"A soundwalk is any excursion whose main purpose is listening to the environment. It is exposing our ears to every sound around us no matter where we are. We may be at home, we may be walking across a downtown street, through a park, along the beach; we may be sitting in a doctor's office, in a hotel lobby, in a bank; we may be shopping in a supermarket, a department store, or a Chinese grocery store; we may be standing at the airport, the train station, the bus-stop. Wherever we go we will give our ears priority."--Hildegard Westerkamp
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Following the Ai campus soundwalk, list all of the sounds you heard (retype them from your original notes so that we can read them).
Go to a place or space significantly different than the Ai complex (a beach, park or hiking trail if possible). Sit, close your eyes, and just listen for five minutes without doing anything else. LISTEN. For five minutes write down everything you hear. Indicate which sound you found most interesting and explain why this sound struck you as interesting.
Go to a sonically rich place in your home. Sit, close your eyes, and just listen for five minutes. Then write down everything you hear for five minutes. Indicate which sound you found most interesting and explain why this sound struck you as interesting.
Your Soundwalk reflection will also include answers to the following questions (please be as specific and thorough as possible:
1. Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
2. Was it possible to move without making a sound?
3. What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
4. Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
5. Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds?
6. Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the everpresent drone?
7. Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
8. Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
9. For each of the following three locations how would you describe the particular soundscape? If you recorded this environment and played it back to someone who hadn’t been on your walk, what would they tell you about this place?
a. Ai campus
b. external site
c. internal site
10. As a sound designer, if you played any of these soundscapes for your listeners, would they find it interesting? Can you use this in a story as is? Or would you have to modify or enhance it in the studio to heighten its effect?
11. Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
12. How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a designer, if at all?
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
Post your answers as a comment to this post on the Course Blog. I would suggest that you work out your answers ahead of time in Notepad, TextEdit, or Word, then copy/paste into the comment field.
You may structure your answers in any way you wish: organized by location, contained in a narrative, or woven into an interview format. You may also provide a link to your own website, using the content of the Soundwalk Reflection for your own design purposes. Your comment must be posted by the start of class in Week 2.
After you have learned how to conduct a soundwalk you will probably find that you stop cataloguing the sounds that you hear. Instead you’ll find that at all times and places you will be conscious of the sounds that surround you, whether good or bad, and will be able to identify the sounds that make you feel peaceful or happy, and the sounds that cause you to feel apprehensive or disjointed.
Above all, be with yourself. Immerse yourself in your environment. When you can understand your responses to the place where you are, you’ll have a better chance of bringing your listeners along with you. You will also have a better sensitivity to sound when you make the transition from listening to recording, as chronicled in the second part of this assignment, Field Recording. �
Cataloged Sounds by Location:
ReplyDeleteAI Campus:
• Jean material rubbing against each other
• Keys dangling as footsteps with high heels followed
• Muffled laugh
• Pencil writing on paper
• Door latch against metal fitting
• Street bike engine accelerate from afar
• Refrigerator units humming noise with addition of personal fans roaring above
• Cash register beeping noises
• Street lamp electricity flowing through bulb
• Air conditioner humming on roof of building
• Caution tape blowing against a street cones rubber fitting
• Leafs on branch blowing in wind
• Distant honk
External Site (Balboa Island, Jetty):
• Waves crashing against rocks
• Bicycle tires on dirt
• Soft humming of boat engine
• Water parting from bow of boat
• Airplane soaring above
• Woman discussing baking a cake
• Seagull call
• Wind ruffling palm trees and the grass blades.
Internal Site (Home):
• History channel discussing oil spill
• Air conditioning flowing through air vents
• Leather couch swish noise
• Dog bark once
• Front door open from seal and close resealing
• Foot steps on tile
• Glass placed on wood table
Discussion Questions:
1. Yes, though I’m unsure if they were noises I would want to hear.
2. No, especially when sitting in the living room on the leather couch.
3. Swoosh noise and a slap in the face of new noises.
4. I thought yes, but I was able to recognize the sound of the waves parting from the bow of the boat.
5. Yes, unless the seagull call was made by a human…?
6. Seemed to differ based on how soon after I had listened to something louder, such as after the crash of waves against the rocks at the jetty.
7. Woman talking about baking a cake behind me was close and so was the bike rider. The airplane was obviously far but it sounded close.
