Location: GoodLife Fitness Centre at Markville Mall
Address: 5000 Hwy 7, Markham, Ontario
Date & Time: Monday, September 23, 2013, 10:30pm – 11:05pm

List and analysis of the sounds

 Natural:

There were no natural sounds heard in the gym.

 Human:

Heavy breathing: continuous – Varying from different pitches (high, medium, low, though mostly ranging from the medium to low side) and length (quick, short breathes and long, dragged out breathes), as well as some louder than others, heavy breathing can be heard throughout the gym.  The sense of control that the people have over their breathing creates a rhythm that is unique to everyone. With the heavy breathing going off at different times, it does not get drowned out by the other sounds in the gym.  

Heavy grunting: repetitive – Similar to heavy breathing, the heavy grunts are heard frequently. Again, mainly in the medium-low pitches, grunts in nature are deep guttural sounding, and usually rough/dry, compared to the heavy breathing heard around the gym, making the grunts more distinct and easier to pick up. Heavy grunts are much shorter in duration, typically lasting less than a second.

Laughing: unique – Only one instance of laughter could be heard. A clear low-pitched laughter filled with energy resonates the gym, immediately followed by a gentler, high-pitched breathy laugh, which is heard over the heavy breathing, grunting and talking. The two distinct sounds are linked and intertwined together, lasting between 7-10 seconds, with the lower-pitched laugh dragging out slightly longer than the high-pitched laugh. Both voices start off strong and crisp, but as each second passed by, the volume their laughter begins to slowly diminish until the laughter abruptly stops.

People talking: repetitive –  Spaced out instances. Very soft and light speaking, a little above whispers. Muffled sounds with little change in pitch and tone. Most of the time it is between the medium to low pitch, conversations lasting around 20-30 seconds. A very distinct voice that I kept hearing was the employee at the front, greeting every member as they came in. His low voice was calm, soothing, and most certainly welcoming.  Other instances involved some high-pitched sounds, and generally contained more enthusiasm compared to their medium-lower ranged counter parts. Majority of the conversations were in English, though there were some Cantonese speakers. For the Cantonese conversations that I picked up, I can hear the changing of the pitch, tone and volume regularly, which reflects the tonal dependence of the language.

Coughing: unique – Only occurred once, but it was a series of coughs. It was sudden, rough and dry. It changed in pitch (high to medium)and volume as it started off loud, sharp and raspy, and eventually subsided, ending off with a final quick and breathy cough.

Sneeze: unique – A quick, loud medium pitched sound that quickly penetrated the ears followed by wet sounds from the nose.

Footsteps: repetitive – Frequent light and soft, yet sturdy steps walking at different paces.   The loudest footsteps would be the ones closest to me, but the loudness quickly fades. 

Technology

Music playing in the background:  continuous – The music played were all pop songs. Slightly louder and forward compared to the rest of the sounds, but not enough to drown everything else. Constant flowing of upbeat, high-pitched, bubbly stream of sound. The music has a strong sense of presence, and there are changes in tone and volume periodically.

Sneakers squeaking: repetitive – High-pitched, clear sound, almost to a point of shrilling. Usually heard in sets of two, one right after another. The sneakers squeaking is very short in duration, averaging half a second each time I heard it. It is usually followed by the soft and light footsteps.

Weights hitting the floor: repetitive – A rapid low and deep pitched sound that suddenlyechoes and vibrates the room each time it occurs. The duration of the sound ranges from 3 to 8 seconds depending on the echo. The instances do not happen at a regular interval. Throughout the instances, the pitch, volume, duration and timbre remained consistent and barely changed, as the flooring absorbs the shock of the impact.

Weights hitting against each other: repetitive – A high-pitched clinking and clanging metallic sound. It is also very light and clear. Again, the instances are spread out and each time it happens, the first impact tends to be the loudest and there is a slight ring to it, followed by a much gentler and softer clink.  

Scanner beeping: repetitive – A high-pitched clear monotone beep that remains consistent during each instance. It is only a second long, but it is instantly followed by the buzzing from the electronic door.

Buzzing from the electronic door: repetitive – A series of quick, choppy and short paced medium-pitched buzzing, with each buzz lasting less than one second.

