On a Tuesday, night at around 8:20pm, I spent some time at Tim Horton’s. The Tim Horton’s location was at 1470 Centre Street in Thornhill, Ontario, where it was filled with students, teens and adults. During my time at Tim Horton’s it was extremely busy with every table in use and all the seats were taken.  It was very loud full of chit chatter being spoken at the tables with languages other than English being spoken. The pitch in the coffee shop altered between the languages being spoken but the ones at the tables closest to me were easily heard by their tone compared to the ones on the other side. People were trying to communicate with the ones they were with but had to compete with the surrounding conversations raising their pitch and moving in closer to the ones they were with to be heard. Another sound that was heard was the swinging of the opening and shutting of the door coming from people entering the shop to purchase food and beverages and then leaving. It was a popular sound I heard numerous times throughout the night with times busier than others. After observing for 40 minutes people were leaving and more and more tables started to become available, decreasing the volume. The sound of change which was a ching noise was also heard as my table was a short distance away from the cashier. It was the sound of money being heard from people standing in line and from people at the cash. From the sound of the change it had a low pitch; it wasn’t that loud but could still be heard with the sound of conversation. The sound of the change was able to be made out but the conversations happening, and at the cash you could barely be made out with all the surrounding background noise. With a low frequency was the sound of sneezing and coughing. It did have a loud volume and tone when it happened and had a distinguish pitch to it.  An ah-choo sound was made from the one’s sneezing and a ugh sound was made from the one’s coughing. This did not happen frequently. From sitting at the coffee shop the timbre of sounds was the voices of the one’s sitting at the table beside me. They did speak in another language but had a high pitch and spoke back and forth with each other for a long duration. I also heard the sound of footsteps quite often with all the moving around, from walking in and out of the coffee shop, going to the cash, tables, washroom and garbage. I barely heard the background music coming from the radio. It was playing the whole duration with a low volume difficult to hear with all the chit chatter.

 The sound of the chit chatting voices was a continuous, human sound.  Voices were heard non-stop with the coffee shop being extremely busy and the sounds were coming from human beings.  Another sound heard was the repetitive sound of the door. It was repetitive as the door would swing open then closed and repeat the process when people were making their way in and out of the coffee shop. With the help of technology the function of the door was used.  A sound that was heard was the ah-choo and ugh sound coming from people who were coughing and sneezing inside the coffee shop with a low frequency and high timbre. This sound is a natural sound coming from a human as it is common for humans to cough and sneezing making a unique sound as it wasn’t heard that often over the voice but when it was heard it was distinct.  Money’s change ching noise was a repetitive technology and the sound of footsteps was a repetitive human movement. The continuous background music was played with the assistance of technology.

 From the sounds heard they were characteristically sounds heard in a coffee shop. Inside a coffee shop one would hear people having conversations with the one’s they are with, ordering food and beverages, paying at cashier, footsteps, the swinging of the door and music. Another sound also heard was the sound of coughing and sneezing as a coffee shop  is a public place and people are getting sick especially with the weather change.  A coffee shop is typically a place where students go to do school work and see friends and same with adults having meetings with coworkers or potential clients. Also seeing friends and having a date night.  It’s a meeting location where many go to get food and drinks as its cheap, quick and convenient especially on a student budget. Even though I observed Tim Horton’s at night time it is still busy during lunch hour as workers go there to have a fast  bite and get a coffee while other’s go during lunch hour to have a business meeting as it’s  a calm and relaxing environment.  Tim Horton’s is a business and without costumers coming in and out and all the sounds made during their visit and in the shop, the business wouldn’t be successful. By having line ups at the cashier and bodies inside means people are buying items. What attracts many people to come to Tim Horton’s is that it has free wi-fi and numerous locations are opened 24 hours.  Free wi- fi attracts students and business people to come in and get work done in a lively environment away from home. Tim Horton’s makes its own signature coffee and that it what helps students and business people stay caffeinated, awake and focused in a familiar environment with comfort food and drinks.

 At Tim Horton’s the keynote is the sound of chit chat inside the coffee shop. Tim Horton’s is a meeting place for many people for all different reasons and occasions and the sounds of their voices while conversing signifies the get together over food and beverage sold. One would be able to hear the diversification of voices from the young, old and different languages representing different cultures.  The soundmark at Tim Horton’s would be the beeping of the oven when something is ready after being freshly made. I unfortunately didn’t hear this sound as I came at night when they were not making new pastries or doughnuts just selling what they had left.  The drinks are fresh, friendly and familiar at Tim Horton’s. The coffee is a soundmark as people will go to Tim Horton’s just for their coffee. It is the sound of a sigh expressed after sipping Tim Horton’s coffee that connotes comfort and relief. 

 The place where I heard these sounds of voices, the opening and closing of the door, and the sound of change are all the sounds you would not only hear in a coffee shop but a restaurant, anywhere where there is food and drink available to be purchased.  Even though I went to Tim Horton’s, I would still here the same sounds at a Starbucks. Starbucks is a coffee shop as well, but the differences between Tim Horton’s and Starbucks is that Starbucks has a wider variety of drinks while Tim Horton’s has doughnuts which Starbucks does not.