Drift 2 Map

Drift 1 Map

Soundwalk Answers, Body Map, Area Map and Sound Notes

Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
While I was sitting and listening, I was in a corner. This meant that a ton of sound bounced off and echoed so I would hear them twice. It was easier to distinguish individuals sounds outside as opposed to inside because of the lack of echoing and on account of the lack of people outside due to the coldness.

Was it possible to move without making a sound?
Barely. I found myself making a lot of crinkly noises from my paper. I couldn't even sit still without making noise that I could hear, because when I concentrated enough, I could hear my heartbeat.

What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
I could hear the sounds from the room, but it was dull. When I unplugged them, they got sharper.

What types of sounds were you able to hear? List them. If your original notes are legible, and include all of the sounds you heard, then simply link to the scanned image(s). If not, retype them so that we can read them.
Keys jingling, the door's squeak followed by a thump, echoes from the lower depths of the stairwell, people speaking in French, the woosh of the heater, tap footsteps on cement, ksh footsteps on the floor of the foyer, echoey bumfs from floor, murmuring of the outside, heater humming, a ding from the Union dining establishments, wheels on a cart that go chr chr chr chr, the low rumble of a revving car, tenor male voice, female voice, baritone voice, notebook paper crinkling, long lound door sqeak, long quieter door squeak, shoes tap on floor, shoes shuffle on rug, crepe paper crinkle, rubber shoes squeaking up the stairs, taps and echoes on the stairs, rumble of people with the occasional voice or giggle sticking out, phone ringing, man talking on the phone, rumble of cars and buses stopping outside.

Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
The sounds that were more easily placed, the ones that weren't tending to fade in with the rumble of the rest of the union, but sometimes the rumble had different types contributing to it. For example, you could tell what sounds were people talking but you couldn't really tell the difference between the original voice and the echo, so it contributed to the rumble. But you still could tell what it was.

Were you able to differentiate human, mechanical, and natural sounds?
Somewhat. When these sounds stuck out, you could tell what it was. Again, the ones that didn't contibuted to the general murmur of the building.

Were you able to detect subtleties, changes, or variations in the everpresent drone? Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
The closer something was, the easier it was to distinguish. Some times, a loud entity would stick out from far away, but those were cases of an outstanding loud voice or an obnoxious ringtone.

Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
I did crinkle a lot of paper. But it was so quiet, it could only be heard by me. I think I mostly contributed to the masses of shoes tapping on the pavement.

Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
The exercise made me remember what it was like to come from a quiet town to Milwaukee. There is a constant murmur that I have forgetton after living here for a while.

How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
I can't say for sure, but I will try to employ what I observed in during the experience if it will help me with further projects.