Blog #2 “What I Hear”
This exercise has 2 parts.
Part 1. The Soundwalk
Spend an hour doing a “Soundwalk” around a particular neighborhood in NYC.
“Soundwalk” is a term invented by R. Murray Shafer, a musician and professor at Simon
Fraser University. Shafer noticed in working with his music students that most of them
couldn't remember even five sounds they had heard earlier that day. He created the
soundwalk, a kind of walking meditation, as an “ear cleaning exercise,” a way to
increase sonic awareness.
In An Introduction to Acoustic Ecology, Kendall Wrightson writes, “In order to listen we
must stop, or at least slow down – physically and psychologically. We need to try to be
human beings, instead of “human doings.” So – during your sound walk, do not answer
your phone, text, browse, read or do anything but be, and listen.
The goal of this exercise is to “open your ears.” New York offers a rich sound
environment. Close your eyes and listen.
Part 2: The Blog
What is the texture of the sound? What are the specific instruments in the city symphony?
What sounds are clues to a specific neighborhood? A specific time of day? What are
sounds that are unique or meaningful to you? Expected or unexpected?
Some of Shafer's terminology might be useful to you in writing about your experience on
the soundwalk:
• Keynotes: background sounds
• Sound Signals: foreground sounds intended to attract attention.
• Soundmarks: sounds particularly regarded by a community or its visitors
(analogous to visual “landmarks”)
250 words. Due in Lab 7
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