Soundwalk Response

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes, Definitely by the inner tree grounds over by the dorms. The large, robust noises faded a significant amount and I was able to focus the the smaller, more rare, interesting noises.
Was it possible to move without making a sound?
I would say it was practically impossible. Between my feet making swooshing sounds over the grass or crunching sounds on gravel and the shuffle of my backpack my body almost always created ambient noise when I moved.
What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
The noises seemed to become tunnel-like when I plugged my ears and when I unplugged them the sound rose to a very loud volume for about fifteen seconds. The noise of the streets around us went from hearing them at about echo level to someone talking directly in my ear.
In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear?
-Keys jangling against cloth
-Breaks squeal in the distance
-Constant Whistling sound of bird to the right
-Sandals scraping against concrete like sandpaper over wood
-Loud bellowing laughter off to the left
-Wind cooing through trees overhead
-Constant Car alarm tone off in distance
-Plane whistling by high overhead
-Thuds of books being dropped in trash barrel.
-Clunking of wheels of small cart hitting cracks in sidewalk
-Thundering engine of bus driving by
-Car Bass intermittently booming
-Chirping of single cricket to the left
-Constant rolling/grinding sound of skateboard over pavement with repeated thuds of it hitting cement cracks.
-Shoes brushing across grass with a low shuffling sound
-Branches violently snapping underneath rubber soles of shoes.
Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
Sometimes. There were a lot of bug sounds, or I at least believe they were made by bugs, coming from the wooded area but could not see or really place what they were coming from.
Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
Mechanical sounds were easy to differentiate but they were definitely not always easy to trace back to their origin. Especially in the parking garage. Mechanical noises seemed to be coming from all directions at once. Humans were harder for me to detect for the simple reason that I instinctively want to block them out as when I am walking outside with a friend or reading outside, I tend not to pay attention to the everyday talk and shuffle sounds of humans.
Were you able to detect subtleties in the ever present drone?
It seemed the more I listened and longer I did more sounds popped out of nowhere. Sounds that were there, that I just had to strain my ears to hear. Such as interesting shoes against the grass orchestra that the class was making in unison or the faint wind through the trees overhead.
Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
The talking and laughter of people are the first sounds I think of when I remember what was close. The occasional bus braking and shuffling of my backpack seemed to prod my ears when I paid attention to them. The plane whistling far above and the electronic hum of a car bass in the distance were definite sounds I hear more clearly in the distance by stopping and listening hard.
What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
One of my favorite sounds was the wind blowing through the leaves. I was actually a bit surprised I was able to hear it over all the other much more voluminous noise. It had a very calming effect even in the middle of a busy district.
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 tried not to intervene at all during the exercise for the fact that I was interested in everyday sounds that I usually do not hear but I definitely noticed the different types of sound a person makes depending on how fast or slow they walk in a parking garage.
Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
My personal view is that I have not scrapped the surface of what is to be heard in a contemporary city if you really stop and train yourself to listen hard. I envision a plethora or utopia of sounds coming from lets say a park at lunch time or during set -up for jazz at the park. I am beginning to understand the depth of the variety of sounds that can be heard but I feel I need much more experience.
How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I am not sure how it will effect me as of yet but I did do a lot of thinking about the ambient and depth of noise during a very ordinary scene like a walk down a city block. About what kinds of sounds with give a scene originality and what sounds would give an authenticity to such scenes.