Walking in the evening

This sound recording relates to a previous post about me walking through the field. Walking in the evening is very quiet compared to the daytime. The birds are all asleep and everyone is inside getting ready for the next day. There were no sounds of partying because it was Sunday and there are people getting ready for the SMP Presentation. The majority of the sounds on campus are the birds and the people so when they are not around the campus is close to dead silence. In this recording you can only hear my footsteps and the pants legs rubbing against each other.

Night at the Small pond

I recorded the sounds at the small pond near Goodpaster. You can hear a frog chirping from the distance in the beginning of the recording. Then you can hear a person walking down the bridge that is built over the small pond. If you hear very closely you could also hear the hum of the air conditioner/heaters of the buildings near by in the background. After the person walked off the bridge, the soundscape of the pond became much more quiet. I assume it was because the frog was scared of the person.

Walking through the field

This is the beginning of the walk around campus. I am walking across the field near Warning Commons to get to the SMP studios. You can hear my feet crunching against the grass and the birds chirping around me. The walk was short but I liked what I was hearing through the walk. I think you can hear sounds of cars driving by the road off campus as I was walking through the field but it’s hard to tell. My feet crunching through the field was the loudest sound in the recording.

SMP Studio

This was also part of my walk around campus as I was remembering my last five years here. SMP studio was one of those places I went a lot this year. When I am there it is always life because there is always someone in there. This week I have to give back my key to Carrie and I just wanted to visit my studio to do a little cleaning and to listen to it without people. It’s kind of scary and cold because there is no sign of life.

Pond bridge

I was reminiscing on my past and thought I’ll go to the bridge that divides the pond from the river. As I was looking at the pond, I thought about recording the sounds I was hearing. You mostly hear birds chirping throughout the whole recording. In the beginning, you could faintly hear a car driving down Point Lookout Road from the distance. It pasted me before I could record it as a drove by me. I think you can also hear the water of the river behind me rolling and splashing. I called this May Day at the Pond because someone re-arrange the stones in the pond to say "May Day 2016."

Rumbling Hot Pot

I recorded the sound of the apartment’s hot pot boiling water for a cup of tea. I thought it is interesting how quickly the water boils in the hot pot and how the sound makes it obvious that the temperature is changing. It starts off very quiet but then becomes a rumbling loud sound of water boiling in less than a minute. I also kind of like the rattling sounds it creates, which I cannot explain why. However, I think I recorded this because I’m starting to run out of ideas for this blog. But I do truly like the sound of the hot pot.

Shower

Taking a shower is the best time of the day where I can relax and be alone. The sound of the water streaming out of the showerhead, and the water crashing against the walls and shower curtain is actually soothing. Mixing these sounds with my personal music play loud enough to be heard over the sound of the shower makes this time complete. The sounds the shower creates stays consistent throughout my time in the shower. The music varies in speed, pitch and volume depending on what is being played. Sometimes I will sing along with the music, which adds a little more volume to the music. However, I have to be careful with how loud my music is playing because of my roommate so there is a limit to how loud the music is while I am showering. This soundscape can be described as colorful and free moving. The soundscape varies every time I shower because I play music on shuffle so it’s always different. The music range from different genre such as pop, alternative, and electronic music, which is it can be seen as colorful. The sounds changes from one different beat to another different beat, which in my head looks like a leaf in the wind.

Last Improv Party

I do not usually party that much. I only go to one type of party, which is an improv party. Every time we have a show, there is usually a party afterwards as a way to celebrate another good show. This semester, we have not been doing a lot because of complication. An improve party is no different from any other parties. Popular music is blasting from the stereo speakers and everyone is cheering or laughing. I usually do not like these types of sounds but that evening it sounded nice. I felt free, which is why most people like partying. The sound of music stayed consistent. The sounds of my friends screaming and laughing varied over time. Sometimes it would get silent but then it would get very loud. These sounds lasted as long as the party lasted which was roughly two hours. If I had to describe the sounds of the party in a visual way it would be black with moving neon colors like if you were in a dark room full of people wearing glow stick jewelry.

