Sound Walk Response

I went to Wind Point for my sound walk response. Wind Point is a beautiful lighthouse located in Racine. I decided to go at night around 7:30 to see if I could get unique sounds that the night produces. Unfortunately, there was an unexpected group meeting in the lighthouse that night so I didn’t really get the usual peace and quiet that generally defines the locale. I started from the base of the lighthouse, working my way around it, trying desperately to hear anything besides the people taking. I moved to a small wooden area located about a hundred feet from the lighthouse. That’s where I acquired the sounds of the frogs and crickets. I decided to move closer to the shore where I was right next to the heavy waters. My final detonation is the bench where I did exercise fours. The lighthouse location is remote enough that it is frequented by a variety of animals. In the past, I’ve heard the yipping of coyotes and the crackle of leaves under the feet of animals moving through the brush at night. For this exercise, the only animal sounds I heard were insects and frogs. This may have been because of the “people” noise inside the lighthouse, the two children playing outside the building, the extra lighting coming from the windows of the meeting room and the multitude of cars that had poured into the parking lot. Overall, the experience didn’t live up to what I had hoped for.

The most evident sound I did hear came from the lake shore. I sat on a bench about 40 feet away from the water, so I was pretty much surrounded by sounds. When a couple walked past me, I first heard the scuff of their shoes on the concrete path from my right ear and as they descended from the walk to the gravel, I heard the more muffled sound of their shoes against the stone. The combination of their footsteps and their conversation resulted in a blend of low and high pitch sounds. Beside the sporadic sounds of a car locking or a door slamming, the rest of the sounds were continuous. The only rhythmic sounds came from the bugs, the frogs and the waves washing up on the sandy shore.

List

1. Little kids yelling and playing football with their dad

2. The beeping sound of a remote car lock

3. Thud of a closing car door

4. The crash of the waves against the rock jetty

5. The intermittent deep rush of the wind

6. Croaking of the frogs

7. Chirping of the crickets

8. Water splashing in the fountain

9. Distant traffic hum from the adjacent road

10. Whoosh of a passing jet plane

11. Crackling of the flag in the wind

12. Starting of a car engine

13. Rustle of leaves in the trees

14. The varying inflection of voices from a passing couple

15. Shoes of the passing couple hitting the concrete and then dragging on the gravel

16. The soothing rush of the waves hitting the shore line

Map