Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

3/30/24 – 4:54 PM – my kitchen

sounds farthest away from me: my roommates talking in the other room, someone rustling around

sounds at a medium range from me: roommate banging on a table, footsteps in the hallway

sounds closest to me: crunching chips, laughing at my roommate banging on a table, sniffles

sound level and activity: the sound level varies. In some moments, it’s very low, but the chip crunching and roommates making noises around the house brings the level up pretty high at some points. The activity is high.

description: abrupt

essential sounds: crunching, banging on the table, laughter

3/29/24 – 10:10 PM – My dorm room

Sounds farthest away from me: My friends talking in the other room, cars driving by, someone talking loudly outside

Sounds at a medium range from me: My fan, a door opening and closing in the other room

Sounds closest to me: The podcast I’m listening to, my keyboard clacking, my bracelets jangling

Sound level and activity: the sound level and activity are both low – my fan and podcast are on a lower volume, everything else is in the background. Also, everyone is winding down for the day, so there isn’t as much movement and activity within my dorm.

One word description: Chill

Three sounds essential to the sound environment: The podcast, my fan, my bracelets

1. 03/26/2024 – 11:04pm – My House.
2. Sounds farthest away from me: scattered cars driving by and an airplane flying by.
3. Sounds at medium range: my housemates talking downstairs, the wind outside of my window, a dog barking next door, my housemate’s car pulling in the driveway, and the front door opening and a short greeting.
4. Sounds closest to me: my heater blowing, my fridge buzzing, and my stomach growling.
5. The general sound level is quiet. The amount of sound activity is a constant buzzing/hum, but other than that it is low.
6. Description word: soft.
7. Essential sounds: wind/cars, quiet chatter and barking, and buzzing/humming.

March 17, 3:45. My living room.

The sounds that are furthest away from me: Cars outside, plane flying.
The sounds that are a medium distance from me: Wind outside, footsteps and music upstairs, voices down the hall, fridge humming.
The sounds that are closest to me: Avatar: The Last Airbender on the TV, housemate talking, typing.
The sound level of the space: Medium
One word description: Welcoming
Three sounds that are most important to the environment: TV, housemate talking, wind.

Sound closest to me: Tori Amos’ To the Fair Motormaids of Japan in my airpods, keyboard clacking

Sound in medium distance: cat toy jingling, cat meowing at her toy

Furthest sound: cars outside

Overall, it is pretty peaceful here and very calm. It is just me, Tori Amos, and the cat. And her stupid toy.

Three essential sounds: Song, cat, toy

One word: soothing

Friday Morning – 8:00 AM – My Bedroom

Sounds Furthest from me – The wind blowing, cars outside driving by

Sounds medium from me – birds chirping outside loudly, talking outside from next door neighbors in the backyard

Sounds closest to me- my roommate opening their door next to mine and it slamming shut

Overall it is really peaceful and quiet and there is not much sound besides the temporary shutting of the doors and talking. The birds chirping feel like a light soundscape.

“Comforting”

The 3 essential sounds are the birds chirping because they make the environment fuller, the talking of my neighbors, and the doors shutting.

3/9/24 – 6:36 – My Bedroom

Farthest Sound : Cars driving on the freeway, Sound of Planes passing by

Medium Sound : Whirling of the wind, voices from the street

Closest : Raindrops hitting my closest window, housemates walking outside

Not much sound activity, minimal and generally quiest which makes it easier to pick up on the individual sounds

Description : Calming

Essential Sounds : Raindrops, Wind, Cars

3/9/2024, 2:02 PM ET, Broadfield

The sound furthest away from me is very quiet rumbling and banging of the dryer downstairs.

A sound a bit closer to me is high-pitched humming sound of the fridge on the right behind the wall.

The sound closest to me is Sophie watching TikToks on the couch to the left of me.

The sound level is very quiet, to the point where you could probably hear a pin drop.

The word I would use to describe the sound environment is hushed.

Three sounds essential to the sound environment are the sound of a phone buzzing, Sophie’s soft tapping on her phone, and the humming.

3/8/24 – 3:13PM – My room

1. Sounds farthest from me: Birds chirping outside
2. Sounds at medium range: My footsteps, my housemate singing in the other room
3. Sounds closest to me: My breathing, putting things down as I clean my room, the sound of my hangers being moved in my closet
4. Sound level: pretty quiet, as usual. The sound activity is more active – things are happening and sound is being created, it just isn’t loud.
5. Description word: serene
6. Essential sounds: The birds, my housemate’s singing, and my footsteps.

3/7/24 – 8:15PM – Pride Den

1. Sounds farthest from me: people on the other side of the room talking, utensils clacking together, chairs moving  
2. Sounds at a medium range from me: The backing tracks of the song being performed, the percussion instruments, people snapping during the performance, piano  
3. Sounds closest to me: the performer singing, my friends whispering next to me, the bass line, the applause 
4. Sound level and sound activity: the sound level is relatively high due to the speakers projecting the instruments but also the performer’s voice. The sound activity is high because there are a lot of people in the room making noise i.e. the singing, playing instruments, talking, clapping. There is a lot happening at once. 
5. One word description: Musical 
6. 3 essential sounds: the bassline, the performer’s voice, percussion