Assignment #1

Jon Phillips
Assignment 1, 9/13/2010
Soundwalk Response (Location: Wisconsin/Water)
Walking, I headed east down Wisconsin. The first and most obvious sound I heard was the omnipresent traffic, which was then complimented by the sound of my pencil scratching the word 'traffic' on a bit of paper. Other immediate sounds: wind, conversations, coughing (mine), the creaking whoosh sound of a stopping bus. When I began to focus on the background noises after stopping and leaning against a wall, I became aware of a ripply electronic hum which became very grating after I noticed it. A group of girls walked by and the soundscape was overtaken by a lot of loud, grating laughter, which thankfully faded as I ducked into Downtown Books. Realizing that this would actually count as a separate soundscape, I purchased an abridged copy of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and slipped back out onto the sidewalk, where I recommenced walking towards the lake. There was now a high pitched whining which I couldn't really identify, and the crinkling of my bag. Eventually I got bored of listening for the various tones of low hums that were pretty much everywhere and sat at a bus stop, whereupon I drew the following acoustic diagram.