From the Semiotics of Sight to the Semiotics of Sound

This article argues that the study of sound has been neglected by comparison with the visual. Despite the potential of sound and radio for creative and challenging production/art work (a potential recognised by many of the avant-garde artists of the 20th Century), there has been a tendency to teach sound as a complement to visual production, or through accepted radio conventions. This article uses the work of R. Murray Schafer and Theo Van Leeuwen as the underpinning theory in the development and description of practice work that encourages students to think about sound as a signifying practice. Examples of the practices involved in this process are explained and analysed. Finally, the article makes the case for using soundscape construction as a pedagogical tool capable of addressing the problem of bringing students to theoretical understandings through practice.