I think it would be interesting to do an essay about an ethnography of the indigenous people of either the Philippines or the Canaries and their relationship with sound. Before the introduction of western culture, how did these people use and create sound in their everyday lives? Was there ceremonial use for sound and how do they differ to normal practices in western culture? What forms of sound are used in everyday life for communication beyond talking? How has colonialism disrupted traditional use of sound? What are the onset effects of this on the civilisation today? 

There are many questions here and it may take some time to organise these to create a question or set of questions worth investigating that relates to the assignment’s guidelines however I think this is a good start to focussing in on selected cultures and their relationship with sound. I aim to research mainly through the internet to find a starting point for my topic of choice as there is much more information available than in the library on the subject of sound specific to cultures of a group of islands such as the Philippines or the Canaries. I hope through my research I will be able to find a question that is more zoned in and dedicated to a particular area of a part of the culture relating to the use of sound.