The Art of Sonic Navigation

I have been reading lately about echolocation, an awareness that a relatively small proportion of people develop which allows them to navigate their environment sonically by becoming hyper aware of the echoic reactions of the surfaces surrounding them. Or as Barry Blesser and Linda-Ruth Salter put it in their wonderful book Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?

Human echolocation is actually a collection of independent abilities to perform a variety of tasks, from hearing spectral changes produced by a nearby wall, to hearing the acoustic shadow produced by a telephone pole, to hearing the reverberation arising from two coupled spaces

This sense is largely developed by the visually impaired (although not a large percentage) but can be mastered by anyone dedicated to the art. Of course most of us will never develop the necessary skills because it is always easier to open our eyes and navigate visually as we have been taught from birth. What I find interesting though is that without thinking, we actually use many of the same techniques already in our day to day lives.

For instance, when I'm cycling to work along busy roads in morning traffic I can't see the cars behind me but I know how close to me they are, I'm well aware when one of them is about to overtake me, and I can hear their frustration and impatience when they want to pass me but don't have the option.

Obviously this is an extreme example as cars are notably loud and their engines sound different dependent on speed and proximity, but I know when not to pull out across lanes purely based on sonic vibrations in the air, I can sense density through tone, and this is surely a starting point for us all.

Although many people will find the idea of navigating sonically through their environment a pointless exercise, I believe that having the ability to hear surfaces that without careful consideration appear to make no sound at all is one of the most amazing things, opening up a whole new world of sound and vibration to be explored.