8. I didn’t try. Sorry
9. If you recorded this environment and played it back to someone who hadn’t been on your walk, what would they tell you about this place?
a. Ai campus – With our three locations if I were to play one recording a listening would assume it was recorded at a mall or grocery store because of the refrigerator unit.
b. external site – It would be obvious to any listener what location this is based on the waves and seagull. Though the baking cake woman may throw a few unlucky listeners off my tracks.
c. internal site – From the white noise and t.v. I think most would assume it is a personal residence. Aside from those, the front door has a distinct noise that is apart from industrial doors in public areas.
10. The beach soundscape would be fitting without alterations however both the AI recording and the internal location would need to be revised to create interest.
11. I would say no at this moment, they are the same noises I’ve always noticed, though not with such great attention.
12. As a sound designer I will pay more attention to white noise, room tones, jeans rubbing against each other and other sources of sound otherwise overlooked.
Ai site.
ReplyDelete-Female voice laughing
-Securities keys clanging
-elevator doors, cables and ding of opening door
-heals from a woman
-side door open to court yard
-man w/ flop flops on
- Male foot steps in boots
-commercial refrigerators 3 with a fan on top
-male clears his throat
-wobbly table
-cash register beeps
-girls gossiping
-male closing water bottle
-V8 suburban in the distance starts up
-suburban drives hear exhaust and runs over man home cover clank
-horn from a car being unlocked
-Leaves in trees blowing
-grass under feet
Interior space (Living room 12am)
-humming of CFL bulb
-hear low volume of TV in bedroom
-car passes in front
-dogs barking
-wicker from dogs bed squeaking
-small bell from new puppy
-puppy moving around in kennel
-puppy tail hitting side of kennel
-wife repositioning in her sleep
-car pulls into drive way next door
-car door opens
-male gets out closes door
-male has keys in hand
-unlocks door and closes door
-feet on rug
-couch sleeper make slight noise when I move
-people a few houses over talking on the way into the house
Exterior space (backyard 2am)
-dry grass under feet
-leaves blowing in the breeze
-car drives by on lemon 1.5 blocks away
-helicopter in the distance coming closer (low)
-helicopter passes over house approx 300-500 feet high (loud)
-dog howls in the distance
-multiple dogs barking at varying distances
-cat jumps off fence onto some leaves
-security door blows open hits wrought iron fence
-bang sound with reverberation
1. Yes I sat in my living room for an interior space and in my back yard at 2 am.
2. No out side was standing on dry grass and the couch is a sofa sleeper and you can hear the sleeper when you move on the couch.
3. Sounds like you can hear the blood flowing through your head with your ears plugged and your hearing becomes much more acute for 10-20 seconds as they readjust once unplugged.
4. Yes was able to distinguish most sounds.
5. Yes was able to distinguish between human, nature and mechanical sounds
6. Not so much inside but out side the breeze was varying drone noise.
7. Helicopter in the distance comes closer and flies over my head
8. No did not attempt tried to be as quiet as possible
9.a. Ai campus I believe Ai would sound like generic sounding large area e.g. A Mall or lobby
b. external site (backyard @2am) I think most people would believe its an outdoor space but would not be able to pinpoint an exact location
c. internal site (living room @12am) I think most would figure out it was a room in a house
10. I believe the backyard soundscape would be interesting with some slight modifications to intensify the sound a bit
11. Yes have always been able to hear I believe we start to take advantage hearing in general and don’t really listen anymore
12. Helps to distinguish the little sounds you may overlook.
Jaye said..
ReplyDeleteIn all 3 places I could find at least one spot that would allow me to really listen. These spots didn’t have a bunch of people coming and going or a lot of activity, but they did have sounds that I normally wouldn’t notice. I couldn’t not make noise when I moved at anytime, but at points other noises were louder and so I wouldn’t notice my own steps. Plugging my ears would muffle most sounds. While inside it almost completely tuned out the background. But then I would notice the movement of my hands and joints much more. Unplugging them felt like a relief and “clean” sound would come in. It doesn’t feel normal to be in silence.
Most sounds are recognizable. It just takes a bit of time and thought. Some were indistinguishable, but it could have been because they were brief. The only time I could distinguish between human, animal and mechanical was inside the house. This is slightly strange but our house is old and some creaks and scratches carry very far. I could say it’s mechanical because it’s the house, but the cause is either human or animal usually.
