I went to an area I had gone for a bike-ride at the weekend before, then it was peaceful but now on a weekday the soundscape was radically different.

EXERCISE #1: ACTIVATE YOUR HEARING

-I hear construction, a massive project on a bridge; beeps, motors running, the distant sound of men yelling, saws cutting, and a massive vacuum system sucking.

-Traffic, small but consistent behind me.

-Trucks loading and unloading from across the harbor.

-Factories creaking menacingly in the distance.

-Crickets chirping relentlessly.

-Tall blades of grass and wild flowers scraping against each other all around me, as the wind blows them.

-Aspen leaves blowing in the wind behind me make a sound similar to rain falling.

-Boats quietly troll past sloshing in the calm water; with the faint sound of their running motors.

-Music plays quietly in the background at a small restaurant, as people quietly chat.

-Water gently sloshing and slapping the iron girders that line the concrete structure.

EXERCISE #2: ATTENTION SHIFT

1-      LOUDEST: The sound of construction still dominates the space; it is the sound of a massive vacuum system collecting the dust from the construction. It joins the sound of the factories at a similar frequency they blend together. For brief moments the sound of nearby ducks commands the space, followed by the frantic chirping of some animal in distress.

2-      LOW FREQUENCY: The Drone of the massive machinery, the deep roar of airplanes flying overhead, and the distant yet always present sound of traffic.

3-      HIGH FREQUENCY: Chirping of cicada, the whine of the massive vacuum system, and the screeching sound of metal being cut with an angle grinder.

4-      SMALLEST: Gentle pitter-patter of water slapping against the rocks and garbage that make up the shore. The sucking sound as water is forced into and out of holes and crevasses, and the faint sound of leaves rustling in the wind overhead.

5-     OVERALL: Shielded by the large dock I sit beneath the sounds of the construction are dampened, and the smaller sounds are given some of the stage.

           

          

         EXERCISE #3: MAPPING