A village’s electrical devices can coherently harmonize into chords and melodies

Evidence

When we were studying the soundscape of the Swedish village of Skruv in 1975, we encountered a large number of these and plotted their profiles and pitches on a map. We were surprised to find that together they produced a G-sharp major triad, which the F-sharp whistles of passing trains turned into a dominant seventh chord. As we moved about the streets on quiet evenings, the town played melodies. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 363

Categorization

• SEED: The ‘town that plays melodies’ is a perfect vivid anecdote for an essay on the soundscape as accidental music.
• FICTION: A setting where the built environment composes accidental music is a strong story premise.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 363
• XREF: connects to: A group can turn ambient environmental sounds into shared composition — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 291; Ordinary objects can be transformed into musical instruments through attention — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 695; Soundscapes can be deliberately orchestrated like musical compositions — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 794 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• A group can turn ambient environmental sounds into shared composition #expands (0.75) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 291
• Soundscapes can be deliberately orchestrated like musical compositions #expands (0.70) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 794
• The entire soundscape can be treated as one ongoing musical composition #expands (0.65) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 669
• Ordinary objects can be transformed into musical instruments through attention #expands (0.60) — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 695