Thursday, October 1, 2015

Learning

TCS121: Intro to Sonic Arts
October 1, 2015
Blog 1

Audio.
Noise.
Sonics.
Silence.
Sound.

I never really focused on what I hear during my daily life. As a graphic designer and a cinephile, I have always been all about visuals. Anything else was secondary, almost nonexistent. However, as I got older, I have taken moments where I take time for myself. To take a breather, reflect, breathe. And in these moments, I do take notice of my environment with all my senses. I see the sunlight coming through the tree branches. I feel the leaves crunching underneath my feet. I smell the freshly cut grass along the path. I hear the birds chirping, leaves rustling in the wind, and the faded murmur of far off traffic. Then I return back to responsibilities and focus on other errands and tasks, putting my focus on my sense of hearing on the backburner.

Within just this first week of Introduction to Sonic Arts, I have already become an admirer for different sounds, and am fascinated by the components that make up a soundscape. I have paid attention, on a number of occasions, to my surroundings. However, I never attempted to really hone in on each individual sound component that made up that soundscape. Once I started to, wherever I went, I realized different sounds that are closer in distance are louder, while sounds farther away are softer or almost muffled. With several sounds together, creates a multilayered beautiful image of what that environment is like.

One of our exercises for class on Tuesday was going on a soundwalk. I have never done this, where my stroll was to focus only on the sounds I encountered. It was a delightful experience because I was able to take a break from sitting inside for several hours, and get some sunshine and just take in my surroundings. Because I was solely focused on hearing, it made me feel like I was in my own little world. My eyes were on the ground, watching what my feet would step on next, or go up and see the leaves rustling in the window, or right and left to hear the bikes that swooshed past me, or see what made that interesting sound just then. I was instructed to specifically listen through my feet and pay attention to rhythmic sounds. What I paid attention to then, was the different effects my feet created when I stepped on different textures. For instance, dried leaves crunching sounded much differently than on smooth stone paths or freshly cut grass. I also noticed rhythms such as when the wind would rustle through leaves, bike wheels squeaking to its own beat as one pedaled by, or the rhythms of a far off train’s whistle and whirring of air conditioners hanging out from the windows of buildings.

Silence is a fascinating concept. Some agree that silence is pure silence. Others believe that there is indeed, no such thing as silence. I myself am uncertain if there really is a pure silence. Some believe there is silence when all other sounds are silenced. Others believe silence does not actually exist, because within that “silence” there is a sound, such as a buzzing or some other subtle effect. Either way, “silence” can be an incredible effect. It allows one to focus and step back from a busy, chaotic moment.

In regards to “silence”, I am incredibly jealous of those who were able to experience anechoic chambers. I have never heard such a thing until last week, and when I heard what one can experience, I was instantly intrigued. The sounds are absorbed so well, that the decibels that are present in the air are negative. And one would be able to hear two sounds: their nervous system and the blood rushing through their veins. To be so quiet that one only is able to hear internal sounds is incredible to me. All other external sounds are literally stripped away and all you are able to focus on is yourself. To be able to do so sounds like an incredible experience.

Sound is finally taking a step forward in my life. It is slowly something that I am training myself to understand and analyze, since I have grown up to be a more visual person. However, it has been so far a new but engaging experience to focus more on the sounds of my surroundings. Who knows, maybe I’ll be better off describing certain events in my life by iconic sounds rather than key visuals.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, I also hope that you'll further open your ears this quarter... :-)

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