I’m fortunate to experience the world through my perspective. When I listen to a soundscape I find the mundane, everyday aspects of life so comforting and meaningful that I can’t help but notice them. I feel the significance of these forgettable sounds when I imagine the worlds they come from. Mothers singing to their babies. Children’s games. Laughter at work. All the time I’m doing a thick description to make sense of what I hear, what I witness. So I keep it in all my suitcases. If I’m lucky, in time, I get to record and make a memory.
Fascination with the more banal parts of life is a helpful habit in new spaces. It helps to be immediately curious. It’s a relief to find kinship with others–people who lived before, people from different cultures, people with different interests and ideologies. I’ve found this to be true in many of my travels from my hometown of Dallas, Texas, to my university in Arizona. I hope that’s still the case.
Hi, Keyania, congratulations on submitting the first student post! I love how you describe your curiosity for sound. And I recognize (and sometimes envy) this gift some people have for always bringing a very particular interest to new places that immediately gets them immersed in the surroundings somehow. (So perhaps it’s not so banal?). PS: If you are ready for new challenges, how about an image or sound file to go along with your post? Cheers, Tormod
Thanks Tormud. I put both on there!
Great! And sorry about my suitcase image popping up all over the place… We’re trying to edit the global templates still, seems to be a bug to be fixed
Hi Keyania, thank you for your post. I appreciate that you talked about the connection of sound. It’s so strange that as human beings, we heavily depend on our senses. Our memories are based on our senses, and our way of percept the world relies on our senses as well.
I enjoyed the sounds that you attached to your post. The sounds remind me of some of my daily living, too. I was wondering if it might be fascinating if you connect sound with the smell. You mentioned that “Mothers singing to their babies. Children’s games. Laughter at work.” Can you imagine the smell in those scenarios? I think stimulating more senses in people might achieve a surprising effect 🙂
Thanks again for your post.
Keyania What a nice way to make memories! When i read your post I realised that I have lost a lot of memories related to sounds and I want to hear the sound of some “things” or voices of beloved persons again …but in many cases I can’t. Thank you for your post and looking forward to hearing the world with you soon !
Hi Keyania,
Thank you for your post.
A few months back when I had much more free time, I used to stay up and listen to a local alt-rock radio station as well. It is considered a “retro” practice nowadays, but I like it. It gives listeners the feeling of “being alone together”, as Sterne puts it. Can’t wait to talk more about this.
Hi Evie,
That sounds really cool. I have a radio myself and I do enjoy just sitting with it. Feels so nice to be out of the algorithm, doesn’t it?