Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

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Location: Dorm Room

Sounds heard: Heater, wind blowing, wardrobe closing, drawers opening and closing, footsteps, door opening, blinds opening

1. February 15, 11:48pm, my dorm room
2. Far sounds: my neighbors door closing, sinks running, toilets flushing
3. Closer sounds: my roommate snoring, blankets rustling
4. Closest sounds: typing on my laptop, sneezing, knuckles cracking
5. Sound level/amount: very quiet and soft
6. Description: still
7. Essential sounds: my snoring roommate, the typing on my laptop, and my neighbors door closing

4/6/2017  4:30 PM  Dormroom, Hague House, Netherlands North, Hofstra University

2  thunder, cars/traffic

3  rain against window

4  youtube video on laptop: talking and sounds from game, crunch from eating goldfish

5  quiet, even the video is as low as it can go, constant

6  dim

7  the goldfish crunch, rain, and video noises (indistinct)

3/2/2017  12:30 AM  My Dorm Room

2. Cars driving by, heater hum

3. Roommate mumbling in sleep, music from her phone

4. Phone buzzing

5. Inconsistent patterns, medium sound level

6. Irritating

7. Phone buzzing, music from roommate’s phone and cars driving by

My dorm room

tapping my nails on computer, typing on computer, heater hum

2/6/17 – 10:17pm – my dorm room

far sounds- chair scooting in room above me, cars driving outside, someone talking/yelling a few floors up

medium sounds- someone’s door open, bathroom stall door slam closed, toilet flush

close sounds- hum of refrigerator, hum of roommate’s laptop running, my roommate breathing and moving around

overall level- low

descriptive word- calm

3 important noises- sound of distant people talking, cars driving outside, bathroom noises (toilet flush and stall door)

Date: 4/17/2016, about 9:30pm, dorm room

Farthest sounds: Cars, people chattering outside

Medium sounds: The breeze, people in the room next door banging on the wall

Closest sounds: Chopped from my laptop, keys clicking on my laptop

Sound level: Medium

Sound description: Relaxed

Important sounds: Clicking, Netflix

1. When/Where: 4/7/2016; 11:00 p.m.; my dorm
2. Farthest: Someone in the shower, a girl above me yelling on the phone, cars outside my window driving by
3. Medium: My refirgerator humming, my roommate cooking something in the microwave
4. Closest: My phone buzzing on vibrate, my keys tapping as I type
5. Level: Quiet
6. One word: Ordinary
7. 3 sounds: zooming, humming, buzzing

1. 2/11/15 8:12 Pm, Vander Poel Dorm

2. Farthest-airplane passing above, elevator creaking open

3. Medium-refrigerator running, door slamming outside my room, something possibly falling on the floor in the room above mine, weird whoosh noise coming from unknown location.

4. Closest-the hum of fish tanks filter, phone vibrating on the desk

5. Sound levels that are the farthest away are not constant, the ones nearer are pretty consistent and at medium levels of loudness. Overall though its a pretty quiet time.

6. One Word-Peaceful

7. Three essential sounds-hum of fish tank, weird whoosh noise, airplane passing above.

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.