Final Sound Blog

From where I'm sitting on my balcony I can actually see the heatwaves radiating from the roof across the way for the first time this spring. Now that winter seems to be well behind us, to sit outside all day is all I can think of, and if I've got to get homework done, this couldn't be a more enjoyable way to go about it. The few projects I have left are wrapping themselves up and as they do the end-of-semester stresses melt away with the warm spring weather. Its funny how the sunny weather can make a person feel like that.
It's interesting how much better it is with music. Reggae for today, obviously – it reminds me of the sun. Makes this beautiful day all the more incredible. It seems to have this way of enhancing everything that we do, and there's a music to fit any scenario. Its enhancing effect could be compared to other vices, only without all of the negative repercussions that go along with them.
I'm living on a couch in the Plateau. I just moved here last weekend, and I love it. This area is the seem that fuses French and English Montreal together. Walking in the street or buying something at a depanneur, a person becomes well aware of that. The conversations are in both languages, and if someone talks to you in one language and you make a confused face at them, they'll immediately change to the other. Even if you're not bilingual (like me) everyone else is. A sound scape so vibrant and full of life, and then in two languages, such as the one that the Plateau has, is unique in North America. What's more, the plateau is a hub of creativity. It's like a petri dish of cultures where walking in the street exposes a person to a myriad of media, visual, audio and more.
To be honest, sound was my lesser choice of the production classes. I have always considered myself to be more of a visual and tactile person in terms of creative ability and so sound has always fallen to the wayside in exchange for other endeavours. It is true though, as I've learned, that an aural element, skillfully constructed and applied, can really bring a piece of visual media to new levels. Perhaps this is due to the same process in which music breathes new life into our every day experiences. In studying sound and learning about the importance of the aural element I have definitely become more aware of the spectrum of possible sound scapes in the variety of environments in which we live. In this rapidly changing society in which we live, some sound experiences which we take for granted can slip away into the past without us noticing. I was interested to learn about the practice of sound ecology as a means of preserving the sound scapes that which we forget about as we live through the decades. Unlike visual forms, aural forms exist only in the present.
My experience with the sound scapes that surround me as I move through my life have become more intimate. Where before I would process mostly my visual sensory experiences, I now consider interesting sound scapes an equally important mode of recollection and conveyance. I expect that the knowledge that I have gained in studying sound will work to improve my ability to create effective media.