Drift One Map

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Soundwalk Area Map

As a class we began our soundwalk in Mitchell Hall. We walked around the inside of the building and gathered notes on all of the sounds we heard. We then proceeded outside and walked along Hartford Avenue until we reached the alley between the library and Lubar Hall. We walked to the parking structure entrance outside of the library and listened to the heavy drone of this "place." The class then walked to the union and downstairs to the recreational center. This concluded our class soundwalk.

Sound Body Map

I would like to start this post off with an apology for the lack of my artistic skills when it comes to drawing, but none the less this is my Sound Body Map that depicts a few of the noises I heard while on my class sound walk.

Soundwalk Sounds

1. Feet shuffling
   
2. People walking up and down stairs
3. Doors opening
4. Hinges on the doors are squeaking
5. People conversing
   
6. Wind blowing
7. Cars passing
8. People talking on cell phones
9. Drone of the parking garage
10. Tires squealing
11. People laughing
12. Music playing
13. Bowling balls rolling down the lane
14. Pins being knocked down by bowling ball
15. Ping pong balls being hit back and forth
16. Television in the lower level of union
17. Person running
18. Quiet door opening
19. More feet on stairs
    

Soundwalk Map Response

1. Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
Yes. Not only can I hear the heavy sounds of the city, but I have found peaceful places to listen to as well.
2. Was it possible to move without making a sound?
It is in fact possible to move without making a sound, however I was walking very slowly and carefully in order to do so.
3. What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
I found the noises I was hearing were muffled and deeper when my ears were plugged.
4. What types of sounds were you able to hear? List them. If your original notes are legible, and include all of the sounds you heard, then simply link to the scanned image(s). If not, retype them so that we can read them.
5. Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
Yes, I could hear familiar sounds as well as sounds I could not quite put a name to.
6. Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds? Yes, in a populated area such as this it was fairly easy to categorize the sounds I heard.
7. Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the ever-present drone?
Yes, if I was walking in an open area the sounds were less concentrated, compared to when I was in a more closed environment.
8. Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
Sounds that were far away were more difficult to hear because of the constant traffic and general sounds of the city.
9. Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
Yes. I found myself experimenting with sounds that I could control along my walk.
10. Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
Absolutely, I feel like I have not been truly listening to the sounds around me as well as the sights that I saw while walking my path.
11. How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I think it will give me a more in-depth view on what “place” really means, and what it really has to offer.