Sounds of Spring

This entry continues the discussion on my sound survey project (first posting, 12/2/05).

As Spring approaches, I have begun to ponder on the fresh sounds of the season. At 6 a.m., the birds gather outside my bedroom window, oblivious to my need for sleep. I begin to remember how I would sit on the porch on warm spring days with my youngest (then a baby, now 8 years old) to listen to the sounds of daybreak. I am about to identify another batch of listeners to complete my sound survey. I thought I'd take this opportunity to review some of my interesting findings along the way...

A young Canadian woman recalled dogs barking, traffic sounds, and house and school noises from her childhood. She remembered visiting a waterfall during her sixth birthday. The sound markers across one’s life are often rooted in the “first” impressions that arise during one’s daily journey of discovery, rather than from any critical events.

An African-American woman who grew up to Elton John, Prince, Tears for Fears, Fleetwood Mac, and Peter Frampton, wrote: “At the time I hated it, but whenever I hear ‘Do You Feel Like I Do,’ I see my mother in her blue housecoat vacuuming and dusting around the house and singing in a horrible pitch. Not to mention the fact that I now love that song.” These are only a few of the sonic memories captured by the author’s sound survey.

My sound survey began with a prompting exercise to initiate recall of sound events (a 30 minute listening exercise that asks participants to focus on a particular sound at a self-selected location). Participants were then asked to recall dominating soundmarks (child and adult experiences that bring back intense sound memories), as well as the specific sounds and emotions attached to those memories. Most respondents (even urbanites) reported that they enjoyed listening to rural soundscapes, such as those identified around lakes, woods, picnics, and backyards (playground, swings, etc). These natural locations often triggered memories of grandparents and parents or what might be categorized as “family” experiences. The recollection of family memories were typically positive experiences, whereas “neighborhood” memories of the sound of lawn mowers, cars, trains, and buses, and other “noises” provoked mixed emotions at times. Nearly all respondents reported a sense of continuity in their childhood residence and/or family structure. Their present sound observations noted simple sound events – every day natural and man-made sounds – that triggered family and neighborhood memories. Certain songs also triggered family and friend centered memories among several respondents. Songs, rather than sounds, for many respondents, defined their latter stage of childhood.

Sound markers that emerged from respondents had little to do with nationality, but more often might be attributed to the rurality and/or urban nature of their community and a feeling of continuity and safety within one’s life (whether an individual moved; harmony within the family and community space).

If you would like to participate in this study, contact sonicsouper@yahoo.com.