Blog 13

A lot of the sounds we recorded and placed in our sound-map were sounds that we usually consider as background noise. I doubt that most of us listen to these sounds consciously. But because now they were presented in our sound-map, I had no chance but to pay attention to them. While exploring our sample sound-map, I found it interesting to hear how some areas sounded the same, while others were completely different. I even paid extra attention to areas that we would normally think about as “silent.” For example, my recording was done right outside Rich, and when I was recording, there wasn’t much sound, or so I thought. When I listened to the recording, I discovered there was a faint chirping in the background. There’s a good chance that I didn’t notice the bird when I was recording, and I even remembering being upset that there was no sound around me, nothing interesting to pick up.  

In Westerkamp’s soundwalk, the verbal descriptions and the sounds enhance the aural environment. She is paying very close attention to not only the sounds, but how the visual aspects of the environment affect the way we hear things. Something else I noticed in Westerkamp’s soundwalk is how technology allows us to manipulate sound. I’m not sure how she went about recording these sounds, but it’s a very clear and crisp sound; there is nothing else that’s disrupting the sounds she are focused on. At a point, she also talks about how we can escape the city by entering a studio, as its purpose it to block outside sounds. We have found ways to pick up some sounds while erasing others.

The limitations of our sound-map raise interesting questions. I thought it was a cool thought exercise to listen to recordings that were recorded on the inside of buildings while looking at the outside of buildings (because google maps only has images of the outside of buildings on the Davidson campus). The divide between what you were seeing and what you were hearing was especially visible (audible?) in the recordings of the library.

The idea of what you are hearing versus what you are hearing is further complicated when you listen to Westerkamp’s soundwalk on the beach. She gives a visual description of what you are hearing. She paints a beach scene. However, as the recording goes on, she reveals that she has used special effects in the studio to remove the sound of the city and focus on some of the things, effectively meaning that what she was visually describing initially was not necessarily analogous to what you were hearing.

Both these sets of discrepancies raises the question of whether or a picture has to match where sound has been recorded in order to draw meaning. Westerkamp certainly makes a point in her soundwalk without giving an audio that is 100% true to what she is describing (or vice versa). I think that the indoor parts of our sound-map are equally valid as the ones that are outdoors even if the visuals do not match up. One might even be able to draw a different or more complex meaning from a sound-map/sound-walk where the mental or physical image does not match up with the sound.

Both our class soundmap and Hildergard Westerkamp’s soundwalk draw our attention to the environment by providing a unique type of focus on pieces of our environment that we do not normally have or use. When someone creates a soundwalk or soundmap they create a way for a person to hear the sounds of a particular location and become aware of the sounds in that area. We as people are constantly using our senses but because we are so accustomed to certain things in our environment they are ignored by our minds. This is what happens to common sounds in our lives such as birds chirping. We are so used to hearing the sound of birds that our brain chooses to ignore it because it is always there. When we are forced to focus on these sounds then they become noticeable. For example it is possible to walk past any of the locations on our class soundmap and still be unaware of what sounds occupy that space. However, once someone uses a soundmap of that location or hears a soundwalk, from that moment on that person becomes more aware of the sounds present in that location, not just in the moment when using the map, but in person afterwards as well. Additionally soundwalks and soundmaps allow us to “capture” sound as if it is a physical/material object and then sort it how we want to. In a way these maps allow us to preserve the soundscape of places in the past. Soundwalks of areas in the past that are now very different serve as a way for people to study the history of a location by allowing us to use our senses without actually being present at the location. This has also been done in videos that allow us to use our sense of vision to make judgements on the past that we may or may not have been present for.

 

The Davidson sample sound map allows listeners to walk through Davidson, hearing the different sounds of different areas and understanding that specific soundscape at that certain moment in time. When listening to the different soundscapes, the listener is able to fully comprehend the complexity of a certain sound, ranging from the small murmur of people working in the library, to birds chirping in the trees, to the cacophonic sounds of construction and vehicles at work. The sound map allows people to more intimately listen to their surrounding environment and look more closely at noises they may entirely ignore without it. This closer look at the soundscapes that are found at Davidson allows listeners to understand the intricate aspects of daily sound, such as the quiet songs of birds or the rustling of a squirrel in the trees, but perhaps more than that it connects sound to sight. Accompanied with a Google Maps view of the campus, our sound map effectively pairs visuals with sound and allows the audience to have a more complete understanding of their surrounding environment.

Hildegard Westerkamp does a similar thing in her sound walk called “Kits Beach Soundwalk”. In this sound recording, Westerkamp allows her audience to notice the sounds of her surrounding environment, even the less significant sounds that may be previously overlooked. To materialize and emphasis these beach sounds, such as the trickling of water over barnacles or the ducks quacking over the horizon, Westerkamp mentions the city and the contrast between urban and organic sounds. With this comparison she emphasizes the beauty of our sonic environment, saying that the urban sounds drown out the acoustic nature of the environment making it “hard to listen”. Westerkamps emphasis on the environment reflects the same emphasis that is seen in the Davidson sound map, comparing different sounds in order to allow the listeners to hear the small nuances of the environment.

