*Note: The main picture was not taken on the same day as when I conducted the assignment. It is merely to show everyone where I was when I did the assignment. 

Location: Condominium balcony in downtown Mississauga facing westbound.

Address: 33 Elm Dr W Mississauga, ON L5B 4M1

Date: Saturday, September 21, 2013

Time: 14:00-14:30

List of sounds:

–       the overwhelming shower of rain hitting the ground

–       the whooshing sound made by cars in the rain

–       loud, blaring sirens (fire truck, police, or ambulance)

–       a loud, deep horn

–       the pour of water from a drainpipe close by

–       small plops made by raindrops hitting the concrete barrier

–       abrupt, rough coughing made in the distance (by neighbour)

–       the deep rumble of thunder

–       sounds of screams followed by laughter that echoed in the open space

–       a softer tooting of a horn

–       the sharp flick of a lighter (by neighbour)

–       the sudden ‘clank’ of a car driving over a road drain

–       the screeching sound of tires

Soundscape Analysis:

The overwhelming shower of rain hitting the ground: Natural, Continuous –
The rain shower was continuous, rough, low pitch, and was loud enough to distract one from other sounds in the area.

The whooshing sound made by cars in the rain: Industrial, Repetitive – The whooshing sound of cars in the rain was a high pitch, short duration, loud, smooth, and sharp sound.

Loud, blaring sirens (fire truck, police, or ambulance): Industrial, Unique – The blaring sirens were loud and consisted of a very high pitch frequency. After a few minutes, the sirens faded out.

Followed by a loud, deep horn: Industrial, Unique – The horn of the emergency service vehicle was a sudden, loud, deep, and rough sound. The sound itself was unfriendly and uncomfortable.

The pour of water from a drainpipe close by: Natural, Continuous – The pour of water from a drain pipe was continuous, low frequency, gentle, calming, and soft.  

Small plops made by raindrops hitting the concrete barrier: Natural, Repetitive – The small plops made by raindrops were repetitive, short sounds, with a low pitch and a low frequency. It made soft sounds.

Abrupt, rough coughing made in the distance (by neighbour): Human, Unique – The abrupt coughing by the neighbour was rough, unique, and low frequency. It lasted for only a few seconds.

The deep rumble of thunder: Natural, Unique – The deep rumble of thunder had a dark tone attached and extended over around a minute. Its rumble contained a low frequency and a low pitch.

Sounds of screams followed by laughter that echoed in the open space: Human, Unique – The sounds of screams were a very high pitch and high frequency. They consisted of a variety of unique tones. The screams lasted for about 6 seconds. The laughter consisted of a lower pitch than the screams but also had a high frequency. It lasted for about 3 seconds.

A softer tooting of a horn: Industrial, Unique – The soft horn was higher frequency and higher pitch than the horn of the emergency vehicles. It was also shorter than the horn of the emergency vehicles. It was loud and almost squeaky, but not as deep as the horn of the emergency vehicles.

Sharp flick of a lighter (by neighbour): Industrial, Unique – The sharp flick of the lighter was probably the sound that had the shortest duration and was the most unexpected sound. It consisted of a high pitch but also had a more soft and quiet sound.

Sudden ‘clank’ of a car driving over a road drain: Industrial, Repetitive – The sudden clank of a car driving over a road drain was deep, quiet, low pitch and low tone, and lasted less than a second. It was difficult to hear because of the rain shower.

Screeching sound of tires: Industrial, Unique – The screeching sound of tires against the wet surface was strikingly loud and lasted only a second. It consisted of a high pitch and definitely a high frequency.

The majority of the sounds are natural and industrial. There is also a mixture of unique, continuous, and repetitive sounds. I noticed that without the thunderstorm, there would be no sounds on my list that would fit in the ‘natural’ category. Therefore, the sounds associated with the space suggest that the space is highly urban and that most of the sounds are made by technology. The majority of the industrial sounds resonate with a heavy populated area (i.e. downtown Mississauga). The prevalent industrial sounds (i.e. cars, sirens, etc.) mean that the populated location is very busy even during the thunderstorm. This also suggests that there is a continuous movement of humans in the area.

I would actually call two sounds as my keynotes for the duration of my listening exercise. The first would definitely be the rain shower. I did not note any drastic changes to the tone or volume of the rain. It remained consistent throughout the duration. Although the rain shower was the first sound to be called a keynote, I also noticed the continuous pour of water from a drainpipe. Since there was a continuous rain shower, there was also continuous pour of water from a drainpipe from all the excess water being gathered from the rooftop, ledges, and balconies. The soft, gentle pour of water from the drainpipe also made a keynote. Both the rain shower and the water from the drainpipe provided unchanging background noise.

I would not specifically point out a soundmark simply because I do not think one existed. Although the rush of cars serves to mark the sound of an urban city space, I do not think that it entirely resembles downtown Mississauga. The rush of cars certainly can resemble any downtown or any busy road. In my opinion, there was no culturally significant sound that could be tied to only downtown Mississauga. However, I could think of landmarks such as Square One Mall or the Monroe Buildings.

 I believe that my opinion on whether the place matters to the meaning of the sounds is contradictory. On the one hand, I do not think the place that I heard the sounds matters to their meaning because the sounds do not clearly establish that this is downtown Mississauga. The sounds only make it clear that they belong to an urban place, filled with industrial activity, against the background of a thunderstorm. There is no unique connection that links the sounds to belonging only to downtown Mississauga. On the other hand, the place does matter because the knowledge of the place is necessary to make the connection. The sounds alone cannot translate the exact location. So overall, there is a contradiction between whether the place matters to the meaning of its sounds.