SoundWalk Response

* Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?

Yes. I think the forest area outside of the Sandburg towers was a great place to hear everything around me without any big distractions.

* Was it possible to move without making a sound?

Not really. No matter what there always seems to be a sound that iminates from you making a move.

* What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
The sounds that I had made out with my ears plugged were different than they really were when I unplugged them. I was also trying to make out sounds in the distance that I wouldn’t normally hear from that far away while my ears were plugged.

* In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.

Bike on sidewalk going by my left.
Plastic can thrown in garbage
Chirping in the distance
Shuffled flip flops across the concrete
Laughter between two girls in the grass
High pitched squeek of some creature
Slammed car door and an engine trying to start
Books tossed into dumpster (thud) pages flapping together
Low chirp of grasshoppers below me
Bus brakes squeeking rumble of the diesel engine
Loud techno music in a passing car
Skateboard clunking over sidewalk cracks
Low music from persons earbuds walking by
Woodchips being shuffled on the ground
Sniffling of a persons nose
Car horn honking
Car driving over metal grates
Feet pushing through the grass
Keys jangling together
Papers rustling together
Buzzing noise of lights in garage
Feet simultaneously hitting the steps down the stairs
Trays hitting the table
Chair dragged across floor
Tree branches blowing in wind
Airplane passing overhead
Light mellow tone of Piano in Union

* Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?

Yes. There were certain sounds that I knew their source. Others I could not recognize what the sound exactly was.

* Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?

All of them. Lots of laughter and chat. Mechanical sounds of fans running, cars driving by, etc. Natural sounds included creatures buzzing, trees blowing.

* Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?

Close sounds were the papers rustling, people coughing. Far away sounds were police sirens and airplanes.

* What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?

Sometimes the wind would make an eerie sound. Other times I could hear the wind smacking against things.

* Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?

Yes. Now when I walk I hear sounds differently and react in different ways. My understanding for certain sounds has changed.

• How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?

I think it will help advance my skills as a media artist. Sound is an important role in media and the more I understand it the better.