Swing

I recorded myself in the swings near the library. This was a significant place for me because it holds some good memories when I was a first year. It also reminds me of childhood because I always loved playing on the swings. I liked how I can hear the squeak of the swings along with the sounds of nature. It has a magical feel to it but I cannot explain why I have that feeling when swinging here. While on the swings, I almost forget that I was on a college campus. I think this is a place where people should go more often.

Cozy Rain

I work up very early by mistake and it was raining outside. Before I started to record the sound from my bed, I was feeling all cozy. I love the sound of rain in the morning because it’s soothing and it holds some nice memories. Unfortunately, it’s a sound that makes me want to stay in bed all day. Despite rain being something cold and wet, I sometimes feel happy and warm when I wake up to the sound of rain.

Sports

I do not hate the sports team but when I was thinking of sounds I do not like it’s a game here. It could be the fact that the baseball team has a field outside my window of my room and when they have practice or a game they blast the music. I was walking around a game of women’s lacrosse for this recording since it was the only game happening near by. I think I just do not like the sounds of the people in the stands. Sometimes they get obnoxious and very loud. But I found that the sounds of the game itself are kind of pleasing in an odd way. It’s actually much more quiet than I thought. You can tell they are focusing very hard on what they are doing.

Laundry

I recorded the laundry room because it’s one of the essential places on campus. Since it was around 8 am on a Saturday, it was very empty with only one dryer being used. The room still has the low hum of the machine because they stay on constantly. Usually when I’m in the laundry room, it’s pretty noise because there would at least be one or two machines in use. I was not use to the silence. However, the sound of the laundry room reminds me of home. I think it’s because my family owns a dry cleaners and I use to go there often when I was little. I think I associate the sounds of the machines to all the machines they used in their dry cleaners.

Good Morning Saturday

This is a recording of Warning Commons on an early weekend morning. For some reason I woke up early and could not go back to sleep so I decided to do some laundry. I thought that this would also be a good chance to record the silent sounds of a sleeping campus. I tried not to make to much sounds during the recording. During this moment, I could only hear the sounds of birds singing and the wind blowing slightly. I think it’s great that we live in a place where we are to far away from any town/city noises.

World Fair

I wanted to record the World Fair but I forgot to so I can only talk about it. There were lots of people talking all around you, and music from either bands or clubs. There were also sounds of people being dunked into a pit of water at the dunk tanks. I heard voices I recognized from classes and the past, which made me feel pangs of sadness. It reminded me of how great my time has been hear despite everything that has happened to me personally and to this campus. To other’s, the sounds from the World Fair would have been overwhelming and just loud, but to me it had a tone of sadness and nostalgia. I was thinking that this is something I have heard so many times in my past but recently it’s been nothing like this. This is the last time I would experience the joyous sounds of the Fair. Unfortunately I was not paying close attention to the sounds but from what I remember it was consistent. There was not one sound that was abnormal from the rest. The sounds of the fair was the sound I was welcomed to and it fits that it is one of the last sounds I will hear before I graduate.

Machine vs. Nature

I recorded the sound of the heater/air conditioner near the entrance of the Boat House at the Waterfront. When the professor asked us to listen to sounds that are not something we hear often or want to hear, I thought of the loud rumbling sound the boathouse produce. It's so loud that I could not hear the birds singing, and the water crashing against the dock. I think its kind of funny that one of the most peaceful and beautiful place on campus has a building that produces a horrible sound. I don’t know if the building makes that sound all the time so maybe it can be a beautiful place to sit and listen.

Lifeless Sound of the Evening

The sound of the evening back home is very different from school. The amount of sounds the house produces is significantly smaller than my apartment. There are no loud metallic clanks of the door unlocking and the sounds of the air conditioners/heaters are much more quieter. The sounds outside is less active. There are no music from parties from distance townhouses or the sounds of drunk students walking behind the building. There are no signs of life outside my house except for the very faint sounds of cars on the highway miles away. My home is so quiet that I can faintly hear my dad snoring down the hall. Even though I sleep better when it is quiet, I find that the lack of the sound effects is a little unsettling. It feels like the whole world froze and I am the only being still moving. Fortunately, the faint sounds of my dad snoring helps break the silence and remind me there is life in this house. Sometimes my cats would break the silence further more by meowing. Their call is so loud and sharp that it takes away the feeling of sleep each time they meow. Eventually they will stop on their own or until my parents or me do something about it. In general, the sound of the evening at home is like a void because of the lack of life and the unsettling feeling it creates.

