Acoustic Effects of Precipitation

Last night it snowed for the first time this season and today it is rainy and stormy.  It seems only fitting to post about the acoustic effects that precipitation has on the perceived environment as recounted by John Hull in his book “Touching the Rock: An Experience of Blindness.”  I have included excerpts from this book previously in the post on facial vision, and it is almost certain that there will be more to come as my copy of the book is currently filled with an abundance of post-it tabs.

Concerning rain, Hull writes:

“Rain has a way of bringing out the contours of everything; it throws a coloured blanket over previously invisible things; instead of an intermittent and thus fragmented world, the steadily falling rain creates continuity of acoustic experience.

I hear the rain pattering on the roof above me, dripping down the walls to my left and right, splashing from the drain-pipe at ground level on my left, while further over to the left there is a lighter patch as the rain falls almost inaudibly upon a large leafy shrub. On the right, it is drumming with a deeper steadier sound, upon the lawn. I can even make out the contours of the lawn, which rises to the right in a little hill....” Hull, pg 29-30

I am interested in the observation that through continuous percussion, or percussive activation of the environment, we are able to form a more unified and informed understanding of our surroundings.  That the material characteristics of an object can be revealed through the high speed smack of a raindrop is compelling in itself, but that an entire "scene" can be understood through the simultaneous smacking of millions of droplets from the sky, seems to me, to present possibilities for the exploration of three-dimensional environments solely through aural means.

“The rain presents the fullness of an entire situation all at once, not merely remembered, not in anticipation, but actually and now. The rain gives a sense of perspective and of the actual relationships of one part of the world to another. 

If only rain could fall inside a room, it would help me to understand where things are in the room, to give a sense of being in the room, instead of just sitting on a chair.” Hull, pg 31

Though differing in intention, Rain Room by rAndom International, creates the framework necessary for it to rain inside a room.  Check out the installation here: http://random-international.com/work/rainroom/

Later on in the book, Hull revisits the impact of rain on his perception of the world in a more analytical way.  In addition to the cohesive view he describes above, Hull acknowledges that the differentiation that rain reveals, is what develops the richness of the now accessible "view".  For instance, Hull recounts that he first notices differences of place (in relation to his own body eg. left, right, above, below), next there are differences in speed (slow drips, rapid cascades), followed by differences in intensity (exposed areas versus sheltered areas).  Finally, differences in pitch and volume emerge relating to the material that is being struck and its orientation relative to the sky.

"This built up into a complex pattern. The more intensely I listened, the more I found I could discriminate, building block upon block of sound, noticing regularities and irregularities, filling dimension upon dimension.” Hull, pg 132

In contrast to rain, snow has the opposite effect by taking away information.  There is a saying that snow is the blind person's fog.  Hull explains why:

“What I suffer in the snow is a loss of knowledge. All my familiar points and markings, the different grades and textures of grass, gravel, asphalt and concrete, are obliterated." Hull, pg 156

The softness of a snow fall, which has no audible impact on the landscape, and the subsequent acoustic insulation that results from a thick blanket of snow, effectively shrink the area of the aural environment that one can perceive.  

“Apart from the white cane, and the sounds from the environment, the body’s knowledge of its surroundings does not exceed its own dimensions.” Hull, pg 157

It is strange to think that only a precious few degrees Fahrenheit separate a vast and accessible world from an exceedingly limited field of perception.