Soundwalk

I live in Washington Heights, and I realized that even though I am constantly walking by the same areas in my neighborhood I have never really taken the time to listen without seeing my surroundings. I usually have my ear buds on with music blasting when I am walking. I sat on a stoop for about an hour, wore a pair of sunglasses, and closed my eyes for the time being. I began to notice all the keynote sounds that were in an audible range from me. There were nature sounds that are usually drowned out by busy inner city life, such as birds chirping, a nice breeze that comes and goes and sounds pleasant, and the sound of leaves falling or scurrying on the ground. I could actually hear people talking/shouting in their apartments. I could hear subway trains underground making their way beneath me. There was also a prevalent sound signal that I heard multiple times that stuck out to me. The signal was usually derived from the Spanish-speaking storeowners who were voicing out deals being offered in hopes of luring potential customers. They yell out “peso, todo es solo por un peso!” which means everything is for one dollar. There were also some soundmarks that I overheard, which are sounds particularly regarded by a community or its visitors. The soundmarks that I overheard during my soundwalk were sounds of schools letting out and massive amounts of children screaming, some eloquent and some rather not so eloquent Spanish music flowing and sometimes screaming out of apartment complexes and cars passing by. Other soundmarks were just familiar people greeting and chatting with one another. After my hour of doing nothing but listening the soundwalk just further instilled the idea of community and family that lies in the core structure of Washington Heights. Through this soundwalk I managed to get a feel for the soundtrack of Washington Heights, and fall in love with the neighborhood all over again.