A soundwalk is any excursion whose main purpose is listening to the environment. Today I was joined by Brian, a friend, composer, sound engineer, and educator. The sound collage below roughly represents a few of the auditory sensations along our path through the Sculpture Garden. (And just like in real life, some of these sounds are soft and others a little louder...)
Above: YouTube media by waitingline
Above: Vimeo media by Maureen Mcsmith
Above: YouTube media by jkontrad
Above: YouTube media by Greg Holmes of thelope.com
Above: YouTube media by yaaren
What: Part of our process was imagining how the Walker's sound environment changes through the seasons. For example, by late July, the Red-Winged Blackbirds don't sound like this anymore. A detailed map of our soundwalk is available here, with descriptions at each placemarker. If you're interested in trying a soundwalk on your own, here is a suggested 'score' I adapted from an essay by Hildegard Westerkamp. Additional thanks to Frauke Behrendt for support and resources.
Where: Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
Observers (Listeners): Abbie and Brian
Date/Time: Friday, July 29, 10 to 11 am
Conditions: Hot, sunny, sonic
It was a great thing to be able to be in a place I am in and around quite often, and to take an hour in the middle of everything to just experience it a totally different way...Thanks to Abbie and the Walker for providing the impetus and framework for us to it! There are so many interesting sensory phenomena to experience, and the "open" in Open Phenology means that people with different expertise areas and backgrounds can swap stories. It really did work well in practice-- Abbie learned a little something about psychoacoustics, and I learned (among other things) what a Mourning Dove sounds like!
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