Sound 3

For my third sound recording, I was sitting by the bell tower around 6 o’clock in the evening. I captured sounds of people walking by me and further away from me. I wanted to see if I could get their voices to stand out more. In this sound, you can hear the sound of people walking and talking gradually become louder. From increasing the sound of voice, I also increased the sound of their pants rubbing against each other or their feet scrapping against the brick path. This sound also relates to the first two sounds because it is also part of the soundscape of SMCM.

Sound 2

This sound was recorded from my room as I was working on homework. I placed my phone on my desk and sat on my bed so I could record the sound of typing from a distance. This is another sound I associate with SMCM, which is the sound of typing. We are always typing on our computers either for academic or personal reasons. If we are not typing there are people around us typing on their computers. The sound of fingers tapping on the keyboard is a sound that I hear a lot. For this recording, I raised the volume of the typing from the original recording and lowered all the other sounds.

Sound 1

I recorded at the courtyard between Schafer and Monty. The sound that I recorded is the sound of people getting out of their classes and heading of home, or doing the opposite. When I ediedt the sound I tried to focus on the sound of the gravel being stepped on, and the one bike that was ringing its bell. I also tried to get rid of the loud sound of the wind so that we can hear the people walking and biking. The reason I want the sound to focus on the people around me is because this is one of the sounds I associated to SMCM.

Sound of Frustration

I get along with my roommates most of the time but recently one has been giving me more problems. When this roommate gets frustrated or stressed they would only get worst, and no matter how much we help them they will not receive the help. Most of the time it just ends cleanly but like today my roommate only caused be more anger because they gave me attitude like a teenager fighting with their parents. 

These are the sound I heard while in the mist of my frustration. My footsteps as I walked back and forth trying to release the extra energy from being enraged. They would make soft patting sounds as I walk on the tile floor. In certain parts of the floor, sometimes they creak due to the old age of my apartment. I would make lots of sighing and growling sounds as I try to explain my other roommate my frustration without using words. My other roommate would reply with a sigh, which means she understands. This communication did not lost as long as the sound of myself pacing on the old floor. This is the sound of bottled up anger. It would look orange-red and jittering like it might spontaneously combust. 

Night Life on Campus

As I work on my SMP late at night on Saturday evening, I heard the campus coming to life. I would not describe the sound graceful or pretty, but mundane. I have been here for four years and the sound of the night life on campus sounds all the same. I could faintly hear music coming from the townhouses and people cheering within the houses. This is very common for a weekend evening near the townhouses.

The unfortunate part of living in WC is the large parking lot near the baseball field. For some reason, car alarms would scream in the middle of night along with drunk students in the lot. The sounds would cut the silence in my apartment like a white hot knife cutting through butter.  Usually these disruptive sounds would last roughly a few minutes, and the sounds of my apartment sleeping and parties in the distance would return. The active sounds of the campus last until 1 o'clock on the dot. Sometimes I would hear people walking back cooling down from their exciting evening and sometimes laughter.

Waiting for my Group

This morning I was waiting for my group in the lobby at Monty. I felt like there was no life within the building because of the lack of voices and people. Everyone that had a class in Monty was in their class at the time. One sound I kept hearing through out my wait was a ringing. The sound might have been from the elaborate lighting fixture that are near the stair cases. The ringing was low and kind of high pitched at the same time. It sounded like my ears were constantly ringing. Along with the ring, I could hear the heater rumbling. The rumbling sound of the heater lasted for roughly five minutes. It was loud and deep, which made the ringing sound of the lights less noticeable. I could also hear voices from classrooms around the lobby area. They sound more like quiet muttering, but there were some moments when one voice become audible enough for me to hear. Because of the emptiness and lack of people, the sound of the classrooms echoed throughout the lobby making it hard to tell where the voices were coming from. Sometimes I would hear some footsteps and squeaking doors coming from one of the many halls we had in the building.

The timbre of the sound is grey and simple. The soundscape of the lobby reminded me of taking a SAT in room with white cinderblock walls and white florescent lights.

