by
Nola Feder
I changed my plan for my sound project. I originally was going to do two parks in Hartford, Elizabeth and Heaven skate park. But, as I was recording at Heaven skate park I heard only traffic and wind, this was around 4 pm on a Sunday. Additionally, there was snow and ice covering the skate park, therefore no skaters would want to ride their bikes or skateboards there. When I arrived at Elizabeth park, I also heard almost nothing, and there were no people to be found as it was also freezing cold. I changed my plan to compare the outdoor skate park, (Heavens Skate Park) to an indoor parking garage in Glastonbury where my boyfriend and his friend rode their bikes and jumped a rail for a few hours. In the beginning of my audio piece, about the first 30 seconds you can hear the wind, and a few cars passing by. This was at Heaven Skate park where it was pretty much dead, with no people and barely any cars. Then, it transitions to the garage in Glastonbury at 6pm on a Wednesday. On the audio clip you can hear loud banging of bikes hitting the rail, the spokes of the bikes winding, and sneakers squeaking as they stop their bike.
I noticed that at Heaven skate park it was very sad, and miserable. There was barely any sound and I would conclude it was not music-like as there were not many sources of sounds playing, and dominated by traffic noise, (Botteldooren 2006). When I went to the garage in Glastonbury it was a completely different vibe, I felt happy and not so let down by winter. The sounds I was hearing were much more music-like, as many sources were coming together to make a more rhythmic sound, (Botteldooren 2006). I was observing the acoustic environment as I was noticing the physical properties, (Adams et Al 2006). Physical properties included how loud the banging of the bikes were on the rail and the screech of the sneakers. Additionally, I heard many futuristic sounds such as metal clanging and ringing, which sounded like advanced technology.
References
Adams, M., et Al. (2006). Sustainable Soundscapes: Noise Policy and the Urban Experience.
Urban Studies, 43(13), 2385-2398.
D, Botteldooren., et Al. (2006). The Temperal Structure of Urban Soundscapes. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 292, 105-123