TWM Walk 2 Sound

WEEK TWO: Walking as a Creative Practice, SOUND

What kinds of sounds do you hear? 

·       I heard everything in a way that I had not allowed myself to hear before. On this walk I (eventually) did not edit, I just listened to hear. I found I quickly became fascinated by how interesting sounds are to experience unto themselves. The sound of cars driving by, parking, locking up. The greetings of eager store owners looking to re-engage consumers. Families walking and chatting to each other in a casual summer holiday way. The lapping of the ocean. Moms and kids playing at the beach chirping out safety instructions. Carpenters working on dock repairs. Boat owners preparing their boats for a day on the ocean. Flip flops snapping. Shoes on sand on the boardwalk. Motorboats cruising in the bay. Water fountains tinkling in yards. Dogs barking, birds chirping. Flags flapping in the breeze. Cumulatively it was the sound of a relaxed summer day.

·       Try varying your pace and see if it changes your experience, especially slowing down, taking pauses or closing your eyes while paused (or while walking slowly if you can do so safely)

·       I employed all of these techniques, but I must say that once I was tuned in I was fully hearing regardless of the method. Doing the pre sound meditation did get my brain in the right gear to begin the walk.

·       What was your experience like to take note and focus on these sounds? 

·       I have to admit, that when I first read and listened to the materials it felt a bit woo-hooey to me, but I signed up to try this so I was going to give it a try. I was shocked at the outcome (thank you). I live in my head a lot.  My innate approach to life is to plan and also have back up plans in case the original fails. I edit a lot out that does not comply with my mission. I had to fit this walk into a very busy and somewhat emotional week (one that may have had me bit a short tempered with those around me). But I had this task on my list so I did it. The pre-mediation work I grudgingly did. And then I walked, listened, recorded. When I returned home I was amazed at how this experience had flipped my mindset from to-do’s-to-check-off to seeing what was important to do. I will use this tool again, it really shifted my myopic view.

·       I also learned something about how I was trained to hear sound and recording. My education was in broadcasting (before digitalization!!!). Recording sound was an exercise in focused, pure sound, with extraneous noise being a serious problem. When I first started to record, other sounds would “interrupt” and I would immediately stop recording because the interruption “ruined” it. After a few of these recording attempts, I realized that approach was limiting me from appreciating ALL of the sounds. I heard all of the sound but I judged them as useful or not useful. Once I decided the sounds were just sounds and part of the entire experience, I was able to approach the project more openly.

·       Did it change the experience of your walk? 

·       I expect it has actually changed the experience of all walks ahead of me. I have to admit, that I do not walk as much as I should as the to-do’s get in the way. I did not see a walk as valuable enough to not deliver one of my to-do’, so it often dropped to the bottom of my list. This experience made me realize the value and purpose of a walk beyond the physical activity, to something that is truly helpful in my processing and perspective. Powerful tool. Thank you.

CREATIVE EXERCISE

Make a 1minute video tour of your walk for a specific person.

My elderly father-in-law has been pretty much stuck alone inside his home thousands of miles away for weeks, due to covid. I thought it would be nice to take him on this walk, letting him simply listen in on life. The lack of my talking is purposeful, I wanted him to not be bumped out of the mind space with chatter, and I felt the sounds told the story better. I also made it longer (4 minutes) because I felt the length added to the experience. I can feel the sunshine and beach vibe, and wanted it to last for him. I took him from where I parked, down the street past stores, restaurants, people on benches, and onto the boardwalk along the ocean. We got glimpses into passersby conversations, and got to hear the hum of repairs being done on the docks. For a few short minutes he had a new place to experience beyond his 4 walls.

FEEDBACK ON THE ASSIGNMENT: I really enjoyed the walk portion of this assignment. I however was way out of my league with the technical aspect of putting the exercise together, this may be helpful for future consideration. I liked the concept a lot but the execution was problematic. I would have liked to have  chosen one or two other assignments, but the time required to learn how to do it was extensive and frustrating so I settled on this approach. 

https://soundcloud.com/user-502160970/twm-soundwalk2/s-uem15k3mE4i