SOUNDWALK: “What I Hear”
It’s 1:30pm when I begin my sound walk in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. It’s just stopped raining and as I exit my apartment building I immediately hear a cornucopia of sound. The most intense sound signals are the whooshing tires of moving vehicles on the wet streets of Eastern Parkway. The keynotes of car horns and fire truck sirens are heard just down the block.
I walk along the Eastern Parkway promenade and I’m surrounded by pedestrians talking, it’s almost a mumble because of the loud sounds of the wet tires of cars driving by. Birds are chirping above. The metallic clinking of bicycle spokes stands out as a cyclist passes me along the promenade. I take a couple more steps and hear a few fat rain drops plop on an empty plastic bag. Everything begins to register in this auditory chaos. I stand on the corner waiting to cross the street and hear what sounds like an old or dirty wiper that squeaks and scrapes the windshield of a Prius. A delivery man passes me and his wad of keys attached to his hip jangle like tiny bells.
As I get closer to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Mount Prospect Park I hear more birds chirping and the rustling of trees. When I continue on to Grand Army Plaza the chaos of loud traffic takes back over. I feel that because of the open space of the intersecting streets of the plaza it adds to the loudness, but I like how there’s a beautiful and rich contrast of nature and city life in less than a half a block.
I decide to turn down Underhill Avenue and hear that the vehicle traffic goes quiet, but the sounds of footsteps become clearer. A wide range of footsteps from the tacky sounds of rubber soles on wet sidewalks, to the light crunch of gravel or sand as a dress shoe taps on the hard concrete surface. A mother passes me while pushing a stroller that’s back wheel clicks and reminds me of an old film projector, her son laughing.
I turn back around to head home and pass a building on the corner where its exterior entrance light produces a high-pitched electric hum. Another pedestrian walking their dog. They walk silently yet the dog’s collar jangles in the air. The rumble of a commercial aircraft flying above, but hidden in the grey overcast. A second or two goes by and I hear the puffing sound of a school bus driver engaging the air brake as he comes to a complete stop at the traffic light.
I found it interesting as I walked through my neighborhood how the everyday sounds we take for granted begins to roar on the busy parkways and goes almost silent on the side streets. How nature comes alive near the parks and then all of sudden a helicopter or police siren disrupts the tranquility.
I walk along the Eastern Parkway promenade and I’m surrounded by pedestrians talking, it’s almost a mumble because of the loud sounds of the wet tires of cars driving by. Birds are chirping above. The metallic clinking of bicycle spokes stands out as a cyclist passes me along the promenade. I take a couple more steps and hear a few fat rain drops plop on an empty plastic bag. Everything begins to register in this auditory chaos. I stand on the corner waiting to cross the street and hear what sounds like an old or dirty wiper that squeaks and scrapes the windshield of a Prius. A delivery man passes me and his wad of keys attached to his hip jangle like tiny bells.
As I get closer to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Mount Prospect Park I hear more birds chirping and the rustling of trees. When I continue on to Grand Army Plaza the chaos of loud traffic takes back over. I feel that because of the open space of the intersecting streets of the plaza it adds to the loudness, but I like how there’s a beautiful and rich contrast of nature and city life in less than a half a block.
I decide to turn down Underhill Avenue and hear that the vehicle traffic goes quiet, but the sounds of footsteps become clearer. A wide range of footsteps from the tacky sounds of rubber soles on wet sidewalks, to the light crunch of gravel or sand as a dress shoe taps on the hard concrete surface. A mother passes me while pushing a stroller that’s back wheel clicks and reminds me of an old film projector, her son laughing.
I turn back around to head home and pass a building on the corner where its exterior entrance light produces a high-pitched electric hum. Another pedestrian walking their dog. They walk silently yet the dog’s collar jangles in the air. The rumble of a commercial aircraft flying above, but hidden in the grey overcast. A second or two goes by and I hear the puffing sound of a school bus driver engaging the air brake as he comes to a complete stop at the traffic light.
I found it interesting as I walked through my neighborhood how the everyday sounds we take for granted begins to roar on the busy parkways and goes almost silent on the side streets. How nature comes alive near the parks and then all of sudden a helicopter or police siren disrupts the tranquility.
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