Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

2/23/2024, 10:17 PM ET, Hempstead Turnpike/California Avenue

The sound furthest away from me is the rumble of cars much further down the road, just loud enough to be noticeable, getting louder as they come towards the red light.

A sound a bit closer to me is the incessant chirping of the birds that sit in the trees and on the powerlines en masse above California Avenue. It’s a fast, high-pitched trilling that verges on being scary.

The sound closest to me is that of a car passing by about 2 feet to my right. It’s a quiet car, not one with a loud engine, so most of the sound comes from the soft rumble of its tires on the ground and the woosh of the wind as it passes me.

The sound level isn’t extremely loud, there not being many cars at this very moment while the cars going straight on the highway have the red light.

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

Three sounds essential to the sound environment are the sound of a car braking, the high-pitched screech of a bird, and wind wooshing.

February 9th, 10:00PM, Bill of Rights dorm, 10th floor. 

Furthest: Cars moving outside on the Hempstead Turnpike, at least 10 stories down from the current location. 

Medium: Someone is playing classical music from a speaker in the bathroom next door, shower water running, pipes making a gentle hissing noise. 

Closest: Upstairs dorm neighbor is making short thumps, heater creaking and exerting a low hum. Focused, intent breathing coming from me. 

Sound level is generally soft and muffled. The amount of sound activity is somewhat limited, the room being confined to faint sounds of machinery amid far away driving and muted classical music. 

One Word Description: Subdued. 

Essential Sounds: 

1. Heater humming
2. Music playing from speaker inside the bathroom
3. Cars outside

Location: around 1pm on 3/6/14 at a red light on hempstead turnpike

Sounds Heard: wind rushing by, the squeak of a big truck’s brakes, me sniffling, me ruffling with something in my car, the window closing

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.