Reading Response #1

I chose the David Toop article from The Art of Noise. The reason that I chose this article was because it has specific relevance to what we are doing in class now with the sound recording. Toop goes into detail about how sounds are now being used for art and this directly relates to our drift projects. Toop also talks about the difference between sound and music, and how these differences are now being cast aside. Now sounds are being perceived as not just sounds, but as important aspects of our surroundings and the makeup of what we perceive as music.

There are some main points that David Toop poses in his article from The Art of Noise. One of his main points is that sound is an essential sense for humans. He talks about how sound helps us to find our bearings in different environments and without sound the world becomes a “remote and dangerous place.” Another point that Toop puts across is how sound can be used as an art form. He talks about how sound can be a greater medium of art than painting, in that sound is all around you and not just in front of you. Toop describes many sound artists in his article and then poses a question to the reader as to whether new forms of sound art should be in galleries or not. This question addresses the fact that sound as an art form is still not widely accepted as a true form of art, but wants the reader to decide for themselves.

The ideas in this article are extremely relevant to my practices as a media artist. This article goes into the importance of sounds and how these sounds can be used to create art. Toop’s article opened my mind to the possibilities of different noises or sounds being used to convey a message much like a painting. I found his thoughts on how sound is all around you, while art is just in front of you, to be very insightful. Toop’s article informed me about the importance of sound and how sounds can be used in a variety of artistic ways.

Soundwalk notes cont. 3

This is a visual map of what I was looking at as I turned around 360 degrees outside of a parking ramp. I made pictures of what I could see and took notes on the sounds I was hearing.

Soundwalk notes cont. 2

These are some notes I took as a walked on the sidewalk and into the student union. I describe how it was all of the noises I heard outside of the union and also the noises I heard inside.

Soundwalk notes cont.

These are some continued notes from my soundwalk. The drawings are my visuals as I took notes.

Soundwalk notes

These are some notes that I took during the soundwalk last Wednesday. The pictures describe what I could see as I recorded the sounds I was hearing. Click the picture for a better view.

Soundwalk Response

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

A: Yes and no. When I was outdoors and away from large groups of people, I was able to listen and focus on specific sounds. For example, I could hear birds chirping, the wind softly blowing, etc. It was more difficult to pick up on certain sounds when I was in the union. There was an overload of sound and it was harder to focus and really listen to the different sounds. People’s voices and the sound of walking really drowned out sounds I was trying to focus on.

Q: Was it possible to move without making a sound?

A: It was possible in some cases. However, when I was inside you could hear the echo of my footsteps. Also, when I was in the forest outside, I could hear the footsteps on the woodchips. When I was walking on concrete outside, I found it was possible to be completely quiet if I was walking slowly enough.

Q: What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?

A: When I plugged my ears, the sounds were still present, but they were muffled. I could still hear various loud noises, such as cars driving by, but the quieter noises became non-existent. When I unplugged my ears, all of the sounds came back as they were supposed to. It was as if I had been covering speakers on a stereo and then uncovered them. The sounds all came back instantly.

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

A: I was able to hear many different kinds of sounds. I could hear: the sound of footsteps on concrete, bikes rolling past me, the sound of girls talking loudly, airplanes flying overhead, buses stopping and the brakes making a screeching sound, woodchips being brushed by my footsteps, the buzzing of ceiling lights in the parking garage, cars starting, the sound of a door creaking open, the rumble of a diesel engine on a bus, chairs sliding across floor, trays slamming off and on tables, dryers and washers running.

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

A: Yes, there were certain sounds like a bus coming to a screeching stop that I could place right away. I could see the bus and knew that it had created the sound. There were other sounds that I could not place as easily, like the buzzing of the lights in the parking garage. I heard the sound, but did not connect it with the lights immediately. After thinking about the sound, I made the connection as to where it was coming from.

Q: Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?

A: Human sounds were easy to place. I could detect when I heard people talking even if it was far away with no visual cue. Mechanical sounds have a distinct sound to them and I heard a lot of these. I could hear cars and buses driving by, and also the sound of dryers and washers spinning inside a building. I found natural sounds the hardest to place. I would hear a sound outside and had trouble finding where it was coming from. Some of the natural sounds I couldn’t decide if it was a bird or just some other natural sound.

Q: Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?

A: Yes, I never really have paid close attention to the everpresent drone you can hear outdoors. When I focused on it, I found that it was not constant. It would be a loud buzzing at some points and others it would be almost impossible to hear.

Q: Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?

A: Some of the extremely close sounds were the woodchips rustling under my feet and cars whizzing by as I walked near the street. One of the far away sounds I heard was the sound of a police siren off in the distance. I could not tell where it was coming from exactly, but I could tell it was very far away.

Q: 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)?

A: I was able to hear the wind blowing through the trees. I was also able to hear the wind blowing through the grass on the ground. It was a quiet sound, but when I focused on it in complete silence, I could hear it clearly.

Q: 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.?

A: Yes, when walking I would shuffle my feet or step loudly and see the effect it created against the surface of the ground. I found that it created a loud scraping sound when I shuffled my feet on concrete.

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

A: Yes, I have never really stopped and listened to sounds purely for the reason of listening. There are so many sounds that I have never heard because I don’t take the time to listen to them.

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

A: Sound is an extremely important aspect of media and this experience teaches a lot about sound. Most people do not take the time to listen intensely to the sounds around them and this project makes us do exactly that. In order to become a media artist, one must understand the sound around them and how these sounds are created.