Lately, we as a class have been engaged with the interesting prospect of a soundscape. A soundscape refers to the same concept imbued by the word landscape, but with aural connotations. A soundscape includes not just the chattering of humans and the vestiges of their burgeoning civilization, but also to the sound that nature produces, from constant noises (or soundmarks) such as ocean waves to sounds that are indicative of a certain phenomenon (or signals), such as the sound of wood crackling in a fire. Soundscapes are not unique because they impart some sort of new sound to us; indeed, they often do not. Some of the most compelling soundscape recordings, such as the one our class did of our own campus, are often of scenarios and situations with a great deal of familiarity.The same is also true of Westerkamp’s recording “Kitts Beach Soundwalk,” as it takes a common experience (a walk on the beach) and spotlights it. Therefore, the difference lies in the fact that soundwalks are focused far more on the aural than the optical. Often, during experiences such as walking on the beach or living on a college campus, the eyes are the main guiding forces, noting the various visual cues that we have been conditioned to prioritize. Instead, during a soundwalk, the listener is forced to take part in an exercise where vision plays only a marginal and supplemental role, and where sounds are the main focus. This relates back to the concept of natural sounds and sound environments in that sounds in places like campuses and beaches are often so rhythmic and routine that they go unnoticed. What the soundwalks provide is an opportunity of the listener to appreciate the sounds for what they are, and all the intrinsic beauty that they have to impart.

Our class sound-map provides a generalized visual along with our sound recordings to give the listeners context to the sounds. Our visual provides key context about the environment in relation to the soundscape, such as whether there are walkways where people could be passing by or streets where cars could be driving, however the google earth visual fails in certain aspects. The images seem to have been taken over the summer or during a time where a lot of construction and renovation was occurring, as we see construction by new dorm and moving vans outside the library. These visuals provide context that is not represented in our recordings. In Westerkamp’s soundwalk, she uses a voiceover to describe her environment in the exact moment she is doing the recording, giving context that you would likely not know from just the recording, such as how she is standing on some rocks near the shoreline with barnacles on them. She describes not only the visual aspect of the environment, but also the sounds we hear. She says ““The tiny clicking sounds you hear are the meeting of the water and the barnacles.” Her description also guides the listener around the soundscape. The noise of the city that is present in the beginning of the recording was something that I initially didn’t even recognize and just thought of it as background noise until Westerkamp mentioned it by saying “The city is roaring around these tiny sounds.” She then proceeds to use technology to take away the noise of the city which forces and emphasis on the explicit sounds of nature.

The sample sound map that our class created forces listeners to contemplate the noises/sounds they hear within their environment more intently than they normally would. Instead of contributing to the soundscape as one typically would when walking about campus, the listener is a third party and is able to absorb and dissect the things they hear at a greater depth. For example, when listening to our soundscape I picked up on just how involved the sounds of nature are within the Davidson College campus. I was able to hear multiple birds, the chirping of insects, the rustling of leaves etc. at several of the geographical points on the map. When actually visiting these sights in the physical sense those sounds go unheard or unappreciated because I am either oblivious to their existence or too loud myself to receive the sounds.

 

Similar to the sound map we created, Westerkamp’s creation helps the listener key in on the different sounds that her environment creates. Contrary to ours, Westerkamp’s recordings are derived from a beach location. However, there are certain points on the map where the “city” or what appears to be more of an urban environment are prevalent. Westerkamp explores the two distinct soundscapes by emphasizing each of their qualities. For example, she isolates the naturalistic sounds of the waves and plays them uninterrupted by the hectic cityscape at some points while at other points she allows the loud recordings of cars and city life to run free. The contrast she creates with her map exemplifies the many ways that a listeners can interpret their surroundings through sound.

Our sample sound-map and Westerkamp’s soundwalk purposefully draw our attention to the environment and the materiality of sound recording. The sound-map is a collection of audio recordings from multiple spots on the Davidson college campus and highlight important features. These features range from the natural chirping of birds to the machinic sound of construction and even the simple silence of a quiet evening. This encourages listeners to focus on the audio of the environment and be more in tune with their surroundings; for instance, it is a habit to count how many different chirping birds there are rather than simply noticing chirping birds.

Further, Westerkamp’s soundwalk is similar in that she pinpoints on sounds heard in a beach. Westerkamp highlights the sound of the waves slowly lapping against the sand and the ducks floating above water. Yet, Westerkamp takes it a step further than our sample sound-map. She manipulates the sound recording to emphasize different parts of her environment; for example, she adds and then removes the sounds of the city so that the natural sounds of the beach is what is heard and emphasized. Not only does this provide insight on the different soundscapes for different environments, that is the quietness of a beach versus the bustling, loud nature of a city, but also this shows the usefulness of sound recording. The sound recording in its material use allows listeners to choose what they want to hear and allow them to manipulate their sound environment. Similarly, our sample sound map is showing the sound of different places at different times and, thus, is artificial in the sense that it was created rather than just a product of the natural/untouched environment.