APSE Soundscapes Analyzer Server → https://apseprojecteu.github.io/apse-soundscapes-analyzer-server/

Aims of the tool

The tool helps young people explore and interpret ecological soundscapes through simple digital analysis. Users can upload or record environmental sounds and visualize them through spectrograms and waveforms, supporting active listening, environmental awareness, and field‑based learning. It is designed for youth workers running workshops, soundwalks, and outdoor activities, offering immediate feedback on natural, human, and mechanical sound sources.

Description of the tool

APSE Soundscapes Analyzer is an open-source online learning resource developed within APSE - Archive of Ecological Soundscapes, an Erasmus+ KA210-YOU project. It introduces young people to environmental soundscapes through attentive listening, field recording, visual analysis and creative interpretation.

The tool works directly online on smartphones, tablets and computers through a modern web browser. No download or installation is required, and no user account is needed. The interface is available in English, Italian, Spanish and Greek.

The resource is based on the principles of sound ecology: the study of the relationships between living beings, human activities and the acoustic environment. Listening to a place can reveal important information about its natural characteristics, human presence and ecological conditions. Participants can explore the sounds of birds, insects, amphibians, mammals, wind, water and other natural or human-made sources, and reflect on how these sounds are connected to habitats, seasons, species and biodiversity.

The tool also supports learning about acoustic pollution. Participants can compare quiet and noisy environments and identify sounds produced by traffic, construction, industry, machinery or other human activities. Through discussion and comparison, they can consider how excessive or intrusive noise may mask animal communication, affect orientation, disturb feeding and reproduction, influence movement, and reduce the quality of habitats. Sound therefore becomes a starting point for understanding environmental change, human impact and the need to protect biodiversity.

Users can record audio with a microphone or load a local recording. The audio is processed directly in the browser by the current interface. The tool generates an interactive spectrogram that represents how sound energy changes over time and across frequencies. Participants can listen to the recording while following a synchronised playback cursor, inspect time, frequency and relative amplitude, click on specific areas of the spectrogram, zoom into details, change analytical settings and export the visual result as a PNG image.

Different settings, including FFT size, window function, overlap, frequency scale, colour map, dB range and display resolution, allow participants to compare different visual representations of the same soundscape. This encourages observation, experimentation and critical discussion about how digital tools influence the way environmental data are interpreted.

APSE Soundscapes Analyzer is designed for youth workers, trainers, educators and young people, especially in environmental education, sound ecology, biodiversity awareness, digital literacy, citizen science and artistic learning. It can be used for individual exploration, outdoor field activities, collaborative listening, sound mapping, group reflection and creative production. Recordings and spectrograms can become starting points for visual scores, drawings, written reflections, performances, compositions or other artistic responses.

Learning objectives

After using APSE Soundscapes Analyzer, participants will be able to:

* understand the concepts of soundscape, sound ecology and acoustic pollution;
* distinguish between biological, geophysical and human-made sounds;
* recognise the importance of animal sounds for observing habitats and discussing biodiversity;
* investigate how noise pollution can affect animal communication, behaviour and ecosystems;
* listen attentively and describe the acoustic characteristics of a local environment;
* record, upload and organise environmental audio using an online digital tool;
* understand the basic principles of a spectrogram;
* identify and interpret time, frequency and relative amplitude in a visual sound representation;
* understand how analytical and visual settings influence the interpretation of a recording;
* compare soundscapes from different places, times or environmental conditions;
* develop digital literacy, ecological awareness, observation and critical-thinking skills;
* collaborate in discussing environmental recordings and sharing different listening perspectives;
* transform sound observations into visual, written, performative or musical creative work;
* reflect on responsible recording practices and on the relationship between human activities, biodiversity and environmental care.

Microphone recording requires the browser’s permission and an HTTPS connection. The dB values displayed by the tool represent relative digital amplitude and are not calibrated sound-pressure measurements.