project, while showing certain similarities to previous studies, differs considerably with respect to aims and important aspects of design, and that its characteristic features agree well with those usually regarded as typical of artistic research. The article concludes with a summary of the most important results concerning: differences between performers’ reactions in the live situation and when listening to their own recordings; differences between chamber ensembles, conducted ensembles and soloists as to the influence of the acoustics on the performance; and the prevalence of sound over other musical parameters in performers’ comments on their recorded performances.

The posture has a major influence on the body; e.g., a slumped posture can lead to increased tissue loading but also altered movement behavior. Musicians, including violinists/violists, have a high prevalence of upper body musculoskeletal disorders. Biomechanical risk factors include repetitive movements, altered muscle activation and awkward postures. Changes in posture may have implications for both injury risk and the musical performance. Ideally, a healthy posture leads to the desired qualities of the performance, but this is still to be investigated. This multidisciplinary study takes an initial step to unravel the impact on both movement behavior and musical quality related to playing posture among high string musicians.

In-ear monitors for live performances are commonly considered to give better sound quality than loudspeaker monitors. They are also often assumed to reduce sound exposure. Because of lack of evidence for this, sound exposure for pop/rock/jazz musicians was compared between performances with in-ear and loudspeaker monitors. Equivalent sound pressure levels at the musicians' ears were 94 to 105 dBA with loudspeaker and 86 to 108 dBA with in-ear monitors. Many participants used earplugs when using loudspeaker monitors. Therefore, the recommendation, from a pure hearing protection perspective, is to use loudspeaker monitors and earplugs. However, the large spread in levels between musicians using in-ear monitors suggests that with better training and measurements of sound exposure, in-ear monitors could be used safely.