* Listen Close – Listen to a discrete repeatable sound. Listen for the detail in the sound.
I couldn’t find any good close-up sounds to listen to at the library, so I went back to ITP. I wanted to listen to something other than the relentless clacking of keyboards, shuffling feet on creaking hardwood floors, or mobile phone conversations. I wanted to listen to something simple, yet complex.
First stop — the Equipment Room. (thanks, Andrew, for humoring my request for a piece of equipment that made an interesting sound) . I left with a Panasonic CT-1030M pro video monitor and the goal of capturing in words the experience of listening to it turn on. When I checked it out of the ER, I had been hoping for the metallic, fuzzy honk of the de-Gaussing circuit on my home Dell monitor. The Panasonic had no soul.
I returned the tv monitor and sat down by the Deer Park water cooler next to the men’s room. This is the sound of water flowing from the spigot into a disposable plastic drinking cup.
There is a filtered, hollow sound as water drops into the empty cup. Air bubbles spatter as they burst at the surface of the water. The valve hisses slightly while it is open. When my head is against the base of the water cooler, I hear a hard muted reflection of the plastic valve as it opens and closes at my touch.
I pour water from the cooler into a stainless steel thermos and note the metallic “spang” of the water in the deeper cavity. As the water rises, one set of frequencies increases while another decreases. I enjoy the sound of the metal thermos as I flick it with my finger tip. “Bloing” “Buwoing” The frequency changes as I move the thermos around and the water within it sloshes back and forth.