The first place I went to too listen to all of what was going on was the dining hall. I went to Graham dinning hall, which is right next to my dorm. As I as amongst many other students I took a few minutes to emerge into all of the sounds going on. There were many different sounds it was hard to focus on what everything exactly was. The sound that was most overwhelming to me was the vas variety of all the voices. Although I could not focus on what everyone was exactly saying I could pick up of the different tones and levels of peoples voices. There were some light pitched laughing while there were also low male voices that seemed to be telling story. The large variety of voices emerged into one mumble of sound. Along with voices there were also the sounds of falling plastics cups that would create a clanking sound as it bounced off the ground. There was also the sound of metal utensils being dropped into the wash bucket making a slight splashing sound as it hit the soapy water.

The next place I went where I listened to all of the sounds going on was the Carrier dome during Saturday’s basketball game. There were many sounds from the moment walking through the turning doors. These doors made a sound a strong wind and dragging rubber on the floor. Walking into the dome there are the constant beeping of people getting their tickets swiped. This then led to the pattering and thumping of foot steps as people rushed to find their seats. As you walk to your seat there are men yelling in a low voice which ends on a higher tone trying to sell programs to people that walk by. Once the game starts you can hear the different high and low instruments in the band that play together to form one unified sound. There is a constant murmur of voices yelling in harmony to cheers. There are also moments of kayos when the ref makes a bad call and everyone rises in an uproar yelling all sorts of names. Another constant sound in the dome at this time is the bouncing of the basketball, thumping of the players running and the refs blowing their whistles. There is also the scoreboard buzzer that blows for each period. During this game all of these sounds are going at once so that if you focus on one you are missing another.

The third place I went to too listen to its sounds was the quad. There were many of the same similar sounds on the quad as there were in the dining hall and dome. As I sat on the quad and listen to all that was going on there was much more peacefulness than in the first two places I went to. There were the sounds of the blowing wind creating a whooshing and whistling sound. As people talking by on the side walk there was clunking of people wearing high heals. There was also the scuffling sound of people walking by wearing uggs or sneakers. I could hear the sound of people who were breathing heavily or those with a sniffley nose. Many of the people who walked by were talking on their cell phones so I could hear the different voices of the one-way conversation of people of their phones. In some cases I even heard peoples phones ring.

I realized how many sounds I hear a day that I don’t even pay attention to but that I know I hear.