What I Did:
A soundwalk is an ear training exercise in which I listen critically to my environment. I decided to do my soundwalk after a soundrun at midnight of March 22nd around my neighborhood. I jogged around my block twice and walked around my block once afterward. The temperature was about 44 degrees and the sidewalks were dimly lit.
What I Heard:
I launched into a brisk jog without thinking and the first thing I heard was the wind filling my eardrums continuously- it sounded like crashing waves of the ocean. I heard my steps going pit-pat and my light and soft breathing. As I ran past my former elementary school, I heard a humming from the air vents and distant cars driving by as I neared the busy intersection. A dry leaf rustled. I turned the corner. Another dry leaf. The continuous wind rushing in my ears. My footsteps. I heard a baby's cry very faintly coming from a house across the street and ran past someone chatting in English on their front porch. I got a scare when two dogs who were quiet a second ago, suddenly bark loudly at a dog across the street. They had deep barks and the smaller dog had a squeaky bark. The wind rushing. My footsteps. I heard the air vents again. The clicking noise from the high heels of a stranger. Cars zooming louder and softer, loud and soft. A large wheeled object being pulled across a metal grate. The subway enters the station. Da-dun da-dun. Da-dun da-dun. Screeech. A feminine robotic voice. Leaves rustled. The garbage pile next to the school was having band rehearsal: the plastic bags crackled and metal cans rapped. A little boy I ran past said "大家有饭了. 我没有饭."(Da jia you fan le. Wo mei you fan: Everyone had dinner already. I didn't have dinner). A car door slammed. A dog barking within a house. I slowed down to a slow walk. No more rush of the wind. The cars and my footsteps sound louder. When I close my eyes for more than two seconds, cars sound louder.I could hear the low bass of a song playing from a car- something I didn't notice when I was running. When I walked, I could actually hear crickets chirping and things and sounds seemed to slow down with me. A woman chats in Russian. You would expect a silent night at midnight on a Saturday. I sniff.
I launched into a brisk jog without thinking and the first thing I heard was the wind filling my eardrums continuously- it sounded like crashing waves of the ocean. I heard my steps going pit-pat and my light and soft breathing. As I ran past my former elementary school, I heard a humming from the air vents and distant cars driving by as I neared the busy intersection. A dry leaf rustled. I turned the corner. Another dry leaf. The continuous wind rushing in my ears. My footsteps. I heard a baby's cry very faintly coming from a house across the street and ran past someone chatting in English on their front porch. I got a scare when two dogs who were quiet a second ago, suddenly bark loudly at a dog across the street. They had deep barks and the smaller dog had a squeaky bark. The wind rushing. My footsteps. I heard the air vents again. The clicking noise from the high heels of a stranger. Cars zooming louder and softer, loud and soft. A large wheeled object being pulled across a metal grate. The subway enters the station. Da-dun da-dun. Da-dun da-dun. Screeech. A feminine robotic voice. Leaves rustled. The garbage pile next to the school was having band rehearsal: the plastic bags crackled and metal cans rapped. A little boy I ran past said "大家有饭了. 我没有饭."(Da jia you fan le. Wo mei you fan: Everyone had dinner already. I didn't have dinner). A car door slammed. A dog barking within a house. I slowed down to a slow walk. No more rush of the wind. The cars and my footsteps sound louder. When I close my eyes for more than two seconds, cars sound louder.I could hear the low bass of a song playing from a car- something I didn't notice when I was running. When I walked, I could actually hear crickets chirping and things and sounds seemed to slow down with me. A woman chats in Russian. You would expect a silent night at midnight on a Saturday. I sniff.
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