Sound Walk

As someone who has their headphones in most of the time, I miss so much of the sound that surrounds me every day. During my commute from Staten Island I can manage to listen to a full-length album one and a half times, watch three twenty-minute episodes of a TV show, or an hour’s worth of YouTube videos. What I discovered was that without listening to any of those things, there was so much to be heard. 

I had originally planned to spend an hour walking in Manhattan. As I waited for the bus, I decided to take my headphones off and listen to my surroundings despite not being in Manhattan yet. The first remarkable sound I remember hearing was the sound of birds chirping in a tree somewhere on the same block as my bus stop. I couldn’t figure out exactly where the noise was coming from, but I couldn’t believe how loud it was. I’m used to bird sounds, especially living near the woods, but in that moment they were so much more than background noise. I still can’t believe how loud they were, and while it’s possible that they’re always that loud, the fact is that I’d never allowed myself to listen. It seems normal but to me it was so peculiar to hear the intensity of it. What I loved about hearing the birds being as loud as they were is that it was so specific to the suburban area where I live. I knew I’d never hear that in the city.

Once I got to school another sound that I was happy to hear was a folded five dollar bill hitting the pavement after falling out of someone’s pocket. If I was distracted or listening to music I would have never heard it fall and I wouldn’t have been able to give it back to the person who dropped it. It sounds so miniscule, but it made me realize how much the small aspects of your day can change when you’re focused on the sights and sounds around you. 

The rest of what I heard were sounds I’ve grown used to, but don’t usually think about - the doors opening and closing on the 6 train, the clicking of my heels on the pavement (which is a sound I absolutely love), conversations between students and their friends, the flapping of pigeon wings, the rustling of a plastic bag, the stop-and-go of cars in the street, horns, and sirens, among the other keynotes that we hear but don’t think much of. Even in the moments of silence (which would only occur closer to where I live) there is so much to be heard. However, it’s not possible to listen to your environment, whether it be noisy or silent, if your ears aren’t open.

x