Recorded 4:50 PM (PDT) on May 16, 2020 on iPhone at Lake Poway Park.

Lake Poway Recreation Area is the closest park to where I live. The lake serves water supply to nearby resistants, while the park contains an archery range, a baseball park, picnic areas, fishing and boating areas, and hiking trails. Its a little crowded on a Saturday afternoon despite the coronavirus pandemic.

This recording captures the soundscape of a typical afternoon at Lake Poway park. The sound of birds and nature sounds form the background, with occasionally a bird or two breaking into the foreground. Sounds of people can be heard when they enter a closer proximity to the recording spot. Due to my unfamiliarity with bird calls, I can not identity the species of birds 1 and 2 labeled in my graph.

I completed missed the unknown sound in the graph when recording. In my mind I have associated it with wood hitting something and I had suspected it to be boats hitting the dock, but they seem to be too far away for that sound to be captured.

-Derek Jin
May 2020

Recorded around 5:43 PM (PDT) May 11, 2020 on iPhone in my kitchen.

This is a recording of the sound of cooking with my dad doing meditation chanting in the background. It is an interesting sound combination one would perhaps associate with the kitchen of a Buddhist temple, but it is a unique soundmark of my family observable daily around dinner time.

I classified this as a soundmark for several reasons: the first one being its uniqueness. I have yet to come across a similar soundscape anywhere else. It also serves as a representation of our family culture, where spiritual practices (the chanting is derived from Buddhist meditation chants using the vowels ah, oh and uh) are found mixed in with daily life. A third reason is the consistency. Since I went back home in March, I have found this soundmark to appear everyday around the same time consistantly. It also serves as a signal to alert family members that dinner will be served soon.

This soundscape was recorded around 3:30 EST on Thursday, May 14th from inside a patio of a house in the suburbs of Lake Worth in Palm Beach County. It was recorded on an iPhone XR with the Voice Memos app.

Imagine standing outside on a patio overlooking a stream separating another line of houses. To me, this recording is like observing the sounds of nature from a “bubble” that is my house, where I have spent the majority of my time in since leaving campus. Ever since we had stay at home orders and less people are out, I’ve noticed that there are more sounds of nature when you go outside, now that less cars are on the roads and less people are present at a given time in general. The main soundmarks I observed in this snippet are two different kinds of bird chirps, the ambience of the water in the stream, as well as a faint barking of a neighbor’s dog in the vicinity. You can also hear the couple times I adjust my grip of my phone, altering the audio a tad bit. Based on the shifts in volume of each sound, I can guess whether the sounds from the animals are going closer to or farther away from me. Also the main volumes of each sounds were based relatively off of the ambient water noise, as some sounds are almost indiscernible without close attention to the sound, while other sounds notes are very apparent.

This soundscape was taken in a place characteristic of the Claremont experience: the village. At the intersection of Bonita and Harvard N Avenue in front of Rio De Ojas, you can hear a variety of soundscapes. With my phone as a recorder, I stand in the tranquility of the night as sound marks of the square trickle into existence. At the beginning of the recording, you can hear the keynote of the calm ambiance of lamps and the wind. Later in the recording, you hear cars passing by and the infamous train sounds. These sounds are characteristic of the village and Claremont as a whole and are most identifiable by Pomona south campus residents and I would argue that they represent the soundmark of the village at night. Sound signals also exist in the recording. An example would be the sound of the train horn and laughter from pedestrians.

-Samuel Nunoo
May 2020

This soundscape comes from Westview Drive in Hastings, MN next to the 18th hole of the Hastings Golf Club. The recording was made at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14th, 2020. The recording device used was an iPhone 6 held at about waist level.

This location was a significant place for me to record as it represents the sounds I hear at my home, which is farther down the street, as well as the sounds that reflect the current status of my community. Living near the golf course, many of the sounds in my environment are related to the activities that go on there; there are more traffic-related sounds during popular golf times, there are often voices of people walking on the path around the course, and there aren’t as many “nature” sounds as the entire area is developed.

The sounds in this particular two minute soundscape do reflect this environment. The sounds of lawn mowers and grass trimmers are very prominent in this recording, an auditory record of the maintenance happening at the golf course. Archetypes of a golf course include the sound of a ball being hit and the sound of golf carts, but perhaps evidence of the course’s physical appearance are a forgotten archetypal sound. There are also sounds indicating that this was taken in a neighborhood, such as a car door being shut early in the recording and voices of a woman and a child. One of the last sounds in the recording is the mail truck’s brakes squealing as it turns the corner, a sound in the foreground which is a familiar sound to this neighborhood at this time of day, six days a week. Two sounds heard in this recording classified as “signals” are a car horn signifying a car being locked and the distant sound of the siren of an emergency vehicle warning other vehicles and people to get out of the way. Throughout the recording, the keynote is the birdsong heard both in the background and with more prominent chirps along with rustling of leaves.

