It was a chilly February afternoon when we left Mitchell B-91 for our first exercise in listening. The experience taught us to concentrate on our much under-appreciated senses of "hearing." My generation has made an active effort to hear anything but the world around them. Constantly aiming their ears at TV screens, covering them with cell phones, or stuffing headphones into them. For some of us a world without electronic "background noise" seems stark and lifeless, even disturbing. I, for one, enjoyed listening to the living harmony of the sounds in our world.
This is where we walked (click for full view):
This is what I heard (click for full view):
When we stopped on the ground floor of the Union, we could hear sounds coming at us from all directions. This is what the sounds "looked" like (click for full view):
- Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes, I think it's usually easy to find places like that. As long as there aren't too many people around, or too much traffic one should be able to hear a variety of quiet sounds.
- Was it possible to move without making a sound?
You always make a sound if you move, but it isn't always audible. Even to move without making a sound that a human can hear is extremely difficult. Whether it's clothing rustling, your footsteps, your breathing, or even your joints cracking something on you is almost always making a noise.
- What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
Plugging your ears makes it easier to hear the internal sounds of your own body, as well is some of the quieter sounds that reverberate through the floors and walls. When you uncover them those sounds get drowned out by those that are carried in the air.
- What types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.
All sorts, see above image.
- Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
Yes. It rarely happened, but whenever I heard a sound that I did not recognize it was immediately apparent. I think your brain catalogs all of the sounds it knows; so when it gets a new one it sort of sets off an alarm. "What was that?? Find the source!"
- Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds?
Yes. This too is fairly easy. The rhythmic sounds of mechanical things, the chaotic sounds of human things, and the fluid sounds of natural things are usually easy to distinguish from one another.
- Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the ever-present drone?
Certainly. Since there are many factors which contribute to the ambient drone, it changes depending on where you are. It varies in pitch and volume and can even have different harmonies. It's nearly impossible to get away from all of the electrical equipment, ventilation systems, and distant echoes that cause it.
- Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
These can be harder for me to differentiate between. If I can't see it, I often can't tell. The closest sound I could hear on our walk was my own breathing, coughing, sniffling etc. The farthest was probably an airplane.
- 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.?
I didn't make an effort to create my own sounds. I was trying not to intrude upon the listening experiences of my classmates. The sounds of my walking and opening my backpack were probably the most noticeable. Also, I click my pen alot.
- Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
Yes. Although I never listen to headphones while I'm walking I feel that I pay little attention to outside sounds on a daily basis. Instead, I tend to concentrate on my internal dialog; drowning the world around me in my own thoughts and imagination. I think I'll make more of an effort to listen from now on.
- How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
It's so easy as a media artist to get caught up in the exiting world of visuals. We constantly pick up things that we see and use them as visual inspiration. But sound, although often overlooked, can be an equally important part of how the viewer (or listener?) experiences your art. Sound can be extremely jarring and emotionally moving in a way that visuals sometimes can't. It's important to be able to take the same kind of inspiration from the sounds around us as from the visuals. The walk has taught me that interesting sounds are everywhere and I should make a point to use, appreciate, and most of all just listen to them.
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