I
did my Soundwalk in my neighborhood of Middle Village, Queens. The majority of the sounds I heard were from
cars. There were a lot of people honking
their horns. I was expecting this since
most drivers in NY are extremely aggressive.
However, when I really paid attention I could also hear the sounds their
tires made against the streets, the squeaks of some car’s breaks as they slowed
down and the slamming of car doors. I
did my Soundwalk on a Saturday afternoon so there were many people walking
around as well. I listened to people’s
conversations as they walked by. I
noticed most people weren’t leisurely walking.
They looked like they were in a rush to go somewhere even though it was
Saturday. I heard the sounds their
shopping bags made as they rushed back to their cars. Since there are a lot of trees in this
neighborhood, I always heard birds chirping.
I think that is a sound you don’t hear in the city and is particular to
more suburban areas. I enjoy hearing
sounds from nature sometimes instead of the industrial sounds that are usually
around me. I enjoyed doing the
Soundwalk. It made me much more aware of
my surroundings and even notice things I never have before about my own neighborhood.
