Soundwalk

I decided to do my soundwalk on my way to school, since that is a journey that I take every single day yet I cannot say that I ever walked through my neighborhood just focusing on the sounds that were happening around me. When I leave for school it is typically around 10AM or 11AM so there are many people already on the streets but it is not as hectic on the subways as it is around 7AM or 8AM. I live on the Upper East Side and, contrary to what many may believe, the area can be as noisy as it would be in the middle of the city or in more popular areas. Yet, by forcing myself to listen to the sounds solely coming from around me, and not a technological device, I was surprised to find myself hearing many loud and even quiet sounds when I told myself to not become distracted by anything. Sounds that are unmistakably significant in New York City generally are sounds of construction, as the city never rests and there are always new buildings being built or streets being fixed. These sounds have a very rough texture to them, being loud, quick and even violent at times. Other significant sounds are the sounds of buses and cars that tend to be really loud especially when they are constantly honking their horns. However, the sound that I found the most unique to me was the sound of the wind, which is typically present in any place and has a soft texture to it. Wind is interesting because it can sometimes make quiet whooshing sounds when there is a gentle breeze, becoming in theory a background sound to the many other sounds overlapping it, but can suddenly takeover any other sound you hear when a large gust blows by, a foreground sound. Between the foreground sounds, like vehicles and construction, and the background sounds, like the possible gentle winds blowing, are the sounds of people talking and my feet shuffling through the fallen leaves on the ground. After this exercise I learned that the noises that are made outside have different levels of depth and hold significance in our bustling lifestyles, without us even realizing it until we take a step back and enjoy it.