The Carleton University Soundmap Project (CUSP) was initiated in 2012 by the students of MUSI 3600, an upper-level music composition course at Carleton University under the guidance of Professor Jesse Stewart.
Canadian composer and theorist R. Murray Schafer coined the term "soundscape" in the 1970s to refer to the immersive sonic environment of any given place. Building on Schafer's pioneering work, the students of MUSI 3600 documented the Carleton University soundscape as comprehensively as possible in the spring of 2012 using hand-held recording devices. These recordings include a few quintessential Carleton sonic signifiers ("soundmarks" in Schafer's terminology), such as the flowing Rideau River and the chiming O-Train. However, most of the sounds recorded for this project are the kinds of sonic events that usually fail to garner our attention: mechanical and automotive sounds, the sounds of students talking in a cafeteria, the sound of elevator doors opening and closing, etc.
The Carleton Soundmap is a compilation of the audio recordings. Scrolling (and hovering) over certain areas of the map triggers sounds that were recorded on the corresponding location on campus. Clicking on such an area will open a secondary window with information about that recording (and include a separate "play" button). Since more than one secondary window can be open at a time this will also enable visitors to the site to trigger multiple sound files at once, playing the Soundmap as a musical instrument of sorts.
The 2011-2012 MUSI 3600 class consisted of Suren Barry, Ian Dexter Crawford, Taylor Harris, Renee Landry, Darren Mair, Sebastien Migneault, Timo Miller, Andre Morrill, John Sherar, and Jesse Stewart. The students of MUSI 3600 would like to thank Jack Coghill and Paul Shannon of the School for Studies in Art and Culture for generously donating their time and expertise to the realization of this project. Also, the students of MUSI 3600 would like to extend special thanks to their classmate Darren Mair who took on a large portion of the technical work associated with this project and contributed immensely to the final product. Future generations of Carleton University music composition students are invited to add additional recordings to the Soundmap.
Locations with recordings:
Alumni Hall
Architecture Building
Athletics Centre
Azrieli Pavilion
Canal Building
Carleton Ice House
Carleton Technology and Training Centre
Dunton Tower
Frontenac House
Grenville House
Gymnasium
Herzberg Laboratories
Human Computer Interaction Building
Lanark House
Leeds House
Life Sciences Research Building
Loeb Building
Mackenzie Building
MacOdrum Library
Maintenance Building
Minto Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering (Case)
Nesbitt Biology Building
O-Train near the O-Train Station
O-Train crossing the Rideau River
Parking Garage
Residence Commons
Rideau River various locations
River Building
Robertson Hall
Russell House
Social Science Research Building
Southam Hall
St Patrick's Building
Steacie Building
Tennis Centre
"The Quad"
University Centre
Visualization and Simulation Building (VSIM)