Health

The limits of auditory perception are not extensible in level, given human listening capacities.
As the ear has no eyelid, human beings are constantly listening to a world that makes increasing use of public address systems, audiovisuals and proximity listening, at increasingly high sound levels, often and continuously.

• Inform children, right from the start of their schooling, of the risks of accelerated hearing damage caused by listening to loud music for too long and too often.
• Inform about the dramatic consequences of any accidental hearing loss, whether or not accompanied by tinnitus or hyperacusis: isolation, depression, difficulty or inability to integrate into the world of work.
• Know the impact of unwanted noise on stress, blood pressure, sleep and concentration.
  – Systematic hearing tests for newborns, and then throughout their lives.
  Good hearing and comprehension are prerequisites for acquiring basic learning skills and integrating into the family and social environment.
• Encourage the use of hearing aids.
• Support scientific research into physiology, auditory perception and hearing aids.

The sound environment

The sound environment is an essential component of our equilibrium, conditioning our personal and collective behavior.
Limiting noise pollution, designing atmospheres to be listened to, mastering the acoustics of spaces and supporting the diversity of sound players are today’s conditions for better living together.
All over the world, the densification of environments and the intensification of urbanization are making sound a subject of concern for professionals and citizens involved in the transformation of their living spaces.

• Learn to listen to the environment in order to control its effects: concentration, tranquility, violence…
• Publicize the scale of sound levels, like the Celsius degree for temperature.
• Promote skills in acoustics to integrate sound comfort into the design and construction of individual and collective housing, and urban infrastructures.
• Integrate acoustic and noise data into urban planning documents (travel plans, local urbanization plans, quiet zones, etc.).
• Make acoustic treatment of public places, especially schools, a social priority.
• Develop sound mapping of cities.
• Create regional sound observatories that are both places of memory and places for creating the sound identity of tomorrow’s landscapes.
• Promote innovative industries dedicated to the quality of our sound environment.

Sound recording and broadcasting techniques

Electroacoustic sound diffusion techniques have crept into our lives and seem familiar to us, even though we are unaware of how they work and the underlying alchemy of sound.
And yet, recording and reproduction technologies enable us to penetrate the intimacy of the individual at any time and in any place.
The compression of sound dynamics “We’ve become accustomed to listening to music and speech without nuance, even in noisy environments.
Too much compression, diverted from its original purpose, leaves no breathing space for the listener, who, tired, no longer has the strength to listen critically, and becomes the unwilling recipient of increasingly invasive messages.

• Integrate the teaching of sound into school curricula, raise awareness of the sources of degradation of original sounds and make it clear that the loudspeaker is not in itself a musical instrument.
• Raise awareness of sound recording and broadcasting techniques among planning and cultural professionals.
• For concerts and public broadcasts, give preference to multi-broadcast techniques to achieve greater homogeneity of reproduction and reduce overall sound levels.
• Recommend recording and downloading music as close to original quality as possible.
• Recommend minimum sound dynamics for recordings that respect musical nuances.
• Develop sound archives and consider them as key players in the evolution of our societies.

The relationship between image and sound

In the context of widespread access to audiovisual and multimedia content, sound is a decisive factor in visual perception and perceived final quality.
Sound creation is an integral part of audiovisual works and live performances.

• Teach children that the quality of the sound determines the quality of the visual.
• Improve the sound reproduction quality of personal and collective multimedia devices.
• Regulate sound levels between all TV, radio and film programs.
  Minimum sound dynamics must be maintained.
• Encourage the development of cinemas with acoustic comfort and multicasting facilities throughout the country.
• Integrate sound quality into all sound events.
• Recognize the contribution of sound professionals to the creative process.

Musical expression and sound

Musical expression, through the voice and the musical instrument, is a factor of both personal and collective balance, through listening to oneself and to others.
Scientific research shows the extent to which musical practice contributes to the development and maintenance of cognitive performance, at all stages of life.
It increases learning and memorization capacity, and also contributes to the acquisition of other skills, particularly in children. Let people know that musical practice is an element of personal and collective development, a meeting place and a social bond.Realize that collective musical practice is a means of combating violence and exclusion.Consider musical practice as the development of an acoustic frame of reference.Encourage and facilitate musical practice from school to university, in the family and in society.Broaden artistic practices by recognizing the sound arts as a sector of world cultures.Provide suitable facilities for group music practice in all new school and university buildings.Develop sound creation using innovative technologies and teaching methods.Musical expression and soundLa Semaine du Son CharterDownloadable in six languageshttps://www.lasemaineduson.org/IMG/pdf/2014_06_03_principiile_saptamanii_sunetului.pdfPrincipiile Saptamanii Sunetuluihttps://www.lasemaineduson.org/IMG/pdf/2014_06_03_carta_de_la_semana_del_sonido-2.pdfCarta de la Semana del Sonidohttps://www.lasemaineduson.org/IMG/pdf/2014_06_03_the_week_of_sound_charter_-_english_version.pdfThe Week of Sound Charterhttps://www.lasemaineduson.org/IMG/pdf/2014_06_03_charta_der_la_semaine_du_son_all.pdfDer Charta der La Semaine du Sonhttps://www.lasemaineduson.org/IMG/pdf/2014_06_03_charte_de_la_semaine_du_son_jap.pdf音声週間憲章

• Let people know that musical practice is an element of personal and collective development, a meeting place and a social bond.
• Realize that collective musical practice is a means of combating violence and exclusion.
• Consider musical practice as the development of an acoustic frame of reference.
• Encourage and facilitate musical practice from school to university, in the family and in society.
• Broaden artistic practices by recognizing the sound arts as a sector of world cultures.
• Provide suitable facilities for group music practice in all new school and university buildings.
• Develop sound creation using innovative technologies and teaching methods.