Hofstra Drama 20 – Sound for the Theatre

Location: Adams Playhouse

The sounds heard in this clip consists of repetitive piano chords, some woodwind-like instruments, incoherent whispering, footsteps, and curtains rustling occasionally.

3/7/24 – 8:15PM – Pride Den

1. Sounds farthest from me: people on the other side of the room talking, utensils clacking together, chairs moving  
2. Sounds at a medium range from me: The backing tracks of the song being performed, the percussion instruments, people snapping during the performance, piano  
3. Sounds closest to me: the performer singing, my friends whispering next to me, the bass line, the applause 
4. Sound level and sound activity: the sound level is relatively high due to the speakers projecting the instruments but also the performer’s voice. The sound activity is high because there are a lot of people in the room making noise i.e. the singing, playing instruments, talking, clapping. There is a lot happening at once. 
5. One word description: Musical 
6. 3 essential sounds: the bassline, the performer’s voice, percussion

March 6th, 4:26PM, Shapiro Family Hall lobby.

Furthest: Heating system humming, very distant talking, echoes from the piano. 

Medium: Footsteps walking towards outside, piano playing melodically.  

Closest: Students talking, the double glass doors closing, fabric from my clothing moving. 

Sound level varies extremely as the people who pass me talk loudly and their footsteps ring, contrasting with the light piano tunes and the echoing. The amount of sound activity is spirited as there is a strong contrast between low tones and high.

One Word Description: Spirited

Essential Sounds: 

1. Piano playing melodically 
2. Students talking 
3. Footsteps

1. Date: 3/31/20 – Time: 12:30pm – Location: My Home (Carmel, NY)
2. The farthest sound from me is my mom talking downstairs to a friend.
3. In the medium range of sound, I can hear my sister playing the piano and singing below me.
4. The closest sound from me is my phone playing music next to me.
5. The general sound level is more loud and the amount of sound activity is a lot since the sounds are loud enough to cause a ruckus.
6. One word to describe the “sound environment” is pleasant.
7. 3 things that are essential to the “sound environment” is my mom talking downstairs, my sister playing the piano and singing, and my phone playing music.

Friend playing River City Blues on the piano

1 – 2/6/14 – 5:10pm – Costco, Nesconset

2 – Identify and list the sounds farthest away from you.
-A piece, that sounds like it’s in a Major key, being played loudly on one of the demo baby grand pianos.
-A Costco worker’s voice as she describes “Brownie Brittle” to customers.
-Customers talking back and forth.

3 – Identify and list the sounds at a medium range from you.
-Multiple cart wheels rolling on the concrete floor.
-Someone opening a refrigerator door and closing it suddenly.
-A customer picking up a cereal box.

4 – Identify and list the sounds closest to you.
-The constant humming of the refrigerators.
-A fellow shopper saying “Oh, I’m sorry,” as he brushed past me.
-A Costco employee operating a beeping, motorized hand cart in order to move pallets and stock items.

5 – Describe the general sound level and amount of sound activity.
-It wasn’t as busy as it normally is at Costco, probably because I was there in the early evening. Both the sound level and sound activity were tolerable this time around. It was easy to have a conversation with the person next to you without having to shout or ask them to repeat themselves.

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

7 – Select and list 3 sounds which are essential to the sound environment.
-The Costco employee asking customers to sample the food.
-The refrigerators’ humming.
-The operation of the motorized hand cart.

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.

1- 2/19/13 Emily Lowe 106 7:30 P.M.

2- Talking in the Drama Lounge and the hall, Doors opening and closing.

3- Piano, Singers, Talking of the instructor.

4- Typing on a laptop keyboard, Talking.

5- In the room there was the loud piano and singers. The combination of those sounds filled the room, but I was still able to hear sounds coming from outside the room.

6- Process

7- Piano, Men’s Voices, Women’s Voices. The singers and the piano make up the majority of this sounde environment.

Emily Lowe 106, Tuesday 2/19/13

Piano – The different parts to a line in music

Singing – Women’s and Men’s voices.

Talking – Teaching the music to the singers.