Soundscapes and Listening

Reading assignment 3 was very focused on sound design and the focus on sounds around us. I am definitely a much more visual than auditory person so I had a bit of a hard time really deeply understanding and appreciating these readings and probably the topic of sound itself. I think this backs up the claims that most of these articles and videos were making, we don't listen enough. There is so much sound pollution all around us that sometimes it seems almost impossible to zero in on what we are hearing. Even as I sit here writing, considering the sounds around me, I am completely overwhelmed by everything I am hearing. From sounds outside to mechanical sounds within my home to the ambient noises in my apartment to the footsteps of my neighbors and to the clicking of my fingers on the keyboard. It's all very overwhelming and kind of really throws me off because I don't know what to make of it. I think that's why its worth something to analyze soundscapes and to appreciate the beauty and science behind what we are hearing. I thought Justin Boyd's sound and time video was extra interesting in all of the explorations he was doing with sound. I didn't realize how physical it could be; how changing the location of a sound or where the sound was coming from could change it all together. This also helped me to understand and link individual sounds to music which is something I really understand and I am interested in. I think it's very important to explore the basis of sounds in order to build the best, complex soundscapes.