Keep a Sound Journal
What does a sound journal look like?
Your journal can be a simple spiral notebook, a sketchbook or a diary with a lock and key! Write in longhand, paint with watercolors or draw with pastels. Fill the pages with photos and notes, sketches, souvenirs, sound maps and diagrams. Go digital: keep a sound blog. Or go high-tech: record sounds directly, while writing down your impressions. A digital recorder like the ZOOM H4 Handy Recorder (below) is a good choice for portable recording. A lot of mp3 players also record. Or plug a mic into your laptop. Finally, websites like Gabcast and Gcast can turn your cell phone into a device that directly records audio to the Internet in mp3 file format. If you go the high-tech route, get a good pair of headphones so you can hear what your microphone is picking up. Then write or record your thoughts.
This ZOOM Handy Recorder is handy indeed! It’s smaller than a paperback book, bigger than your POD. It has built-in stereo mics and sports two jacks for two more mics on the bottom. It uses two AA batteries and records to a memory card. Plug it in to your computer to download your audio files.
What is the point of a sound journal?
Keeping a sound journal is what you make it. You can think of it as evidence gathering or as a literary practice. It can be the pump that primes your creative juices or the meditation that centers you. The main thing is this: do it regularly —every day, if you can. Schedule the time. Carry a notebook, a sketchpad—your laptop—wherever you go. Listen with intention and you will be rewarded with a new awareness of your environment and your place in it.
Keep a scrapbook-style journal, like this one by Ernest Thompson Seton (1860–1946). Seton wrote several children’s books, Among them, Two Little Savages, in which he describes the sounds of various bird calls. (Thanks to the AMNH.)
What do I put in my sound journal?
A sound journal isn’t reserved for the pretty sounds alone. Write about everything you hear: the sounds of the city, the sounds of the country or suburb in which you live. Record the noises, voices and words you hear. A sound journal is ecumenical: it pays respect to nature sounds and city sounds, peaceful sounds and aggravating sounds. Your journal is for ALL the sounds you hear. Soon you may notice that you’ve grown interested in the sounds you used to hate. And sounds you once ignored may become the sounds you like the most. Listening is like peeling an onion. There are more and more layers to be uncovered than you can imagine.
Although he is not a sound journalist, artist Bill Sharp keeps a journal that includes not only what he sees but also what he hears. While on vacation in Costa Rica he writes: “Claire and Lida went in the hot tub. I could hear them laughing from our balcony.” In another entry, he writes: “There is some kind of noise outside our window...sounds like geese.”
I don’t know how to start my sound journal!
It’s hard to get started. To break the ice, use this sound journal checklist:
- Enter the time you began your entry
- Enter the date
- Include your location (Example: Tottenville, Staten Island)
- Include the route you took to get there—and how you got there
- Describe the weather (Is it sunny? Overcast? Cold? Rainy?)
- Name the “Habitat” (under the Bayonne Bridge, in the living room, at school, in the Greenbelt)
- Be sure to enter the time you ended your entry.
A birdsong map by naturalist, writer and artist Hannah Hinchman. She represents the different bird songs as symbols. Hinchman is interested in nature environments, specifically, but her idea of using symbols to represent and describe specific sounds can be used in any environment. How would you draw the sound of a truck motor? Or the sound of a leaf blower? What notations might you create to represent a light breeze or a strong wind?
Does it help to cup my ears while sound journaling?
Yes. When you cup your ears, you noticeably magnify the sounds around you:
- From what direction are the various sounds you hear coming?
- Can you discern how far away the sound sources are?
- What sounds seem natural and which seem human-made?
- What sounds are pleasant and which are really annoying?
- Do certain sounds become more interesting over time?
In the 1970s, conceptual artist William Anastasi created a series of “subway drawings” by letting the train’s motion move his pencil like a seismograph needle. The drawings can be seen as sonic representations of the subway car’s clatter and screeching wheels. How would you represent the sound of a subway car in your sound journal? Would you use words? A symbol? A picture?
Am I listening for something more than just the sounds?
Sound journaling can open your ears to a wealth of information that comes “bundled” with the sounds you hear. For instance:
Certain sounds can reveal cultural and economic information:
- If you hear people around you speaking in a number of languages, you may be in an immigrant neighborhood. This can mean a lower cost of living, affordable and interesting places to eat, and—potentially—social problems stemming from local cultural differences.
- A muezzin’s call to prayer tells you there is a mosque nearby, as well markets that sell halal meats and Middle Eastern spices. If you also hear local church bells and Italian being spoken by passersby, you are probably walking through a community in transition—which may indicate neighborhood tensions—or an opportunity for community cooperation.
Certain sounds can lead you to consider political implications:
- Do the sounds of a construction site lead you to wonder who got the zoning variance and why?
- Does a policeman’s voice lead you to thoughts about community relations with local law enforcement?
- Does a particularly loud jet plane lead you to question the local noise ordinances?
- Does the absence of bird song lead you to wonder about an area’s level of pollution?
Remember, the more you listen, the more you hear!