Blog 2 - Soundwalk

The buzzing streets of downtown brooklyn exist in the cornerstone of my memory acting as a home in the giant city of New York. Nowadays, what used to be a quiet small-time neighborhood has risen as a trendy location in Brooklyn, and the new wave of commerce has brought new sounds never heard before. The soundwalk exercise helped me isolate my mind and identify the various levels of sound going on around me. At the closest level, I overheard the various conversations occurring around me as I walked down my local street, with many groups seated outside of restaurants and cafes. At the next level, the traditional noise I would reduce to background, I gave focus to and heard the varying ways in which cars or vehicles could make noise. I overheard car honks, bike chimes as they rode past, the rotation of wheels, the slight purring of various engines as they started and stopped alongside the street. These vehicle sounds can be identified as keynotes, in juxtaposition to the chatter I was hearing overhead, similar to a foreground sound. At the farthest level, I noticed the volume of noise made by nature, including plant and animal life. There are often squirrels on the trees above, who outside of their chatter drop their nuts onto the ground below, creating brief hollow noises. The combination of leaves and wind together creates the rustling effect, and although far away there is a sharp noise made by the wind when it gusts upstreet.