People using the treadmills: continuous  – There is a constant hum from the moving track and an even, rhythmic beat from the feet of the runner. It is medium-low pitched on slower speeds, but as the speed increases, so does the pitch. Volume wise it is relatively loud and it immediately fills your ears. There was no specific treadmill that stood out, as the rhythm is generally in sync with the other treadmills. 

People riding on the bicycles: continuous –Similar to the sound of people running on treadmills, but higher-pitched overall. One major difference that the treadmills lacked with the spread out high-pitched beeps that the bicycles had, indicating the rider’s increase or decrease of difficulty.

Phone ringing: unique – A piercing medium-pitched sound that changed in pitches and speeds the whole time in sync with the consistent buzzing of the phone. After several seconds, it stopped suddenly and it was followed by a low-pitched deep and rich voice. 

Analysis 

During my workout at GoodLife Fitness, I was too focused and concentrated to hear any surrounding sounds, seeing as I was listening to my own music. It was not until after my usual workout where I decided to sit on a yoga mat located on the side of the room for approximately 35 minutes and really listened to the sounds around me, like the ear-cleaning exercise we did in class. GoodLife Fitness is an indoor gym and because the fitness center is attached to a side of Markville Mall, the walls surrounding the gym are soundproof, in order to avoid the sounds leaking into the mall. The gym is relatively small compared to others and in the 35 minutes of listening, the gym was not too busy (about 15-20 people including me).

 The soundscape of GoodLife Fitness would depend on the occupancy of the fitness center. If it was empty and not during the busy hours of the gym, like the timeframe I was listening to, then the soundscape of GoodLife Fitness is hi-fi, as Schafer explains that “the hi-fi soundscape is one in which discrete sounds can be heard clearly because of the low ambient noise level” (pg 216). I was easily and accurately able to distinguish all the sounds due to the place being relatively empty and nothing was being drowned out. However, during the busy hours, I would change the soundscape from a lo-fi one to a hi-fi one seeing as I have experienced both the soundscapes GoodLife Fitness offers. In the hi-fi soundscape, majority of the noise would be drowned out by the treadmills, bicycles and music, as the gym adjusts the music volume accordingly (the more people there are, the louder the music). The scoundscape during its busy hours would be similar to the ear-cleansing activity that we did in Vari Hall, and the less busy gym’s soundscape can be compared to the second one we did outside.

 Due to the structure and nature of the fitness center, that being an enclosed space indoors and completely man-made, there are no natural sounds to be heard. The sounds are purely human and technological. Almost all the sounds are repetitive, aside from a couple that is unique and continuous. All these sounds heard matter to their meaning. For example, the technological sounds are the results of us going to the gym and using their equipment because we want to be there.

 Having summarized and analyzed the each sound I heard above, I have concluded that there is no single keynote or soundmark, and that it is a combination of sounds that makes up these two characteristics of a soundscape. Interestingly, the keynotes that I have settled one are mainly human sounds, such as the heavy breathing and heavy grunting. The only technological sound that I would deem a keynote is the music in the background. The music in the gym serves as a motivation to the members by “pumping” them up and making the place livelier. The heavy breathing and grunting start fading into the background noise if are not consciously and putting the effort to pick them up (especially if you are too focused on your own breathing). The soundmarks that I have chosen are all technological: the weights hitting each other giving off the metal sound, the treadmill sounds and the bicycle sounds. These 3 sounds “possesses qualities which make it specially regarded or noticed by the people in that community”. The gym is a place where people go to have access to the equipment that they lack at home, and these technological sounds are unique to the fitness center.

 Two intriguing questions came to mind as I was doing this assignment: 1) what did Schafer actually mean by the “original soundscape” and 2) is it possible for the keynote and the soundmark share the same sound? I find the first question interesting because in my case, I have proposed two different soundscapes for the same place, but what is the “original soundscape?” In the case of GoodLife Fitness, would it be when the gym is not in operation? If so, there would be no sound at all, and would that be considered a third soundscape? As for the second question, it arose as I had difficulty in debating which sounds fit as a keynote(s) and soundmark(s).