Sound Walk (area map, body map, log & responses)

Sounds depicted (clockwise starting from lower left corner): furnace, chairs creaking/moving on floor, loud coughing, whispering, footsteps, knocks on door, conversation

Response Questions:

1. Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?

Yes and no. The sound walk felt a little rushed to me. It did not seem that we had enough time to really take in our surroundings and tune into the sound scape. This may have been due to the fact that our class decided to conduct our sound walk outdoors despite the frigid temperature. That being said, I tried to make the most of it and went at my own pace without falling too far behind. My best listening experience was in the alleyway between Curtain and Mitchell Halls. The sound of the cold wind gusts were my favorite from the sound walk experience.

2. Was it possible to move without making a sound?

The location where I was best able to accomplish this was actually toward the beginning of the sound walk, outside of Mitchell Hall facing east. This was our longest time in one location. It was a bit eerie because we weren't quite sure which direction were heading and everyone was gazing around very silently. The only sound that I recorded in my log was the creaking door.

3. What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?

I attempted this a couple of times in the parking garage. Plugging my ears sounded much like it always does, kind of like your ears filling up. Like a suction noise. More interesting to me was the unplugging. Afterward it felt like I had hands cupped around my ears due to the intense drone within the structure.

4. What types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.

I would categorize all of the sounds that I heard under: human, mechanical, nature and other objects.

5. Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?

The only sounds that I tuned into but was unable to place were individual sounds within the drone. I did identify cars, footsteps, hvac and electricity however at times there seemed to be additional sounds that I couldn't quite decipher.

6. Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds?

Yes, it was fairly easy for me to differentiate and categorize these different types of sounds.

7. Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the ever present drone?

Definitely. There were some areas/locations on the sound walk where almost no drone seemed to exist whatsoever. This was the case outside of Mitchell Hall, oddly considering we were less than 100 feet from Downer Ave. which is normally bustling with activity and noise. Apparently we caught a rare few moments of tranquil downtime in that location. The location where the drone was the most powerful was in the parking structure. In some cases it was easy to detect changes in the drone such as the revving of a car engine. Other times it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where the change was occurring or even what was causing the sound(s).

8. Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?

I noticed many more close sounds while indoors and sounds coming from far away while outdoors. This is logical considering when you are indoors you are in a confined space versus being in the open air and having the ability to give yourself more space.

Close sounds I heard were: soda machine, pages turning, laughing, footsteps

Sounds coming from very far away: car alarm, car doors, wind, brakes, car starts

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.?

Yes. At one point while we were walking up the hill outside the parking garage, I started feeling inclined to intervene. I was feeling somewhat bored with the pre-existing sound scape.

Some of the ways I intervened were: walking on leaves, snow and trash, kicking a piece of wood, hitting a metal bar repeatedly with my pencil

10. Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?

I think that this project was a great introduction to drift_1. I don't know that the sound walk in and of itself has greatly changed my perceptions or helped me to gain a new understanding or appreciation of the above mentioned. I do however expect this to occur on drift_1 where I will have more time to become immersed in the sound scape and encounter a much greater range of sounds.

11. How do you think your sound walk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?

Although I have been somewhat critical of the lack of time and space available on the sound walk, it was a new and interesting experience. I especially enjoyed creating the maps as well as documenting and analyzing the sounds. The response questions have been very helpful in reflecting on the sound walk and have given me some great ideas about how to approach
drift_1.

Going forward, I could definitely see myself utilizing all or part of this experience in preparation for other projects.