Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

Location: Hempstead Turnpike

Sounds Heard: You can hear the sounds of the cars passing by with some honking going on sporadically, the crunching on my feet on the snow as I struggle down the street, and the wind rushing by.

1- February 25th, 2014, 6:20pm, Hempstead Turnpike

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

Furthest away from me, I can hear the sounds of cars passing by and some honking going on because we’re in New York and that’s what everyone does.

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

At medium range from me, I can hear the sounds of my feet crunching the snow as I’m walking down the sidewalk.

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

Closest to me, I can hear the sound of the wind rushing through my ears and around my body as I struggle to make my way through the cold back to campus.

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

The sound level is very overwhelming. The wind doesn’t feel good against my skin and the sound hurts my ears. The cars rush past at scary speeds and their sounds are not always heard until they’re on top of you.

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

Overwhelming

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.

Three sounds which are essential to the sound environment are the sounds of the cars passing by, the crunching of the snow under my feet, and the wind rushing around and deafening out everything around me.

Location: Vander Poel Parking Lot (10:00 pm Thursday, February 6th)

Sounds Heard: Me stomping through the frozen parking lot and getting into my little Ford Fusion. Featured sounds: My boots crunching through the icy surface of the snow, keys, car door opening and closing, the seat belt reminder, my seat belt buckling, engine starting, radio turning on.

Location of clip: Front yard, my house.

Sounds heard: The John Deere tractor’s engine starting up, followed by my Dad putting the tractor in drive. A whistling noise can be heard while the tractor’s snow blower attachment is throwing large amounts of snow further down the front yard. The sounds of the engine and the whistling start to gradually fade as my Dad drove the tractor farther away from me.

1-  January 29, 2014, 11:20am, Unispan

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

Furthest away from me, I can hear the sounds of people’s feet shuffling and crunching with snow and salt coating the bottoms of their shoes. I can hear talking at all different volumes: some yelling, some speaking softly, and some just chatting with their friends. I hear people’s breaths get heavier as they climb to the top and then a sigh of relief once they start walking down.

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

Closer to me, I hear the rustle of the jackets on the people next to me and the music coming from some kid’s headphones as he blares his music way too loudly. I hear the excitement in people’s voices as they excitedly talk about their weekend plans or how nervous they are for their course load. I hear the sound of the unfortunate soul who brought too many books to class and is trying to make it through the crowd without being run over.

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

I hear the sound of my breathe get heavier as I climb to the top of the unispan and my own sigh of relief when I start the climb down. I hear the rustle of my jacket as my arms swing side to side. I hear the beating of my heart and the thoughts in my head of all the things I need to accomplish today.

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

It is a loud and boisterous sound level as people quickly and excitedly make their way around campus. There is a lot going on and it’s hard to focus on specific details without getting lost in the hustle and bustle. It’s really interesting to try to focus on certain things though because it forces you to try to pinpoint where the sounds are coming from.

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

Rushed

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.

The shuffling of feet with snow and salt on the bottom of their shoes, the sound of music from the kids’ headphones, the beating of my own heart as I climb and descend the unispan

Assign category “Journal Entry” to the post.

Add your first name as a tag. Add appropriate tags to the post (location, sounds, etc.).

Location: Outside of Bits & Bytes while it was snowing

Sounds: Droplets of snow/rain mix falling into puddles, some higher or lower in pitch than others, sound of my footsteps in the snow

I saw it snowing outside after rehearsal, and I wondered, “Does snow have a sound?” I mean it seemed pretty easy to answer considering you don’t really hear snow falling, but there are tiny detail sounds such as the snow hitting puddles and how people’s footsteps sound different in the snow that I found were worth recording because they might be able to help differentiate snowy weather from other types of weather.

Location: Walking to class, from my house on Duncan Road to Emily Lowe Hall.
Sounds heard in the clip: The very satisfying sound of crunching a light layer of snow under my snow boots. The tempo is pretty fast and consistent and it is a constant sound in the clip. A car beep and a car starting are more specific sounds that follow, as well as occasional spurts of wind toward the end.

Walking across the Intramural Field.

The sounds heard in this recording are a plastic bag with a milk jug inside rustling, a motorcycle off in the distance, and snow compressing under my footsteps.

1. Hofstra University
2. Snow crunching under a pair of boots.

1- Thursday February 3rd, 4 pm. Parking lot outside Nassau Dorm Hall, Inside my parked car.

2- The sounds farthest away from me are other cars on Oak Street, the school across the road is letting out and I can just hear kids yelling at each other.

3- Sounds at a medium distance are other people trying to shovel out their cars, a seagull or some other bird crowing.

4- The closest sounds are my own breathing, the occasional vibration of my cell phone, if someone walks directly past my car I can hear them talking and their shoes crunching on the snow and ice.

5- Its surprisingly loud when theres a lot going on, the constant motion of others trying to dig their cars out is almost amplified in the quiet of my car. The ignition is off, leaving it quiet, but outside is loud. Even my own breathing seems louder when there’s nothing else going on.

6- Peaceful.

7- The sound of my breathing, people outside digging out their cars and walking around, other cars driving on Oak Street.