Recording setup: Recorded on MacBook audacity. I stood still and held the laptop.

About the recording: The soundscape was recorded at 8 AM, on a street in front of my house. There are bird calls in the background; the most conspicuous, high pitched bird call is the bohemian waxwing. The black-faced bunting and the oriental turtle dove (common birds in Japan) can also be heard faintly in the background. It is easy to ignore these natural sounds, and this was the first time I have ever tried identifying these chirps. I was surprised by the variety of birds that lived around my neighborhood. This suggests that the bird calls may be considered a keynote in this area, as it is a normal part of our lifestyle. Other than the birds, the soundscape is rather quiet —probably affected by the pandemic. Other audible sounds are the wind and a distant car sound. There was not a significant presence of people based on the recording, but there was a person walking with a steel bucket in a far distance (the metallic sound at 0:15 is when he put the bucket down).

Recording setup:
MacBook placed on dining table. Recorded on audacity.

About the recording:
This recording is a typical sound I hear every day as I do my work in the living room. The most significant sound is my dog running around on the floor. Half of the living room has wooden flooring and the other half has a rug; whenever my dog moves around and his nails hit the wooden floor, it makes the sharp clicking sound, whereas when he is on the rug, it makes a duller, blunt sound. The dog growls at 0:23 and his breathing can also be heard intermittently. The footsteps at 0:49 my dad walking down the stairs. The thud at 1:04 is the sound of my dad closing the shelf door. These sounds are what I hear every day and have integrated into my daily lifestyle. Although the sounds are not consistent and rather noisy, I do not find it distracting—probably because I have gotten used to it.

Recording setup: Recorded on iPhone recorder. I stood still and held my phone as I recorded.

About the recording: This soundscape was recorded in the nearest “main street” from my house. It was a rainy evening, as the sound of cars running on the wet street and raindrops on my umbrella suggests.

The soundscape was recorded with a OnePlus 7 Pro smartphone sitting on a table in the park. The location was Morgan Park in Baldwin Park CA. Specifically I was sitting at a table right next to the flag poles that are in the center of the park. This park is central to the city of Baldwin Park as it is only down the street from city hall and also hosts its own community center. It is not a very large park but has a playground, basketball court, space to play other sports, and walk dogs. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic the park was usually well occupied during the the weekends and evenings with teens playing basketball, kids playing on the playground, and people just hanging out. However, the soundscape is much different during the ongoing pandemic. While there are still a few people at the park sitting and walking dogs, the sounds of activity, voices, and any kind of play are missing. This lead to the quieter sounds of different birds chirping, cooing, and squawking to be heard in contrast with the sounds of cars going down the adjacent street and metro horn indicating its arrival and departure. At the end of the recording a dog begins to bark relatively close to the recording location dominating the last few seconds of the recording indicating there is still some activity in the park.

Info: Near Sammy’s Beach Road, East Hampton, New York.  May 10^th, 5:39pm.  iPhone Xs max with thin cotton cloth draped over microphones.

About: The recording was taken a little ways off the road in a nature preserve near Sammy’s Beach in East Hampton. The beach is part of a peninsula which buffets and protects Three Mile Harbor from Gardiner’s Bay to the North. The area has a lower density of fauna relative to the rest of the town with a large number of small shrubs, cattails, and reeds in place of deciduous trees which can be found only a few hundred yards down the road. The proximity to Gardiner’s bay and lack of large vegetation means that this area is much windier than others, as can be heard throughout the recording. The Eastern tip of the peninsula is a protected nature preserve home to various animals including the endangered Piping Plover which nests there during this time of year. The calls off various songbirds can also be heard throughout the recording, the most prominent and easily identifiable being that of the Red-Winged Blackbird. The Blackbird’s warbly “ok-la-leeee” stands out in relation to the chirps and whistles of other birds and is a distinctive soundmark of North-Eastern estuaries and coastal areas. As the recording was taken in relative proximity to the road several cars and trucks can be heard. Despite the quarantine and particularly cold weather this year, Sammy’s Beach is still a popular spot for beach goers and is a well known end/turn around point for cyclists and joggers including myself.