The “drone” or white noise, did change it could be a stronger rhythm or feel soft, other times like it was heavy. Close sounds would change in pitch and resonance depending on where I was standing or where my ear was. It could also change by me standing in the way of walls it echoes off of. I could change a lot of sounds by where I stood or sat. But outside it a more an effort to affect the area.
The school has a vibe of energy and then quiet. It fluctuates as the students do, very changeable. The inside of my house is this warm activity, it never really settles down, something is always going but usually softly. The outside of my house and around my neighbor hood is actually really calming. Quiet mostly and a surprising amount of nature.
All of them could be background in a story, but I think the interest level would be low. Some enhancements would be needed in all areas. They wouldn’t be noticed and would blend very well into scenes, but nothing great about them on their own.
I think this exercise helps to think of sound and what we forget we hear and listen to. It makes me consider more and adds a depth to a story playing in my head.
Living room:
ReplyDelete1. Fridge (vibrating sound).
2. Door cracking sound.
3. Light bulb ringing sound.
4. Water faucet being turned on.
5. Water running.
6. Faucet being turned off.
7. Water dripping.
8. Water draining sound.
9. Furniture stretching.
10. Door shutting.
11. TV. Being turned on and off.
12. Outside noise like voices and cars leaking in.
13. Crinkling sound (not sure what).
14. Snap sound in the kitchen(not sure what).
Backyard:
1. Airplane/s.
2. Cars passing by.
3. Kids laughing and talking (In the distance).
4. Birds chirping.
5. Really distant voices. I cant make out what they are saying but I know there voices.
6. Leaves moving up against each other as the wind passes through them.
7. Small branch falling from a tree (Very low sound. You might have to see happening to hear it).
8. Dogs barking in the far distance.
9. Interesting bird sounds. Chirping in a whistling pattern.
10. Guy passing by selling corn. He has a horn that you can hear from far away.
11. Lawn mower (distant).
12. Sprinklers (distant).
1. Yeah. I did my sound walks at home. It was the easiest option but it gave me an opportunity to find something out about the place I live in now. I didn’t realize just how much was going on at home.
ReplyDelete2. Not really. I could hear myself getting up from my chair or walking across the room even when I tried to be real quiet I could still hear some sound. In fact I could probably hear more sound the quieter I tried to be because I was listening to every little sound I made. When I did the sound walk outside I could hear myself walking through the grass or my footsteps on the concrete .
3. It’s funny because every time I did that for this project I was reminded of what people do when they smell perfume for too long and need to reset there sense of smell by smelling coffee beans. Every time I plugged my ears and then unplugged them it was exactly like that, a resetting for my ears and then everything sounded a lot clearer. That technique is going to come in handy for the many projects to come.
4. Not always. Some times they were too distant, muffled, or foreign. I was able to recognize many though. When I did my sound walk for the internal site I did it in the house and many times it was difficult where the sounds were coming from. Especially when they came from the outside because of the many windows, it can play tricks on your sense of direction.
5. For the most part I think so. I say I think so because that all depends on whether I got them right or not. Doing the sound walk outside was a lot harder then the sound walk I did inside. For two reasons, one because inside my house I can pretty much account for most of the sounds made because I know that environment well enough to say if a sound was being made by a loose door being pushed by the wind or washing machine in the next room. Outside is full of life and sometimes you cant tell what’s what.
6. Yeah. When I really listened to my surroundings sounds that typically played the background for me rally stood out. The wind or light breeze sound that’s made in the grass or leaves from a tree is a good example. There were moments of silence at times some longer than others.
7. I think I was able to tell for the most part. Its only with the really low sounds that it was a little difficult to tell, but It was easy for me to hear a car approaching from a distance or a two voices far away.
8. That didn’t really cross my mind at the time. I just observed the sounds that were being made around me and the ones I made like walking footsteps etc.
9. For each of the following three locations how would you describe the particular soundscape? If you recorded this environment and played it back to someone who hadn’t been on your walk, what would they tell you about this place?
10. I don’t think anyone would find these interesting mainly because the are everyday sounds and people would really have to want to sit and listen because the sounds don’t stand out much and as a result of that most people would probably be bored within the first few seconds of the recording. I would definitely modify these sound in the studio to tell a story. It just doesn’t seem like enough to work with.