Night Walk

Walking from Monty to Warning Commons was very silent. At first, I could only hear the soft sounds of my footsteps and swishing sounds of my heavy jacket rubbing together. Along with the sounds I was making as I was walking, I could hear the low rumbling motor of Schafer's heater. The three sounds stayed in hearing distance throughout the walk. 

As I walked towards the courtyard between Schafer and Goodpaster, I could her the water in the fountain pouring in the pool of water. It did not match well with the other sounds in the area. It would have been nice if the heater was off and my jacket was quiet. Then I heard my footsteps echo under the arches of Goodpaster, which made the whole soundscape of my walk more haunting. The haunting sound ended as soon as I left the arches but it was replaced with a new sound. That sound became louder as the mysterious object got closer and pass me. It was a person on a bike that sounded slightly old. It was producing a light crackling and squeaking sounds as if the joints or gears needed more oil. As I head towards the path around the track field, the soundscape of the walk became more mechanical and loud. I heard series of heaters humming and rumbling from their place near the townhouses. There were few heaters that actually turned on as I walked passed them. During this time, I could hear two people quietly running and talking on the track. As they ran past me I could also hear them playing music in a slightly high volume. As I got towards the end of my walk, I heard the runners sing a few lines from "Hooked on a Feeling" by Blue Swede, which made me giggle. I would describe the soundscape as a dark blue because it made me happy and calm. 

Walk to classes

In the beginning of my walk from WC to the Crest it is usually quiet. Sometimes I would hear echoes of maintenance talking to each other, or the loud rumble of their John Deere driving up or through WC. The maintenance faculty can sometimes sound soothing but there are some instance when someone's laugh pieces the calm quiet. These sounds are also depended on how far or close I am to the maintenance staff, and sometimes the sound is a doppler effect. I associate this to the sound a typical morning in campus so the timbre of the sound would be pastel blue and vibrant yellow, the color of morning.

The sounds of campus gets louder the closer I get to Goodpaster and Schafer. I hear the roar of people walking, and talking as they head to their next class or back home. The sound of people sometimes make me feel more motivated to be productive. It reminds me that everyone around me are most likely working hard to achieve a goal, and it makes me pump up to get to work. The roar of people sometimes fluctuate between low and loud depending on the group of people walking around. The sound last until classes start, which then makes the campusvery quiet and deserted. I guess the sound would be the color of brick because of the brick building people are entering and exiting.

Sitting in the Mac room

I am sitting in the Mac room waiting for people to come by if they need help with Digital Media. There is only me and one other girl sitting here doing work. The only sound could I hear constantly is the old air conditioner. The sound of the air conditioner is low and has not stop yet. The mechanical noise slightly changes from slightly loud to slightly quiet. It then repeats these changes in volume again in a consistent fast pace. As time goes by, the other girl would make some sounds that is typical for a college student to make. I can hear her rustling paper, fidgeting in her chair, sighing or yawning, and typing on her iPhone. These sounds are very light and almost unnoticeable. They also do not last longer than a second. If I had to give this whole soundscape a representational image I would chose a spinning wheel of a bike. The appearance of a spinning wheel does not change that much. Sometimes it would jiggle or wiggle a bit because of the uneven path or debris. However, the wheel does not stop spinning until someone stops it. This soundscape has a few random sounds made by the girl in the room but the air condition is always consistently playing in the background of the inactive Mac Room.

Project 1 Assignment

As I sit on my bed, I heard sounds that I associate with the morning. My roommates were in their rooms up and ready for the day, or just waking up. They were closing and opening drawers, which sounded like a light slam or scrap. I also heard their beds and chairs creaking and squeaking as they shift on them. Along with the sounds of my awaken roommates, I heard things outside my window. There were a couple of birds sing outside but they sounded a bit distant and far away. Despite not hearing their song clearly, I thought it was the most beautiful sound I heard today. It was very soft and almost fragile like glass. It felt like the music would shatter with one loud sound. After the birds stopped sing, I heard the sound of a truck warning pedestrians that it was backing up. It was very loud high pitch beeps that happened ever second as the truck was backing up. I think the sound of the beeping truck came from the construction site of Anne Arundel hall, which means it might have been the farthest sound I heard today. I think that means that the truck was two or three miles away from me. Along with the truck, I heard cars driving by the streets around the Warning Common area and maybe on Point Lookout road. The sound of cars driving down and up the street was soft but not as soft as the birds singing. It sounded like a gust of wind. Except maybe lower and softer. I think I heard in total six cars driving around St. Mary’s College.