This soundscape was recorded at 4:30 pm on a Friday afternoon from outside the window of an apartment near the Santa Monica pier. It was recorded on an iPhone using the Voice Memos app. 

The soundscape is reflective of the current state of quarantine. This apartment is situated within walking distance of a big tourist attraction that is usually heavily trafficked – the Santa Monica pier. This area has many stores and restaurants catered to tourists. However, due to quarantine, there is often an eerie silence that envelops the atmosphere. That makes this recording of the soundscape an anomaly because it includes a dialogue, albeit faintly heard, that extends almost from beginning to end. There seem to be a few people congregated together outside of the apartment engaging in a conversation (hopefully while maintaining social distancing guidelines). The dialogue serves as a signal of the soundscape, as it is not a typical trait associated with this soundscape during these quarantine times. While it would blend into the background of the soundscape normally, it actually stands out into the foreground in this situation and becomes a point of curiosity for the listener. There are also sounds of what I assume to be car doors opening and shutting at the beginning and towards the end of the soundscape; just like the dialogue, these are also signals. The primary keynote sound that lasts from the beginning to the end of the soundscape is bird chirping noises. For the most part, the bird sounds blend into the background of the other sounds and is an element that would exist in this soundscape even during “normal” times (even though they would presumably be less audible since there would be more/louder sounds). The soundmarks of this soundscape recording are vehicle noises, such as the sound of engine revving or cars passing by, as the apartment is directly on a major street. They are the soundmarks because the apartment is in an otherwise heavily-trafficked area, which would be filled with these sounds during normal circumstances. Here, you can also see the effect of the quarantine, as vehicle noises appear very few times in the recording. Overall, the soundscape recording evokes a certain sense of normalcy atypical of pandemic times, especially with the dialogue. However, considering how the soundscape would be very different and definitely more vibrant during regular times, it suggests that things are not so normal after all.

Location: Brenda Villa Aquatic Center, Commerce, CA

Recording setup: This sound was pulled from a video taken on an iPhone at the meet.

About the Soundscape: While this soundscape recording is very short, it is incredibly representative. First, this set of sounds in very archetypal for this location, as it is mainly used as a competition pool and the PP team only goes to this pool for this specific meet. Second, this is almost exactly the same set of sounds heard before/during every single race that occurs during this meet. Every race starts with the official, then the beep, and usually teams will cheer after the start of the race. This was taken during a high-stakes relay during finals, so there are a lot of people in close proximity of the recording. Brenda Villa is also the only indoor pool that PP competes in throughout the season, and thus the soundscape is vastly different from that which is heard at most meets during the season since the acoustics are drastically different.

Location: North Valley in Durango, Colorado (Glacier Club)

Recording setup: Voice Memos app on iPhone; thin cloth around phone to block some wind

About the Soundscape: Durango, Colorado is currently under a red flag warning, meaning that fire danger in the area is high due to warm weather, dry conditions, and high wind. This audio was recorded off a balcony/deck overlooking the golf course. When it is sunny, there is usually the noise of golf carts and maintenance carts on the course, trucks and cars on the road, and sometimes the distant voices of people walking or golfing. Due to the rain, however, there were no other sounds and no one was out. The only significant events in this recording are the noises of water collecting and falling off the roof. There is one area that collects a bit of water, before it becomes heavy and drops to the ground below. On a normal day, there are also lots of birds and other animals crunching through the leaves and making noises around the house but in the rain, all was quiet.

Location: Backyard of house 05/09/2020 1:15 pm, Bodrum, Turkey 

Recording setup: An iPhone 8 was placed on the outside of a window frame, about 1.2 meters above the ground. 

About the soundscape: The recording was taken in the backyard of a house located near a moderately busy street. It was a rather open space, only surrounded by trees and neighboring two-story houses. Multiple cars passing by and some speech of the neighbors can be heard intermittently. These are the two most frequent sonic events, as can be seen from the spectrograph. The most prominent sound throughout is the chirping of the birds, which is the archetypal sound of this house in spring and the keynote of this recording. The soundscape also features the very complex sound of “ezan”, which is a call to prayer in Islam. Its cultural and historical significance makes it a soundmark. It is an archetypal sound of Turkey, heard in every city multiple times in a day. Moreover, it qualifies as a signal, as it signals both the time of the day and that it is time to observe the daily worship, to its listeners. One interesting sound heard at the very end is the rustling of the plastic grocery bags we hung outside for disinfecting them before we take them into the house, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other than that, all the other sounds are present in lockdown times and non-lockdown times alike. There is a breaking of sound in the middle of the recording, likely due to a dysfunctioning in the microphone. There are also some sounds throughout which are difficult to identify, which might be people in the street moving around and carrying things.

