Category: Listening

Bonus!

5/8/2018

Soundwalk Simulation + Listening Exercise

Soundwalks are silent walks with the goal of listening. This short video takes you on a virtual soundwalk.

What sound was most prominent?
Which sounds were close? Which ones were far away?
Can you describe the sounds without describing their source?
(The footage for this video actually came from the soundwalk I talked about in my last blog post.)

If you’re feeling stressed, try a listening exercise:
Close your eyes.
Start by observing your own breathing.
Listen to the sounds in this space for a few minutes.
What was the most memorable sound you heard?

Feel free to share your experience with me!

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Zen Moment

5/7/2018

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This week’s walk started with birds. There were quite a few at first, in the trees and other greenery, chirping away.

We made our way toward the center of campus. The bird noises lessened.

But then a jingle.

My immediate thought was “dog!” It sounded like when Olive shakes and the tags on her collar clink against each other. But I corrected myself, because that sound source didn’t make sense for the middle of campus.

But it was actually THREE dogs. My brain knew the sound, but considering the context made me second-guess myself.

Sidewalk.
Paved road.
Sidewalk.
Gravel. But very small gravel. The size made it much softer to walk on than I expected.

We were able to do a longer pause/meditation on our walk this week, and we did so at Skyspace by James Turrell. During this meditation, I had a semi-breakthrough when I finally felt as if I was actually experiencing “deep listening,” listening to all things at once - and without inner dialogue. I’m unsure how to describe it, but it felt very right and very “zen.” Of course I only maintained it for maybe two seconds…but it’s a start, and I’ll take it.

From Skyspace we moved to the neighboring garden. One participant commented that Skyspace cut out more low frequencies and the garden cut out more high frequencies.

Back toward the music building.

Small yellow flowers covered the sidewalks. They crunched under our feet. But they softened the sound of bike tires passing over them.

We passed what seemed to be an open mic night. Amplifiers. Loud.

Splashing and fluttering.
Birds in a puddle of water, taking a bath.

This was really awesome to hear, partly because I’m not used to puddles or standing water here in the desert. Context informed this moment, like it did with the dog collars jingling. I realized just how much assumptions of spaces influence how we may perceive the sounds in a space.

April 12, 2018
5:40 - 6:20pm
Sunny

Until next time!

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Walk and Meditation

4/8/2018

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Hunter and I had the chance to lead the ASU composition studio on a soundwalk and sonic meditation. We started by explaining a few modes of listening (causal, reduced, semantic), and then Hunter led us to the “secret” garden. Once there, we sat in a circle on the ground to do Pauline Oliveros’s Sonic Meditation I. “Teach Yourself To Fly.”

Following this, we invited the studio members to share about their walk and meditation experience. The relationship between sound and space was commented on, how walking through a building with a roof drastically changed how sound was relayed, echoing off the various surfaces. Someone also talked about the group experience and how strange it is to walk quietly with a group of people.

Regarding the meditation, one person shared that their voice was much higher than they had anticipated and it actually led to a brief moment of identity crisis. This relationship between voice/sound and identity is something I’m researching, specifically in the case of artist Christine Sun Kim, so it was interesting to hear more about that firsthand.

To conclude our time with the studio, we did a soundwalk back to where we had started. During the previous discussion, multiple people had expressed an interest in doing the walk without visual cues, so we paired off, allowing those who wanted to experience it with their eyes closed to be led by others. Our pace was much slower going back, but we were also much more spread out. Those who did the walk “blind” again commented on how walls and roofs make a huge difference in receiving sound. They also said the changes in texture from grass to cement to bumpy cement felt more intense, almost like their feet were listening too (yay for embodied experiences!).

I really enjoyed adding in the meditation to our soundwalk, and maybe we’ll do it again in the future. Maybe you’ll even join us for it :)

April 2, 2018
3:10 - 3:50pm
80s, Sunny

Until next time!

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Eyes closed, ears open

4/2/2018

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This week, Hunter committed to doing the soundwalk with his eyes closed. I was leading him, and as such I became very aware of uneven ground and changing from pavement to grass or other surfaces. So, honestly, I was a tad distracted throughout the whole walk, definitely relying a lot on my vision to plan the safest path. Our pace was a little slower than normal (because walking anywhere with your eyes closed is terrifying), but I think it contributed positively to the experience.

There were two other walkers along with us, and we ended up forming a protective formation around Hunter, since he was the most vulnerable in this situation. It wasn’t discussed ahead of time, it was just something we fell into. I like to think this shows how community can be formed through shared experiences. It can lead to caring for each other, even protecting one another instinctively.

A band was playing near the center of campus, and their music helped establish our location. Moving around a stationary point of sound was extremely orienting and comforting, more so than I would have guessed.

Hunter’s body language was telling of what kinds of sounds he perceived as threatening. We walked alongside a street with cars passing by, and that was definitely the strongest point of apprehension. With skateboards, one can usually hear them approaching long before they’re near, but the cars were quicker and quieter.

The most deceptive sound was a bird squawking – I legitimately thought it was a door squeaking. High-pitched and loud. Long. Repetitive. Steady. Consistent. Isn’t it crazy how nature can sound like a man-made object (and vice versa)?

We ended the walk in grass. But even then there were distinct differences in the sounds of the grass based on its health. The dry grass, sharp, crackling, shallow. The deep green grass, mellow, swishing, full.

March 28, 2018
5:45 - 6:15pm
70s/80s, sunny

Until next time!

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