Daily Archives: April 5, 2013

Sound Journal #9
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1:  Monday, April 1, 2013, 10:19 pm, interstate (headed south) to Long Island

 

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

I’m having one of the weirdest sound experiences of my life, sitting alongside my friend as we roadtrip back to school from Syracuse in his dad’s old car. It’s a 1990 Honda Civic, and something about the way it’s built and how loudly yet evenly the engine runs makes it rather soundproof.  I can hear cars flanking us on either side at nearly 80 mph, but they sound very far away and unreal.

 

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

The car’s original tape deck has been replaced very haphazardly with an equally outmoded CD player that barely fits inside the dashboard.  Additionally, all the sound is coming not from all sides, like in modern cars, but exclusively from speakers at the back.  This is surprisingly unsettling when you’re grown accustomed to surround sound.  Adding to the odd aural effect of this distance is the fact that, at some moments, the CD player seems unable to keep up with the speed at which I burned the songs to play.  Few sounds are as subliminally upsetting as that of a song you know and love slowed down and muddled so slightly that you can’t quite tell if anything’s really wrong.

 

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

The weirdest thing of all occurs when Steve and I sporadically speak to each other, trying to keep each other awake and alert.  There seems to be some sort of sonic deadzone in the mere 18 inches of space between us, which perhaps also accounts for the deadening of the music from the back speakers.  For the entire five hours, we have to nearly shout to one another.  No matter what, the sound seems unable to go very far, like trying to throw a feather.  The effect is that of abruptly losing fifty percent of your hearing, and it’s absolutely, maddeningly surreal.

 

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

The sounds are being emitted at a high level, but the aural experience of these sounds is very diminished and foggy.

 

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

“Distorted”

 

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 distant mishmash of sounds that vaguely resemble my favorite songs is very important to this dopey sound environment, as are the sounds of Steve and me impotently hollering to one another.  Car sounds seem equally important, in a contextualizing sense.

 

 

 

Journal Entry 9
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1- Thursday April 4, 10pm, on the sidewalk near Popeye’s on Hempstead Tpke

2- Down the road, I can vaguely hear the thumping bass of the club nearby. Someone far away honks their horn.

3- The door into Popeye’s opens, momentarily allowing the chatter of the half-full restaurant to be heard on the street. The noise becomes muffled as the door closes with a small whoosh of air. There is a group of people walking on the sidewalk coming towards us. I can hear their footsteps echoing slightly on the concrete and a pair of girls is murmuring to eachother, but other than that, the group is silent.

4- Cars on the turnpike drive by quickly, sending gusts of air our way. The girls I am with chatter excitedly, someone is playing “I’m sexy and I know it” from their phone and the music is slightly tinny. Someone mentions they want to get some Popeye’s before continuing down the road, and this idea is met with a wave of approval.

5- The general sound level is at a medium high, especially due to the loud cars driving by, though the sound activity is closer to a medium low.

6- Pleasant

7- cars driving by, the chatter of the girls around me, and the song playing on the phone

Field Recording #8
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Listen to

Location: A House on Longwood Dr, Syracuse, NY — March 29, 2013, 2:30 pm

Sounds Heard: This field recording is fairly straightforward — my friend is playing the piano in the living room of his house while I get ready upstairs.  I didn’t know he could play the piano at all, and he hadn’t announced his intent to play — so the sudden onset of beautiful music came as a total surprise to me, and I had the instant need to pull out my phone and record the moment.  The house is fairly open, not divided up by a bunch of walls and closed doors, so the sound of the piano can be heard bouncing off the walls and filling the space.

Field Recording #8
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Listen to

Location: At the Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne or World Irish Dancing Championships in Boston over spring break, hearing some of the results. My boyfriend’s family is very affiliated with the Irish step world, so I went along to support.

Sounds heard in the clip: Man reading off the scores of the competitors in a very thick Irish accent, random background chatter can be heard. I thought his accent was worth recording and sharing!

 

Field Recording 8
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Listen to

Identify the location:
Yankee Stadium, Yankees Vs. Red Sox, Third game of the season

Identify the sounds:
You hear dull clapping and cheering, which suddenly intensified and is joined by screams.  Immediately following that is the classic, “The Yankees Win,” announcement, which, of course, is followed by Sinatra’s famous New York, New York.  You can also hear my mom singing along to the song and people talking and singing in the background.

Journal Entry 9
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1- Date/Time/Location.
4.4.13/4:00pm/In the car

2- Identify and list the sounds farthest away from you.
The hum of the other cars driving on the road, a distant honk

3- Identify and list the sounds at medium range from you.
Other cars driving past, the bass of a another car’s stereo, the wind

4- Identify and list the sounds closest to you.
The music playing, my mom singing along, the turn signal

5- Describe the general sound level and amount of sound activity.
Medium level and activity

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

7- Select and list 3 sounds which are essential to the sound environment.
The other cars, the wind, the music in our car

Journal Entry 9
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1- 4/4/13 Bits & Bytes 2:10

2- Talking, door opening and closing

3- Talking, Beeps, plastic shuffling

4- Grill, voices, laughter

5- A lot of general sound but I could hear individual conversations and noises if I focus on them

6- Bustling

7- Grill, beeps, voices

 

Journal Entry 9
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1- 04/05/2013- 12:41 am- My room in Vander Poel

2- Sounds farthest away: Extreme silence. The occasional car passing by on Oak Street and some wind, but not a whole lot.

3- Sounds at medium range: Radiator’s hum, Caitlin breathing, Graham breathing, a small burst of laughter from Graham.

4- Sounds closest: My toes cracking, the bottom edge of a poster behind my head sliding along the wall, keyboard keys, a computer fan, my own breathing.

5- General sound level and amount of sound activity: It’s almost uncomfortably quiet in here, as we’re all in our own little worlds.

6- One word description to the “sound environment”: Unnerving.

7- Select and list 3 sounds which are essential to the sound environment.: Computer fan, radiator hum, keyboard keys