Carlisle, MA 01741, 9:45pm 5/10/20

42.552558, -71.367609

Recorded on a Zoom H5, trimmed and processed in reaper.fm

Device held in hand (hence some unfortunate buffeting—I’ll be purchasing a tripod for future recordings to avoid this)

On the border of my town Chelmsford, MA and Carlisle, MA, there’s an active cranberry bog. Each fall, there’s a wet harvest and the bogs are completely covered in cranberries—a moderately attractive tourist destination in the fall. The rest of the year, this conservation land is used for walking trails and wildlife observation. The full area is 310 acres with rich wildlife—beavers, muskrat, foxes, mink, various bird species, bass, and pickerel.

During the day, you can usually hear people walking and talking, dogs barking, and birds chirping. This recording was taken at night, so the soundscape is quite different. The archetypal sound is the spring peepers’ mating calls, an early sign of warming weather. There are occasional keynote sounds like the hooting of an owl, Canada geese, and what I think may be a red fox. Unfortunately, I’ve heard red foxes more and more the past couple years; their natural habitats are bring destroyed for new housing developments, so they’re moving closer to neighborhoods. There are also some man-made signals in this soundscape. The ticking of my car engine (cooling down after being turned off) is audible, as is a plane going by. There are also buffeting sounds of my fingers adjusting on the recording device. These take away from the soundscape’s immersion and are something I’ll be aware of for future recordings.

Location: Cresta Verde Golf Course, CA 92879 at 12:56pm on 05/08/20

About the Soundscape: Founded in 1927 by Randolph Scott, Cresta Verde Golf Course is located at 33°53’19″N, 117°32’32″W in Corona, CA and stands today as one of America’s 500 oldest courses.  The 18-hole course is brought to life by its various archetypal sounds, keynotes, and sound signals, including bird chirps, wind (which is particularly strong due to its elevation and vicinity to the freeway; it was captured and weakened with a small drawstring cloth bag over the microphone), wind chimes, driving golf carts, golfer chitchat, and the obvious hitting of a golf ball.  For this particular project, these sounds were all documented at hole #1 nearby the driving range at 12:56pm.  Unique to Cresta Verde, however, are its soundmarks found just outside of the clubhouse, which include the chatter of general manager Mehee and the white noise of the freeway due to its key and convenient location.  One may easily spot the iconic course from the intersection of the 15 and 91 freeways!

Recording Setup: iPhone was held within this small cloth bag, pointing in the direction of the course and golfers

Lake Worth, Florida

As I spent more time in my house, I became almost hyper aware of the all the background and intermittent noise that fills my house, from the ticking of the clock to the noises of the keyboard, paper turning, etc.

-Ben Luo

My parents are speaking, there is TV in the background.

Near Three Mile Harbor, 2:26 p.m., shortly before rainstorm.

-Ryan Stackpole

I recorded this a little past midnight on my phone. I slowed down on the side of a road to take the recording, hence the faint clicks and whirring of the car motor. The strongest sound is the chorus of Spring peepers, little frogs whose “chirping” signals the beginning of Spring. Here in Massachusetts, they just started their mating calls this week.

-Ben Cote

9:22 AM

Sounds of city life in early spring from the fifth floor balcony of an apartment building in Lincoln Park, Chicago. In the early morning one can hear birdsong, cars and city busses, bicyclists, dogs and people in the park across the street, and the wind. There is less traffic in this soundbite due to the decreased driving during shelter-in-place, and there were more people out and about in the park enjoying the warm weather for this same reason.

-Olivia McGrath

-Madelyn Kim

Because St. Helena is a very small city in Napa Valley it has a volunteer fire department. Every day at 12 pm, the alarm is tested so it is a common sound known throughout the valley.

-Kate Denend

Recorded right outside my house at night. It was raining throughout the day but it stopped raining a little while ago.

-Sara Uehara

10:45AM

It started sprinkling outside today. It’s windy as usual in Hood River (a town in the Columbia River Gorge), and there are birds as well as the sound of cars passing by on the road, and trucks in the orchards nearby.

Sarah Wang

Location: Durango, Colorado

Time: 8:30 am MST 5/6/20

Description: Off front deck, over road, a bit of forest, and golf course. Can hear birds/insects, hum of mowers, talking through open window.

-Ruby Adeyla Epstein