Audio Hardware/Software Response

I really enjoyed building microphones. Initially I expected the process to be rather difficult, but it turned out to be more detailed than difficult. Learning to solder was really fun, but it took a lot of patience and precision. During my Drift walk, my microphone rigs worked really well, except if I happened to move the microphones during the recording, they picked up a muffled sound that does not sound good. Nevertheless, I was so surprised with how well the microphones picked up sound! I was able to pick up overall ambience, like traffic noise or wind noise, but I was also able to pick up extreme close-ups, such as the flapping of birds’ wings. With unlimited time and money, I don’t think I would change anything about my microphones, in fact. I think they work really well, and I like the idea of homemade things. I suppose that with unlimited time, I would just spend more time on my soundwalk, seeking out the extreme close-up sounds, because I really like the feeling they give.

Overall, my experience with the MiniDisc recorder was positive. It took me a bit of time to figure out how to set the audio to “manual,” but once I got it, it was great. I don’t really mind having to set the audio to manual every time; however, if I had my ideal recorder, I would make it so I wouldn’t have to set that each time. I don’t have a whole lot to compare the MiniDisc recorder to, considering I haven’t used a whole lot of other audio equipment. I was really impressed with how good the sound that the MiniDisc recorder sounded, though. Ideally, I would change the screen of the recorder so it was easier to get around all the Menus, but other than that, I was happy with the MiniDisc recorder.

As for audio-editing software, I chose to use SonicStage and Audacity. Prior to Drift 1, I had never used either of these applications, but I found them to be pretty easy to figure out and use. I chose these primarily because they had good demos, but also because a lot of other people were using these applications, so I could get help if I needed it. I like how easy-to-use Audacity is; this characteristic of it helped me to accomplish my creative goals. For future projects, I will continue to use this software.

Ten Questions

1. Would it be interesting to record dialog of people chatting?
2. Could I find interesting sights or sounds indoors somewhere?
3. Could people be the subject of a drift- whether this includes dialog or noises people make as they walk down the street?
4. Could I base my drift on only one color? Yellow, for instance?
5. Could I find more sound differences between night and day?
6. Would sounds be recorded differently if I was in a tunnel?
7. Is there a place I can find where there are NO car noises?
8. Can I find deeper sounds, sounds that record more than one noise into each individual microphone?
9. Are there any train tracks nearby?
10. Is there a place downtown that I could classify as the "quietest," and to contrast that, a place I could classify as the "loudest?"

Drift 1 Assessment

While I was out on Drift 1, I got a little bothered when I couldn’t seem to find any noises other than car noises. I felt like everywhere I went, there was a car in the background of my recording. However, as my soundwalk brought me into neighborhoods and away from major streets, I realized that this was not worth being bothered by, because I ended up recording many sounds that did not have cars in the background. Another thing that kind of stressed me out during Drift 1 was once when I ended up in a neighborhood (on the other side of Oakland) that I didn’t know anything about, and everything was really eerily quiet. I got a little scared, so I purposefully had to turn around and go back towards Oakland.

I felt more emotions than simply bothered or stressed during Drift 1; I also felt at peace and contemplative at times. As I walked through the park in Shorewood, the sounds of nature caused me to think a lot about how people rarely stop to just listen to what is around them. This contemplative mood was good, and heightened my awareness to soft noises or potential noises, like the wings of birds, for instance. Another time I felt really at peace was when I turned off of Maryland Ave (at the beginning of my soundwalk) and entered into the neighborhoods there. The noises of cars died down rather abruptly, and I felt really at ease at how my project would turn out.

One thing that really surprised me while I was on my soundwalk for Drift 1 was when I was on Cramer Street, and all of a sudden my microphones started picking up a noise. I couldn’t tell where the noise was from, and I was pleasantly surprised by this! I stood still for a few minutes and just listened into my headphones to try to decipher what the noise was. It turned out it was the bobcat that I ended up recording a few seconds later! Another time I was surprised during Drift 1 was after I recorded myself stepping on fallen crabapples. I thought this noise would be really neat, but when I listened to it, I was surprised to find that it was actually pretty boring! On the other hand, a noise I thought would be really boring—when I patted on the yellow bouquet of flowers outside of Sendik’s grocery store—turned out to be a pretty interesting noise! This surprised me, and taught me that sometimes, subtle noises are more interesting than quick and kind of “loud” noises.

My absolute favorite experience from Drift 1 was definitely in the park when I recorded the birds flying out of the big bush. I wasn’t sure if the microphones would pick up their wings, although this was my hope. Even with my headphones on, I couldn’t really tell if the wings were recorded, so it was a wonderful realization when I listened to it on my computer and found out that I could hear the wings really well… and that they sounded really good, too! This made me feel really proud of my homemade microphones and of the sound that I had found while on my soundwalk. This experience affected me because through it, I learned that many of the best sounds I’ll pick up are soft, and I learned that my microphones do an awesome job picking up these soft noises.

