soundscape assignment

I chose to do my listening exercise near the corner of Avro Road and Major Mackenzie Street in Maple, Ontario. The time of day was approximately between 4:00PM and 4:40PM and the date was Monday, September 23, 2013. For my report, I have classified the sounds I heard into 3 distinct categories. Beside each sound, I have listed if it is a continuous, repetitive or a unique noise. After this, I describe each sound in detail.

 

Natural Sounds

Leaves rustling in the surrounding trees and foliage (Continuous)

• Constantly heard throughout listening session but wasn’t always heard for the same amount of time. Usually this sound filled the dead noise throughout the entire listening period, but there were times when the wind stopped and the leaves were not moving
• Volume of the rustling was not loud at all. The soft breeze gently rattled the leaves
• The timbre of when leaves rub against each other is instantly recognizable because it is usually a soft swishing 

 

The only natural sound I heard was the wind blowing the leaves of the trees against each other. Since I was located in a fairly rural environment, I was able to experience this natural sound. This kind of sound not only exists in rural environments, but can also be heard in areas where trees exist.  

 

Human Sounds

Chatter of students passing by (Unique)

• Only heard twice. Once by a pair of girls and once by a pair of boys. The conversation between the boys wasn’t very long, they only exchanged a few words. The one between the two girls lasted for about 12 seconds
• When the boys talked to each other, they didn’t speak too loudly. When the girls passed by, they must have been excited about something because they were talking very loudly and their voices were high pitched
• The sound of the boys’ voices were deeper and were in a lower tone while the girls’ voices were much more higher pitched

Shoes being dragged along the ground (Unique)

• Lasted for about a second each time it happened
• Was not very loud. It was a low scratching noise
• The sound of a shoe being dragged along the pavement is distinct because it emulates a short grinding sound

My stomach grumbling (Unique)

• Lasted for two seconds
• The rumble was low growl, yet was loud

 

The select few human sounds that I heard could be found in any type of environment. They are regular, common sounds that can be recognized in an urban or rural area.

 

Technological Sounds

Text message notification (Repetitive)

• Lasted for a second
• High pitched “bing” noise
• Sounds like a tiny bell being rung

The motor of a car being started (Repetitive)

• Lasted for three seconds
• The sound starts off with a slight stutter of the engine. Once it starts up, the engine roars loudly

Bicycle wheel clicking (Repetitive)

• Lasted for 10 seconds
• Quiet, smooth sound with repeated ticking

Airplane jet tearing across the sky (Repetitive)

• Lasted for 20 seconds
• Extremely loud sound that fills the sky. The thunderous sound of the plane turbines start from far away and then get progressively noisier as it comes closer. The noise then dies away

Rumbling of a bus’ motor as it is idling/passing by (Repetitive)

• Buses that passed by were heard for about 5 seconds. The ones that idled lasted anywhere between 10 seconds to 25 seconds
• The heavy rumble of the engine was heard from buses that passed by. Ones that idled started off with a noisy growl and then as the bus accelerated, the noise grew into the recognizable heavy rumble

Power saw starting up, cutting through a material and then powering down (Repetitive)

• Took about two seconds to power up, lasted about 30 seconds while it was cutting something and then took about 5 seconds to power down
• As the saw started up, the sound was sharp and high-pitched. Once it made contact with the material it was trying to cut, the volume rose to an ear-piercing screech. Once the saw finished its job, the volume declined into a rough growl

Wheels of a tractor trailer whizzing along the road (Repetitive)

• Lasted for about 4 seconds each time
• Volume was considerably loud
• Hum of the wheels smacking against the pavement

The whoosh of a normal car passing by (Continuous)

• Heard for 4 seconds
• Soft whoosh that is complimented by the sound of tires hitting the road

Roar of a pickup truck’s engine (Unique)

• Heard for about 5 seconds
• Rumble of the engine similar to that of a bus – noisy growl but slightly higher pitched

Loose tools rattling in the trunk of car (Unique)

• Heard for about 5 seconds
• Similar to the soft whoosh heard from a regular passing car, except it was paired with the clattering sounds of tools slamming against each other. The noise of the tools hitting each other was sharp. 

Music playing out of a car with its windows open (Unique)

• Heard for about 5 seconds
• Bass of the car was booming which caused the car itself to shake and clatter. The bass was low yet thunderous, while the rattle of the car emulated a rapid ticking noise.

 

During my listening experience, the soundtrack created by technology is diverse because I live in an environment surrounded by various kinds of technology. After conducting the report, it is clear that most of the sounds observed are not due to humans or nature, but are produced on behalf of technology.

The keynote from my experience would have to be the sound of the leaves rustling among each other. This is because it was the background sound during my listening period. It was heard continuously throughout the 40 minutes with brief periods of interruption.

The soundmark from my experience had to be the sound of the cars passing by my house. Since I live right beside the busiest street in my community, the sounds of cars passing by are always heard no matter what time of day.