Sound Walk Questions and Answers
1. Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Obviously it was difficult to distinguish all specific spots where sound was coming from because of the continuous traffic though the union. However, every stop/place I stopped I was able to pick out sounds and their causes. So, yes I was able to find place where I could listen.
2. Was it possible to move without making a sound?
I was not able to be completely silent while walking. When I sat down, I cold stay silent because I wasn’t moving, but no, not possible to move without making some sort of sound.
3. What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
When I plugged my ears and only watched I noticed myself looking around and noticing more visual movements versus when I am listening I also tended to imagine to sound in my head while watching the silent movement. When I listened and closed me eyes, I definitely noticed a more clear and keen sense of hearing. I sort of “jumped” with my ears when I heard the beginning of a new sound instead of allowing the sound to just pass in and out o my head like I might normally do.
4. What types of sounds were you able to hear? List them. If your original notes are legible, and include all of the sounds you heard, then simply link to the scanned image(s). If not, retype them so that we can read them.
Sounds I Heard:
Sounds of the Union Sound Map
1) Cartwheels squeaking/clattering/rolling underweight of books
2) Chair legs moving/ca ca ca catching on floor/squeaking
3) Backpack ziiiiiiipping
4) Flap, flap, flap flap flutter of cash dispensing out of ATM, coughing of passersby, high pitched creeeak of distant doors
5) Tap, tap tap pen on notebook, constant pitter-patter of shoes touching the ground echoing through union
6) Talking, greeting of friends,
7) Crinkle of paper/notebooks turning pages, sniffles
8) Echo of piano separate notes continuously playing, constant murmuring
9) Clickclackclickclack of girls heels on ground
10) Snap! Of flip phone closing
11) Tsssss-air through clenched teeth-ssss snake sound
12) Laughter
13) Thud thud thud of heavy boots hitting hard floors
14) Pop pop of chewing gum
15) Tsshhhh, bump, bump, tsshhhh- muffled sound of loud music on someone’s headphones.
Sound List for Sound Walk Map
1) Outer room of Mitchell Hall
*Whirling/humming of heater *squeak/swoosh of pressurized doors *chugging water bottles (plastic crinkle), *phuush phuush flap of papers in notebooks from wind coming in from the doors, *murmur murmur of people passing *sigh, exasperated, a tired student?) *Bounce back of door closing *trudging of boots on cement outside
2) Walking Between Mitchell hall and Union
*CRUNCH, CRUNCH of salt between cement and boots *rattle sound of grated walkway *rolling, rattle of backpack on wheels rolling over grated walkway
3-13) Free Walking In Union
3) Creeeaak, errrrch of chair legs catching on ground as being moved
4) chhhunk chhhunk of ice dropping into plastic cups
5) chhhssss of water filling wax paper cups
6) chsoop chsoop chssop of soda machine hookups (in supply room) pressurized and sending soda to machines
7) hummmm of food machines
8) DING! of cash register
9) Folded up blackboards being rolled/heavy rattling erch erch erch sound
10) Elevators -Bing! Floor announcement and heavy sound of metal doors opening shhhhhslide open then BOOMph shut
11) Constant echo of murmured voices (up the stairs)
12) tp tp tp tp tp of keyboard keys being pressed in rapid motion and click click of computer mice
13) Shheeshh shheeshh, blah blah blah shheeshh shheeshh of walkie-talkie conversations.
Back to Questions and Answers...
5. Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
Yes, for the most part. Although, there were some sounds where I couldn’t tell the location of cause and also some other sounds that I just didn’t recognize by plain hearing.
6. Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds?
Yes, most human sounds were variations of footsteps, talking, and their movement. Mechanical sounds such as the ATM were distinguishably not human. There were not many ‘natural’ sounds that I heard because the time was spent indoors.
7. Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the ever-present drone?
I was able to notice the differences between the types of shoes people wore through the union, also I was able to tell if the sound was far away, close, or approaching. While talking, people sounded different depending on if they were excited and bored/tired.
8. Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
Yes, I was able to tell if the sound was far away, approaching or close-by. Echoes help this sound effect as well.
9. 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.
No, I did not spend enough time outside. When I finish my microphones tomorrow (Monday) I will be able to go out in the landscape and create my own sounds, and I look forward to that. (I’m not the best at soldering.)
10. Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
I feel as though I am beginning to understand and appreciate the sounds. As I continue working on my Drift 1 and continue taking the class, I think that I will continue to understand, learn and thus appreciate this new way of approaching sounds in my environment.
11. How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I think the union soundwalk experience along with my continuation of sound walk experiencing will help me to notice sounds more closely and to be able to differentiate the sounds better. I hope that I will be able to find sounds that resemble the visual shots/effects that I will be producing as well.
