BLOG#2 What I hear: Symphony Composed by People and Things in NYC

For this project, I decided to explore a little more about my neighborhood. Since I do not spend a lot of time at home, my neighborhood is still full of mysteries to me. The sounds I heard during the hour was unbelievably rich in variety, characteristics, and volume. It was in the afternoon on a Thursday. Right after I left my apartment, I heard a Spanish music coming out from a small grocery store next to my building. Now that I think about it, they always play something aloud although my attention has not never devoted what song they play. I was walking towards 3rd Avenue, and I found out kids were getting about from school since I recognized voices of a lot of kids. It made me realize there is a school a block away from my home. The cheerful voices of children playing at a playground made me happy. Then, I heard a pretty catchy melody played repeatedly. Surrounded by numerous children, the ice cream truck was having its busiest hour. Not everything is cheerful and peaceful walking about the vicinity of my house. I had a several people asking me for some change, or saw some people walking on a street talking to themselves or “somebody”. However, they are obviously a part of the sounds of NYC. Then, I hopped on a subway heading to Yorkville library. I must say NYC subway is a resort for sounds huntings. Not only just the sounds of the train, squeaky and railroads, but also the sounds people in the car consciously and often unconsciously make are beyond your expectations. For an instance, I could enjoy some music because this person’s earphones were broken or he just liked to listen his music very loud. Every subway ride is an unique experience and it will never be the same. One of my favorite parts of this experience was at the library. I had a male senior sitting in front of me and he was going through his envelopes. He had a very old notebook and used simply pens and ruler. The sounds of papers, writing letters and lines were very warm, soothing, and nostalgic. The another was the sounds of laugh. I can tell from the sounds that somebody is having a good time and happy. Especially ones of children with big smiles on their faces were priceless. Instruments in the city symphony is absolutely its people. Noting that everything and every movement makes some form of sounds brought me up to a new level to appreciate the environment and space around me. Living in the city sometimes makes you want to shut down any unwanted sounds or things around you as many things going on simultaneously and you cannot devote your attention to all of them. Through this exercise, I was so into the space I was in looking into details and actually paying close attention to surroundings. It made me realize that there are numerous cues and information exist but it is at the end a matter of myself deciding to pay attention or passing by them.