Acoustic prominence depends on culture and attention, not loudness

Evidence

Whether a sound is figure or ground has partly to do with acculturation (trained habits), partly with the individual’s state of mind (mood, interest) and partly with the individual’s relation to the field (native, outsider). It has nothing to do with the physical dimensions of the sound, for I have shown how even very loud sounds, such as those of the Industrial Revolution, remained quite inconspicuous until their social importance began to be questioned. — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 503

Categorization

• SEED: An essay angle: ‘Why the loudest sound in your city may be the one you never hear’ — attention and habituation, not decibels, define what we notice.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Schafer, Murray R, The Soundscape- Our Sonic Environment…, 503
• XREF: connects to: Listening is cultivated and creates culture — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 481; Visual bias consistently outranks sound in public nature exhibits — Gordon Hempton, John Grossmann, One Square Inch of Silence- One Man’s…, 1379; Focal and global attention constitute two distinct modes of listening — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 189 (+10 more)

Broader Connections

• Trailing a focused sound to its end returns one to global awareness #expands (0.70) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 187
• Intention directs attention to when and where a chosen sound occurs #expands (0.70) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 331
• Focal and global attention constitute two distinct modes of listening #expands (0.65) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 189
• Deep listening moves between vast sonic totality and targeted focus #corroborates (0.65)
• Hearing is passive while listening requires active attention #expands (0.60) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 320
• One can intentionally tune into how a group collectively perceives sound #expands (0.60) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 338
• Listening actively shapes the sound it perceives rather than merely registering it #expands (0.60) — Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening, 346
• Perceived loudness and physical sound intensity follow different, non-intuitive mathematical scales #corroborates (0.55) — George Michelsen Foy, Zero Decibels, 53