11. Absolutely. I find myself listening a lot more to my surroundings. It has made me much more conscious about whats going on around me.
12. I feel something when I see it on canvas or some sort of print like a music album for example. The colors and the overall texture of the composition really reminds us of something we have already seen or have interacted with at some point and that comes into play when we see something that reminds us of that. The same is true for any one of our senses. I have never approached my work from the perspective of sound, at least not consciously, and so I feel that this has given me a new way to approach my designs. Images representing sound comes to mind.
Ai Campus:
ReplyDeleteHigh pitch laugh, hard cough, jean pants brushing while walking, low deep hum, keys jangling, elevator beep, low elevator tone, clack of heels, low male voice, low female voice, clang of shoes on metal bottom of door jam, shutting and locking of cabinet door, high techno music, heavy metal door close, outside distant traffic, distant car rev up hum, tires rolling on asphalt, high pitch hum of tv, deep fridge hum, metal hushed push of door, air escaping fridge, beep of register, low fan, change clacking together, open air soft weight, clothing movement, bench seat shifting, feet shuffling, distant traffic rise and fall, car horn beep, wind past ears, low engine, car acceleration, large truck break squeal., leaves rustling, outside tight light buzz.
Inside home:
Soft air noise from vent, creaking of floor, house settling, shuffle of feet on wood, clack of dog nails on wood, high pitch noise of tv electricity, creaking of ceiling fan as it turns, heavy hum of fridge, drip of water in sink, low water rush of toilet, rustling in attic, scrape behind wall, loud clack of washing machine hitting the dry on spin, heavy hum of dryer, loud beep of end cycle, rushing water into metal bin of washer, muffled children noises outside, metal trash can hush as it’s opened, clang as the trash can falls.
Outside Home:
Distant traffic, cars passing, birds chirping, crickets chirping. Tires on asphalt, skateboard wheel on concrete, clack of falling skateboard, distant train horn, car acceleration, grassy footsteps, large dog barking, jangle of dog collar, sound of a dog leash cloth stretching, dog panting, dog mouth smacking, dog whimpering, crow caw, car break squeal, sprinklers going off, sprinkler hush as it opens and closes, low car engine, basketball bouncing, small running steps, loud high pitch children voices, child shriek,.
Ai campus:
ReplyDelete• elevator buttons being pressed
• keys being clickered together
• music being heard from upstairs
• classroom doors being closed
• shoe movements
• voices being echoed
• vent from the fridge door
• beeps from the cash register
• tv from the lounge
• swoosh of air
• footsteps
• soda cans being touched
• crumpled paper
• coins being dropped
• paper being turned
• people drinking water, gulps
• people talking
• buzzing of lights
External site (outside apartment complex):
• dogs barking
• cars driving by
• kids riding bikes
• people in pool
• beeping of the outside doors
• gates opening/ closing
• car alarms
• motorcycles accelerating
• people talking
• wind blowing
• police sirens
• car doors closing
• sound of running / jogging
• stepping on grass
• birds chirping
Internal site (inside apartment):
• tv (how I met your mother)
• refrigerator door opening/ closing
• doorbell
• dog running around
• the A/C on
• sound of cars passing from balcony
• people yelling outside
• laptop typing
• roommate talking on phone
• sizzling pan
• microwave beeping
• sink water running
• the dishwasher rumbling
• air vents
1. Yes, the places I found were really easy to listen to. (campus, outside/ inside complex)
2. No, it wasn’t possible to move without making a sound, I could hear every little movement I made.
3. When I plugged my ears and unplugged them, it made it a lot easier to listen to the little details clearly.
4. I was able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and between those I could not place.
5. I was able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds.
6. I had some trouble detecting subtleties, changes, or variations in the ever-present drone.
7. I had some trouble hearing the sounds from far away. They sounded more like echoes.
8. I was able to create my own sounds when stepping on wooden pieces on the floor.
9. a. Ai campus: sounds are common, would sound like any other place in a building.
b. external site: the police sirens would be the highlight of the overall site.
c. internal site: I can almost feel like I’m in the complex.
10. The sounds I heard would sound boring like nothing interesting. I will for sure have to redesign them to make it sound more dynamic and exciting.
11. I do feel like I have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape.
12. This soundwalk will benefit me from learning to pay attention to the little details as a designer.