SOUND LOG
Start Mitchell B 75. Walking, zipper on coat directly in front, a notebook drops. Multiple footsteps going up stairs.
We walk out in the foyer. Vent w/ a rhythmic hum. Constant in and out causes the door to slam creek and thump. Fidgeting causes coats to brush and papers to rustle.
Outside. A group of students shouting in French. Footsteps and a foot slips across ice forming slurp.
Stop in union foyer. Humm of vent. Loud metal bouncing on grates. Rattle as door closes. Beep of register and distant conversations humm when door is opened. In Union chairs scrap.
Sitting outside 8th note. Screaming and clapping from behind uncrumpling of paper garbage thump into bigger garbage. Feet scraping floor. Heels walk swiftly. Vending machine hums loudly. Change, metal on metal falls into machine. Woman clears her throat. Elevator dings. Piano this is playing crescendos then stops. Crinkling of a candy bar being unwrapped. Keys jingle. Door opens and air compresses then thud. Bottles squeak being loaded in vending machine.
Walk into food court. Water machine drone, water quickly fills plastic cup. Click when turns off. Cash register slides open, change rushes against plastic. Polyphonic phone powering down breaks hum of talking. Newspaper crumple. Tray gently set down, then back and forth flapping of waste can. Walk into bookstore. Loud mechanical hum of soda machines. Multiple registers ding and print receipts at once. Change hitting rhythmically as counted. Can hear BK soda machine firing like a gun. PEW! PEW! PEW!
SOUND BODY MAP
SOUND AREA MAP
Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?Yes, I think its possible to
really listen in any space. For me the most important point was that I felt at ease in whatever the space I was listening in. For example, I was more comfortable sitting in a chair in the lower level of the union that stopping and listening in the busy food court area.
Was it possible to move without making a sound?No. If I somehow managed to quiet the my footsteps then I heard the rustle of my jacket or the scraping of the denim on my pants.
What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?The depth of sound dramatically increased. I heard more sounds, and their intensity was greater.
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.A copy of my sound log is included above.
Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?Some sounds were unfamiliar if I couldn't see the source. I think this is mostly because normally those sounds aren't heard, so I had no concept of where they came from.
Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds?Yes. It seemed that there was a very distinct difference from the three. Mechanical sounds are rhythmic and regular. Human sounds, or sounds created by humans are familiar and easily recognized. I would describe human sounds as sporadic and varied. Natural sounds are generally omnipresent with notable exceptions breaking the plane.
Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the everpresent drone?Yes. Pitch and volume were the most detectable changes. The drone would change depending on the acoustics of where you were sitting.
Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?Sounds from far away, unless very distinct, formed a drone. Closer sounds were recognizable and easier to describe in detail.
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.?In the bookstore I touched some clothing just to see if the sound of my skin on the fabric would make a noise. This seemed a minuscule action, but knowing that even the smallest of actions makes noise was a profound realization.
Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?Yes. Whereas I usually find "noise" annoying, I realized that there are some sounds that I really enjoy. For example if the constant drone of people talking were not there the audio landscape of public places would be much different. Almost too quiet.
How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?I think the soundwalk will affect my artist practice by putting more of an emphasis into the details of sound. Sound effects have their use, but the most important piece of audio is the presence of sounds we only miss when they're not there.
