Soundwalk Response

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

---I found, not surprisingly, the places with the least amount of people was where I was able to pick up on more environmental sounds (lobbies and hallways during class, for instance)

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

---Not necessarily. Even at my softest stepping, there is still a modicum of sound.

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

---When plugged, everything was muffled and mostly inaudible. Once unplugged, there was a flood of sounds and voices.

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.

---Voices; footsteps tapping and squeaking; piano playing; beeps of buttons; sliding of cards and cash on an ATM; busses squealing to a stop and rumbling; …More on my notes….

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

---I didn’t have much trouble finding where sounds were originating from.

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

---Yes, and I also noted unnatural mechanical sounds, as well.

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

---The drone was different in every environment depending on the size and its contents.

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

--- Depending on where I was in relation to the sound and the people and objects around the sound impacted the pitch and intensity of the sound.

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.?

---Other than my footsteps and the opening and closing of doors, I tried to remain silent to take in all of the sounds around me.

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

---Yes, and I look forward to further discoveries to appreciate in the duration of this semester and throughout my future works as a media artist.

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

--- I have been planning to work with an independent sound recorder for videos for a while, and hope that this will class will give me some of the experience and knowledge necessary for the switch from simple onboard sound to a more dynamic external sound source (or the combination of the two).