Doppler Effect

February 9, 2007
4:40 PM


This recording I made while I was sitting on a park bench almost at the first curve of the park walkway. It was the friendliest recording I made, complete with chirping birds and cars driving past. You can hear the waterfall really well here because I am further down toward it than in the other recordings. I am turned toward Corinna Boulevard, a street that runs parallel to Frame Park to the left. When you look at the original map, it would be on the right of the map. It is more downtown here, so it has a homey feel to it, especially with the bird sounds. Click here to listen.

Branches on the Dock

Friday, February 9, 2007
4:05 PM


I continued walking down the first stretch of the walkway in Frame Park until I saw the docks. I wasn't sure what kind of recordings I could get there except for more highway noises and the waterfall, perhaps a few factory noises from across the park. But once I got to the end of the dock, I saw that somehow a branch from a tree had gotten stuck or been put into one of the metal rods that support the dock. The river was frozen, so I thought it would be interesting to be able to get some recordings from the water below. I also heard the tree branch making noises against the pole. It sounded interesting, so I stuck both mics into the pole and listened. Alot of sound travels in water because it is denser than air, so I got a very strong recording of the waterfall. Coupled with the branch knocking, and I got my favorite recording from the whole trek. It was another recording that made me feel lonely, but I also felt part of the park's lonely heart; it's very pulse. Click here for the recording.

Reeds

February 9, 2007
3:20 PM


For this recording I walked down a bit past the first leg of the walkway. I passed the bathrooms and the kid's playground, and walked down a few yards until I hit some reeds by the water. The wind was pretty strong that day so the reeds were making quite a racket! It reminded me of open fields like you see in Bambi or such. I felt it really brought out the heart of the park in the dead of winter. Normally there would be kid noises and people out walking and jogging and playing sports and skating and cycling and picnicking, but now it seemed lonely and desolate. I felt that since it was so quiet that I could hear the reeds, then it must be even quieter than I thought. The reeds made me feel lonely inside, and I was sure I felt that loneliness throughout the whole park. Click here to hear the reeds rustling in the lonely wind. You can also detect the highway in the background as well.

Now the Toilet

Friday, February 9, 2007
2:45 PM


For this recording I chose to get some sound from the lady's bathroom again. The more recordings I did there, the more I realized that you could hear the hum of the park waterfall in every recording I did. I didn't even know the waterfall was working since the lake was frozen. While I was in the bathroom, though, I kept hearing background noises and wondering what they were. In this recording you can also hear the thrum of cars outside on Highway 18. For this recording I stuck one mic in a bucket under the divider between stalls, and the other I stuck in the toilet bowl. It made a high pitched noise from the toilet and a close-in, dampered noise from the left mic. It made for a nice contrast in the recording. You coudl hear the two mics almost fighting each other in harmonial dissonance. You can also quite strongly still hear the heater. Click here to hear the recording.

In The Bathroom

Friday, February 9, 2007
2:15 PM


This first recording I got from the heater in the women's bathroom at the park. It was making a strong blowing noise as it should, but there was also some dreadful knocking noises it made as well. I'd never heard anything quite like it, so I made sure to get a recording of it. I had my mics beneath the heater so that the noise wasn't overwhelming, and I had them pointed at opposite walls. This way I got a more subtle, echoing effect. Click here to listen to the heater.

My Location

I decided to get some sound recordings from a local park in the heart of downtown Waukesha, Wisconsin. It's called Frame park, and it's right off of Highway 18 and North Avenue. Fox River runs straight under the highway and there is a bridge built over it. The rest of the park is basically a walkway built around the river. It's a good couple miles long. There is always something going on there, even in the dead of winter. There was less human activity during this time of course but there were plenty of other noises to catch. I have posted a map for you all to see the layout of the park. I went on this sound trek on Friday, February 9th.

Stupid Blogger!!!

God I hate Blogger! This is my second blog and it's got the wrong address because I couldn't
sign in to the first one I created weeks ago. But this is the new one, w/e. My assignments will be here. If I can sign in again.