Reading Response #1

I selected Joseph Hart’s article “A New Way of Walking.” The article drew me in as a reader because it was not only interesting, but engaging as well. It seemed to speak to its audience rather than at them, proving that Hart is passionate about psychogeography. I like that he uses specific examples from his experiences exploring the secrets of certain cities. I also liked that one of the cities he wrote about was near the Twin Cities in Minnesota, because I live there! It made me think about the fact that I could find so many awesome sights and sounds in my own hometown- I don’t have to go far! Hart’s article made me think and got me excited about exploring wherever I am.

The subject of Hart’s article, psychogeography, is a term which describes various ways one can explore and come to a new awareness about a city, and he zeroes in on algorithmic walks and the secrets they can reveal. On his walk in Albert Lea, Minnesota, he used an algorithmic strategy (first left, second right, repeat), which forced him to explore areas he normally would not go, and therefore discover “secrets” of the town. Hart writes positively about the algorithmic strategy, stating that it is “neither goal-oriented nor random” and that it is “structured but always surprising” (1). Hart’s main point in “A New Way of Walking” is that wherever you are, if you walk with purpose but without a destination in mind, your “consciousness of what was important and unimportant, beautiful and dull […will be] completely altered” (Hart 2).

The topics in Hart’s article are relevant to my own practice as a media artist because as an artist, I should be aware of all types of sensual stimulation, whether it is sights, sounds, smells, or visually interesting artifacts and locations. Hart’s article encouraged me to be aware of my surroundings wherever I am, and to even go searching for interesting and unknown places. Being aware of techniques such as the algorithmic walk and a having a sense of openness to sights and sounds will further my success as a media artist.

Soundwalk Follow-up Questions

• Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
  Yes, I found many places where I could really listen! I realized how much I tune things out as I'm walking, even though I rarely use my iPod around the streets. If I focused on the area, I could really hear lots of noises, and I could begin to hear them overlap, which is almost overwhelming.
  
  
• Was it possible to move without making a sound?
  No. I mean, every breath makes a sound, so I guess if you hold your breath you can not make a sound for a short time. But when I would walk on various surfaces, usually a very faint sound would happen.
  
  
• What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
  The sound would come and go. Unplugging/Plugging ears off and on works really well at a concert, it almost sounds like the sound is fading out and in. But when I would plug my ears, the sound wouldn't go away all the way. It was just muffled.
  

• In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear?

1. Spokes of a bike whizzing through the air
2. Scuffing of shoes on cement
3. Voices talking about everything
4. Something shrill and squeaky... but I'm not sure what it was
5. An airplane overhead- loud and then quiet, like when I plugged my ears and unplugged them.
6. Someone spit into a pile of dried leaves- crunchy and quick, dry and wet, both.
7. Clicking of a pen
8. Engine of car starting
9. Door of library closing- squeaky and slow, but sharp close
10. Books thrown into a dumpster- resonates
11. Bus breaks- shrill and drawn out
12. Bus acceleration- cresendo
13. Diesel sound of a school bus- staccato almost
14. Blaring of music in a car
15. Skateboard wheels on cement- even sound until it hits a new slab of cement.
16. Wind blowing through leaves of a huge tree
17. Me scratching my head
18. Walking on woodchips- shuffling, muffled
19. Walking on grass
20. Metal shifting when someone walked on it
21. Fingers typing on keyboard
22. Flipflops flopping against heels- sticky sound, almost
23. Chairs squeaking on linoleum
    

• Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
  Yes, easily recognizable sounds could be placed easily because they were familiar. The weird sounds, or the ones that were more difficult to place, were the ones that were unfamiliar but from a familiar source.
  
  
• Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
  I heard all three of these sounds. They are easy to distinguish between because mostly, they are familiar.
  
  
• Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
  The drone is made by the subtleties overlapping, looping, and playing in and out of each other. I could pick apart the drone if I really listened hard, and then I would hear the subtle sounds, such as a fan in the distance.
  
  
• Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
  Close sounds were often louder and clearer. They were more distinguishable because I could see them, I think. Farther away sounds were more muffled and more part of the everpresent drone.
  
  
• What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
  The wind makes noise when it passes through bike spokes, through leaves, and past my ears. It blew the pages of our notebooks as we stood there, too.
  
  
• 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.?
  Yes. Even just scratching my own head created a unique sound, one that I have obviously heard before but never noticed. I could intervene by shuffling rather than stepping, or by jumping on metal so it was louder. There are many ways one can intervene.
  
  
• Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
  Yes, definitely. I can't wait to use my microphones to record more and get even more appreciation for the sounds in Milwaukee!
  
  
• How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
  I will be much more aware of sounds now, which is something a media artist should be good at!

Here are my Soundwalk maps. I drew two, the top one is inside of a parking ramp and the bottom one is right outside of the ramp. I drew what the sound might look like if it's frequencies were visible, and I labeled what it was.
I promise it is scanned! I don't know why it looks unclear on the top, perhaps because my notebook was too close to the edge of the scanner. Thankfully it is still readable.