For my ‘soundwalk’, I spent an hour in Clinton Hill Brooklyn. It was a very unique experience for me since the majority of the time I usually have my headphones in and don’t stop to “smell the roses” as they say. The texture of the sound varied by where I was walking. For example, while I was near a park I heard the shuffling of sneakers and loud Reggaeton music as a basketball game/party was going on. However, when I walked further down, I heard the click clack of heels as friends were entering and leaving some local restaurants. A sound that was unique to me was the sound of skateboards, particularly when the person on the skateboard would do tricks - the sound was almost rhythmic because the person kept practicing. I also enjoyed hearing families doing everyday activities such as going to the laundromat or going grocery shopping. It reminded me how innocent children are and why childhood is so special.
Sounds that are common to the neighborhood are frequent construction sounds such as drilling and hammering. My neighborhood is becoming more gentrified and the constant construction is evident of that. The conversations I witnessed were about daily dramas of various individuals, but I found it very interesting how many languages were spoken in my neighborhood (I noted 5 different languages). Throughout the entire experience, I heard several keynotes, such as cars honking and buses stopping to pick up passengers and continuing on their journey. I did the ‘soundwalk’ activity on a Saturday afternoon so it greatly affected the sounds I heard, as opposed to if I did the activity at 10 pm on a Friday. Overall, I found this experience very exciting because it allowed me to look at my neighborhood from a different perspective, which made me appreciate my surroundings.