Other sounds I heard within the five minutes were sounds that I learned to ignore. I heard the loud beep of the scanner outside the building follow by the sound of the door unlocking. The sound of the door unlocking sounds very mechanical and it echoes in the staircase outside our apartment. I could also here the frame of the building creaking and cracking; it sounded like the building was groaning or popping stiff joints. For a minute, everything outside my room was silent. I started to notice the hum of my laptop fan cooling my computer down. It was a low and almost quiet sound, which made it the softest sound I heard during the five minutes. As I was listening to the computer, my stomach made a loud growl. It was louder compared to the other sounds I heard during the five minutes. It sounds wet and organic, which made it the ugliest sound. My stomach made that sound a couple times before it went silent during the final few minutes. The final few sounds I heard before my phone went off were one of my three roommates chuckling in her room and my legs moving against the fabric of the bedding. I heard around eight mechanical sounds and four human voices. The only thing I would change from the soundscape would be my stomach growling and the harsh beeps of the truck. Those sounds interfered with the soothing sounds of the morning.

19 hour Journey

This past Saturday, I went to New York City with my SMP advisor, two of my SMP classmates, and other artistic people to see two art museums. During our 19 hour road trip, I heard many different sounds. In the drive to New York City, I heard a conversation I was not listening, the AC warming the occupants in the van, and the van cutting through the air 50 mph. They were not particularly noticeable sounds but I guess they can all be described as loud compare to the white noise I hear in my room. These sounds change sometimes such as the conversation growing silent as the people involved comes to a conclusion or when the van slows down which made the drive more quiet. If I had to give these sounds some sort of visual appearance it would be a warm fuzzy sweater that sometimes itches. I kind of thought the sounds I heard during the drive was very comforting. The sounds that produced a warm fuzzy feeling would be the rush of the wind around the car and the AC. The sound of the conversation would be the occasional scratchy feelings because sometimes it would get very loud or not noticeable.

When we finally got to New York City, the sound of the city was dull at first because we were in the van. We heard the constant low rumble of cars driving by, and short high pitch horns notifying us the driver's displeasure.  The sound of the city becomes overwhelming as soon as we opened the van door. I could hear music from stores, the cars driving, the horn becoming higher and louder, the people walking and talking, and the constructions of many buildings. The sounds mixed together, and sometimes certain sounds becomes quiet and other sounds become louder. The sounds reminded me of water boiling; the bubbles in the boiling water ascends and pops. I think the the city produced sounds similar to the erratic and fast movement of water boiling.

The final series of sounds that was different from the first two was the sound of being in an art museums. The sound of people in the museum was like a constant roar. It never quiet down or got louder. Sometimes there were high pitch sounds of children laughing or crying, and the rumble of children running before they were stopped by their parents. The sounds in the museum was like being in a mall so it was not really a best time to look at art.

Revised Matt Hollis Artist Talk

Hollis is an alumnus of this school and did an Art SMP when he was a senior. He talked about how he has explored quiet a bit before using fake flower petals as his main medium. His use of fake flowers started when he made a sculpture that was decorated with fake flowers. The sculpture looked alive as if it would start moving because of the form and the flowers. It looked like a creature from a different world that is powered by photosynthesis.

Hollis use the flower petals as a way to draw design on fabric and canvases, which are usually organic in appearance. The way he talked about his process reminds me of abstract painting or abstract expressionism; however, his works ends up looking purposeful with great palette of colors.

During his conversation, we were eating pizza the professor provided as a incentive to bring people to the talks. I could hear sounds of chewing as I listen closely to Hollis presentation. Hollis's voice (in my opinion) sounded kind and full of life, which makes it easier to listen to everything he said and to ignore the noise pollution the Art Annex produces. Along with his voice, we could hear the sounds of his mouse as he change the slides in his PowerPoint with a single quick click. The people, who came to listen to Hollis's work and artistic life, were silent and still. From the lack of sounds, you can tell they were paying close attention to the things he said.