I have never been adept at hearing. I would pay attention in class or listen to my mother’s directions, but I was never very skilled at hearing and comprehending…until now. Throughout our WRI 101: Voice, Noise, Sense, Sound course at Davidson, my understanding of sound has been transformed. At the beginning of the semester, I paid attention during class, but was not struck with a true interest in the topic until later in the year when we conducted hands-on studies, delving deeper into the meanings of everyday noises. Through the progression of our assignments, I recognized the patterns of how each unit in the course was connected to each other, and to my everyday life.
During the first few weeks of the course we immersed ourselves in the topic. We discussed the theoretical ideas of philosophers such as Aristotle and his perceptions on the soul and voice in the body. At the time, I did not find this topic particularly intriguing because it did not seem personally relevant. It was not until rereading this first essay that I was able to connect its importance to my life. In Writing Project #1, I compared the work of sound poet, Christian Bök, to the concepts of sound theorists, Aristotle and Adriana Cavarero. My argument was that “the content of a literary piece does not necessarily need to be analyzed for deeper meaning; sometimes the different uses of voice versus sound and the reason it is in existence in the first place is the most important idea” (Kay 1). I stated that often times, sounds do not need to be overly analyzed and probed for deeper meaning; however, after completing this course, my views have now changed. It’s imperative to scrutinize sounds in order to gather as much information as possible because as R. Murray Schafer recognizes, “only a total appreciation of the acoustic environment can give us the resources for improving the orchestration of the world soundscape” (Schafer 4). Acknowledging the entirety of our surroundings, to include any noises which may be present, gives us a complete understanding of our environment and our society as a whole.
Our next assignment, Writing Project #2, revolved around the benefits and consequences of certain vocal productions in a cultural context. This project helped me further understand the significance of sound and encouraged me to connect my outside knowledge of popular culture to new insights I gained from this course. In this assignment, I utilized Kanye West’s hit song, “Blood on the Leaves”, and his sample from Nina Simone’s, “Strange Fruit”, to explain the impact music can have on a community. I described how “Kanye alludes to more important issues than simply voice or sound by tackling the controversial concepts of race and violence, while simultaneously turning it into a popular rap song” (Kay 1). Before this course, I did not fully recognize the impact that popular culture can have upon a community. Kanye’s piece, simultaneously created heated controversy, while also tackling cultural issues that needed to be brought to the forefront of discussion. Kanye connects his highly criticized life in popular culture to the lifestyle of African Americans during the lynching era through his contentious sampling of “Strange Fruit”: “…black celebrities are heavily scrutinized and criticized by the press, almost as if they are being ‘judged and hung’ by the surrounding white masses, drawing parallels to American history” (Kay 3). A more recent reading that has further helped reaffirm my understanding of Kanye’s use of sampling is DJ Spooky’s Rhythm Science. In his book, DJ Spooky writes, “sampling plays with different perceptions of time. Sampling allows people to replay their own memories of the sounds and situations of their lives” (Spooky 28-29). This concept of replaying and interpreting memories from a different time parallels to Kanye’s sampling of Nina Simone, as he compares his current situation with the history of lynching. He takes this powerful song from the oppression era and transforms it into a controversial modern cultural context that contemporary audiences can only understand if they work to see the hidden messages. Kanye demonstrates a concept that was new to me before this course regarding the importance of scrutinizing and deciphering sound in order to find the underlying meaning.
The aspect of this course that perhaps had the most significant impact upon my life, however, was Writing Project #3 about the Davidson soundscape. This assignment asked us to choose a space on campus and unpack the sounds associated with it. The space that I chose is one in which I have spent an exponential amount of time during this semester: the E.H. Little Library. Before this course, the seemingly unremarkable background noises in the library were not of much interest to me; however, over time I have learned how to listen to these sounds–that did not seem important–and to recognize the concealed messages. For example, the sneeze in the book stacks was not as simple as it seemed; it also indicated pollen allergies that comes with the impending spring in North Carolina, as well as flu season on the Davidson College campus. The constant library chatter and laughter was not simply a nuisance to my study habits, it also signified the exact time of day (usually around 8:00 PM) when the library turned into more of a social space than a study space. And finally, such a large number of students were coming and going at 8:00 PM that the squeaky door hinges become what R. Murray Schafer would call a “keynote” sound: “the anchor or fundamental tone and although the material may modulate around it, often obscuring its importance, it is in reference to this point that everything else takes on its special meaning” (Schafer 9). Through these miniscule “audible clues” in the library, I was able to detect underlying meanings such as the time of day, season, and even region in which I was situated. This third project allowed me to truly bring the knowledge that I have gained throughout the course into practice and to realize the significant impact that noise has upon my daily life.
Reflecting back on this course, I recognize now that it has opened my eyes (and ears) to a new realm of possibilities. To be honest, I came into the class with a sense of dread, which can be attributed to the fact that this course was not my first choice and I did not know what to expect; however, I am now leaving with a significantly broader and deeper understanding of the topic of sound. As Schafer points out, “noises are the sounds we have learned to ignore”, but my time in this course has taught me to be mindful of these often-ignored noises–and to utilize them to my advantage in order to acquire more information (Schafer 4). In the future, I will employ the skills I have learned from this course to be more mindful and observant of the world around me. We need to scrutinize the noises, voices, and sounds in our lives because in doing so, comes a heightened and a more thorough understanding of our current society, and culture as a whole.
Works Cited
Schafer, R. Murray. The Soundscape, Sound Studies Reader. Edited by Jonathan Sterne, Taylor and Francis, 2012.
Spooky, DJ. Rhythm Science. MIT Press, 2004.
