Traveling the Sounds of the Earth via Map | An Introduction to the Nature Sound Archive "Nature Soundmap"

The experience of listening to the sounds of the Earth from a map

There is a lot of information in the world that cannot be conveyed just by looking at it. The calls of birds deep in the forest, the rhythm of waves washing up on the shore, the feeling of the wind before dawn. You can experience these "soundscapes" as if you were tracing a map through the Nature Soundmap provided by Earth.fm.

Nature Soundmap is a web service that allows you to play high-quality natural sounds recorded all over the world from an interactive map.

By simply looking at the map in your browser and clicking on a point that interests you, the natural environment of that place—whether in the "present" or the "past"—comes to life as sound.

An overview of what you can do with Nature Soundmap

What you can do with this service is very simple.

When you click on a heart-shaped marker placed on the map, the natural sound recorded at that location will play. No special operations or expert knowledge are required, as it is designed to be used intuitively.

Even more convenient is the filter function, which allows you to narrow down sound sources by criteria.

・Mood (such as Calm or Uplifting)
・Length of recording
・Type of sound, such as bird calls, wind, rain, or water sounds
・Classification by ecosystem, such as caves, forests, oceans, deserts, or alpine zones
・Region (continent/country)
・Name of the person who made the recording

By combining these conditions, you can search in quite specific ways, such as "long recordings focused on bird calls in the forest."

What kind of natural sounds are recorded?

For example, it includes sounds such as the following:

・Rain falling continuously in a tropical rainforest, with the sounds of birds and insects heard in between
・Thunder rumbling from afar in an arid region, and the sound of wind carrying sand
・Birds beginning to sing all at once in the morning in a Nordic forest
・Waves washing up regularly on the shore and the sound of water crashing against rocks
・Howls and footsteps of large animals heard in the savanna

Many of the sound sources are several minutes to several tens of minutes long, allowing you to enjoy the feeling of "placing yourself in the environment."

What kind of places can you hear sounds from?

You will be surprised at how widespread the recording locations are across the globe.

From the Amazon rainforest and African savannas to European forests, Asian mountain ranges, and islands surrounded by the sea, a collection of sounds characteristic of each continent is available.

A key feature is that the locations chosen are not urban areas, but places with as little artificial noise as possible.

There are also recordings from Japan, allowing you to search for natural sounds unique to the country, such as those from forests and seashores. Even just zooming in and looking at the map leads to discoveries like, 'So this is what it sounds like in a place like this.'

Rights information to know before use

You might get the impression that natural sounds are 'free to use,' but caution is required here.

The sounds posted on Nature Soundmap are audio data recorded by specific individuals or organizations. Therefore, copyright and other intellectual property rights exist for each sound source. Based on the wording of the Terms of Use, what is explicitly permitted to users is limited to:

streaming the audio source on the website in the format provided by the operating organization only. Any use beyond that is, in principle, not permitted.

Who is this service for?

Nature Soundmap is a service open to many people, but I think it is particularly well-suited for the following:

・People who want to focus or calm their minds with natural sounds
・People who want to learn about the world's natural environments through sound
・Educators looking for learning materials on geography or ecosystems
・Music producers and researchers interested in environmental sounds

The experience of learning about the world through your ears, without relying on visual information, is surprisingly fresh.

For those who feel inspired to try field recording, I recommend Teac's portable recorders. I personally find them very useful.

Conclusion

Nature Soundmap is a service that quietly, yet surely, teaches you the fact that'the Earth has such a diverse range of sounds.'

As you gaze at the screen and listen closely to the sounds, a sense emerges where some distant place and the here and now gently connect.

Even for just a few minutes during a busy day, if you put on your headphones and open the map, you'll find a different kind of time flowing there. I thought Nature Soundmap was a wonderful gateway for such small journeys.

See you next time!

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