Monthly Archives: February 2013

Journal Entry 3
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1- February 11, Res Hall Lounge, 5:45pm

2- Footsteps upstairs and down the hall, but very little going on “further away” in the sound environment

3- Pan sizzling in the kitchen, music playing and female singing along in harmony, cupbards closing with a bump and utensils being set down

4- HVac humming softly, the chatter of a group of  people standing around waiting to leave for dinner – they are waiting for a few more people, but complaining idly that they are taking too long, shuffling, putting on shoes and coats, etc.

5- The general sound level is at a warm buzz and the sound activity is at perhaps a medium high – even though there isn’t a ton going on the atmosphere is active.

6- Animated

7- Music playing in the kitchen, the pan sizzling and the overlapping conversations of the waiting people

Journal #3
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1- 2/9/13 – 2:05 AM – My dorm room
2- Identify and list the sounds farthest away from you. – As I laid down on my bed the furthest noise from me that I could hear an identify was the sound of the elevator cables pulling the few night owls back up to their rooms in Enterprise hall. It was a deep and mechanical noise that did not fluctuate in tone or intensity but varied in length. It is a sound I hear often. A little bit closer to me but still outside of my room I could hear the sound of someone in the bathroom taking a shower. The high-pitched noise of water running through the plumbing was traveling through our walls and very faintly and sporadically I could hear the sound of water falling and splattering on the shower floor. 
3- Identify and list the sounds at a medium range from you.  – Within my room but at the far corner from me I could hear the deep breathing of my roommate who was fast asleep with his computer on his lap. It was a sound of normal breathing and not snoring but was much deeper than a normal breath. It is a noise of breathing that people very easily can identify with sleep. Just hard enough to imply that he was tired and unbothered by the other activity around us.
4- Identify and list the sounds closest to you (You can include internal sounds if noticed or relevant). – Closest to me on my left side is the whistling and humming of the wind from the Nor’easter against my window pane. It was a very random and sporadic pace of wind that seemed to be blowing in all directions. Every so often I would hear tiny ice pebbles plow into my window and make the sound similar to that of a rainstick when it is turned upside down. Occasionally the wind would get very deep and powerful and at other times it would seem high-pitched as if it was blowing quickly and parallel to my window pane.   
5- Describe the general sound level and amount of sound activity. – the loudest noise to me from my location was the sound of the wind. It was rather noisy and powerful. The rest of the noises were only loud enough to hear if you were paying attention otherwise they would simply blend into the background and become ambient noise as I drifted off to sleep.
6- Assign a one word description to the “sound environment”. – Harmonious 
7- Select and list 3 sounds which are essential to the sound environment. Note: you need to try and figure out what sounds make up this environment and which of those sounds need to be there for the feeling of the environment to stay intact. – Wind, Snoring, Ice pebbles against window

 

 

Sound Journal #2
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1:  Thursday, February 8, 2013, 1:55 am, 1111 Alliance Hall

 

2:  Identify and list the sounds farthest away from you.

The window is open, and I can hear the tires of very fast-moving cars on the asphalt of the turnpike.  The traffic is so fast and so constant that the sound of one car cannot be distinguished from the collective.  All together, the distant noise of the turnpike makes the unending tearing sound of a plane traversing the sky high above.  Sporadically, I hear a motorcycle accelerating with a succession of staccato, upward-inflected growls.

 

3:  Identify and list the sounds at a medium range from you.

For a few minutes, a boisterous group of three or four girls crosses the parking lot far below.  Their voices carry well, so that a few individual words said louder than the rest (like, “shit,” “Lydia,” and “bitch”) can be heard.  In spite of all the intermittent profanity, the mood of the mobile conversation is jubilant.  Once they’ve passed the building, their voices fade out, and a state of relative quiet resumes.

 

4: Identify and list the sounds closest to you (– you can include internal sounds if noticed or relevant).

Stephen sits at his desk, typing on his laptop.  The percussion of his fingertips on the keyboards is gentle and composed.  The fabric of his shirt makes soft, hushing sounds as he shifts in his chair and brushes his forearms against it.  Occasionally, his bare feet scrap against the densely woven carpet and make a similar swishing sound.  The different noises of his lucubration are very soothing, as attentive activity is one of my ASMR triggers.  Sometimes Stephen hums a few whimsical notes of nothing in particular before restoring his full attention to his work.

 

5: Describe the general sound level and amount of sound activity.

Once the girls have passed by, the sound level becomes quite low, although plenty of individual sounds can be heard.

 

6: Assign a one-word description to the “sound environment”.

“Studious”

 

7: Select and list 3 sounds that are essential to the sound environment. Note: you need to try and figure out what sounds make up this environment and which of those sounds need to be there for the feeling of the environment to stay intact.

The most essential sounds are not any from the outside world, but those of Stephen at work.  The clicks of his hands on his computer, the sound of his clothing being brushed, and his occasional humming all create a very specific kind of calm.

Journal Entry 2
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1- 2/7/13 12:00 P.M. Student Center

2- Conversation, Food cooking

3- Advertising clubs, Talking, shuffling of feet, noise of backpacks and bags

4- My coat rubbing against my backpack, my footsteps against the tile floor

5- Very noisy, hard to focus on any individual sound. A central hub on campus in the middle of the day, filled with people rushing to class, hanging out, or getting lunch all mixed together in the soundscape.

6- Busy

7- People talking, miscelaneous noise (backpacks, bags, etc),

Journal Entry 2
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1. 2/7/13 Enterprise Lobby 7:30 pm
2. Voices passing outside the window, main building door opening and closing.
3. Elevator dinging, voices near RSR booth, stairwell door open and closes, turn style moving
4. My breath, the water fountain cooling/humming
5. Low sound activity, lots of quick sounds
6. Overall Environment – abrupt
7. Elevator doors, Water fountain noise, the turnstyle moving