I recently read the article "A New Way of Walking" by Joseph Hart. I opted to write about this particular article because even the title itself intrigued me from the get go. Why not take the monotonous task of walking and spice it up by doing it a new way. Not only would it be refreshingly different but it gives you the opportunity to learn and discover so many new things about the area around you.

The essay describes the writers experience with psychogeography as they developed their own algorithmic walking pattern and explored an unfamiliar city with it. He discusses his excitement in being taken off his normal path and being thrown into a new awareness of the city around him. He also describes the odd sensation of being in a gray area between randomness and order as he has no true goal or destination but as he wanders through the unfamiliar streets and alleys he is still following the organized pattern of his algorithm.

Joseph's new way of walking has everything to do with my current project of recording sound. By creating a pattern of walking that takes me out of my normal path I can encounter sounds that I may never hear anywhere else, greatly expanding my own personal library of sound.

Soundwalk

Q: Were you able to find places and spaces where you could really listen?
A: Yes, downer woods was a good spot with a diverse range of sounds.
Q: Was it possible to move without making a sound?
A: Not so much.
Q: What happened when you plugged your ears, and then unplugged them?
A: When I plugged my ears I heard the louder sounds like planes flying overhead and then also a high pitched noise from holding my ears and what I think may have been my pulse. Then, when I unplugged them it seemed like my ears became extra sensitive to the noises closer to me.
Q: In your sound log exercise, what types of sounds were you able to hear? List them.
A: -Loud, pulsating motored tool (chainsaw or weedwacker perhaps?). Far off left.
-Wind through the leaves of the trees above. From the right to left.
-Periodic short chirps from high to the right of a bird.
-A pop can crunch from somewhat far off behind me.
-Some basketball squeaks from behind.
-Loud airplane from front to right.
-Constant low roar of traffic to the right.
-Loud motorcycle on left. Rev, coast, Rev.
Q: Were you able to differentiate between sounds that had a recognizable source and those sounds you could not place?
A: Yes, although most of the sounds I heard seemed recognizable to at least make a good guess of what it was.
Q: Human sounds? Mechanical sounds? Natural sounds?
A: All three, for example there were people playing sports, motor vehicles on the road, and birds chirping.
Q: Were you able to detect subtleties in the everpresent drone?
A: They were easier to detect after covering my ears for 5 minutes.
Q: Extremely close sounds? Sounds coming from very far away?
A: You bet! There were sounds everywhere!
Q: What kinds of wind effects were you able to detect (for example, the leaves of trees don't make sounds until they are activated by the wind)?
A: The leaves of trees made sounds when they were activated by the wind.
Q: Were you able to intervene in the urban landscape and create your own sounds by knocking on a resonant piece of metal, activating wind chimes, etc.?
A: I was able to by walking on the gravel path, through leaves, and on sticks.
Q: Do you feel you have a new understanding or appreciation of the sounds of our contemporary landscape/cityscape?
A: Yes, a lot of the sounds that were closer to me and more subtle I never really noticed before because they were always there.
Q: How do you think your soundwalk experience will affect your practice as a media artist, if at all?
A: You have a better understanding of things when you take the time to stop and really experience them.