7/2 Reflections on Sound

I immediately noticed that sound has become a thing to tune out, especially in the city.  We cram headphones into our ears, hurry past jackhammers, and fall asleep to the sound of sirens and car alarms.  We hear people talk, but we often don’t listen to their conversations.  Background noise is just that- in the background.  Sound, however, becomes a living, fluid thing, and a generous medium.  There is so much sound, but it is difficult to know what to do with it. 

I really enjoyed working in Audacity, because it helped me find the music in the sound.  Repetition, looping, mixing, and remixing all have a concrete value in the creative process.  The work here is reactive- you listen, and then you change something.  The sound is transformed.  This is an interesting approach in the classroom and in art making in general, because it provides a different way of making art, one that is reflective and intuitive, and one that is easily changed.  It can be musical, which appeals to modern culture and youth interest, or it can be conceptual, because it is an often unused, but potent, artistic form of communication.  The arts tend to be highly immersive when using sound, and the installation-like quality of sound and its uses is not to be ignored.  Sound, when used to transform a space, can speak in a stronger voice, and with a deeper clarity.