Exploring the Emotional Impact of Everyday Sounds
During this exercise, I studied two daily situation and my own perception of them. The intention was on understanding how everyday sounds can evoke emotions and influence perception.
Bus #32, Zürich
This audio comes from the bus number 32 at 5 pm on a sunny Friday afternoon. The scene is very lively with numerous people cramming into the bus at the Limmatplatz Station. A diverse population is on the bus, from children to elderly people, with skaters and businessmen in between. The traffic is heavy, and the general acoustic scene at the station is lively.
List of sounds from most emergent and catchy to most overheard:
- People Chatting (constant)
- Engine Noise (loud at first and at the end)
- Traffic sounds (constant)
- People moving in the bus (constant)
- Bus driver announcment (momentary at the end)
- Laughter (faint)
- Bus Door bipping (very faint at the end)
The sound scene is a constant overlapping of loud sounds. Truthfully, I am immune to it by habit. Still, by consciously opening myself to the experience, I see a very overwhelming scene with people and things moving and making sounds everywhere around me, augmented by the feeling of being crammed. I see how this situation could be very tiring acoustically over a long period of time.
However, as I am used to it, it is also a short moment signifying going home. It therefore has a sort of comfort that is triggered by the experience, including the acoustic.
Joseph-von-Deschwanden-Platz, ETH Hönggeberg
This audio comes from the Joseph-von-Deschwanden-Platz in the centre of ETH Honggeberg. It’s lunch and people are out to get food at the food trucks and the different mensas and all have to come through here. Since it rained 30 minutes prior, the crowd is smaller than usual at the food trucks.
List of sounds from most emergent and catchy to most overheard:
- People walking (ponctual)
- Kebab elctric cutter (Buzzing sound in the backround)
- Bus (at the beginning)
- People chatting
- Laughter (faint)
The sound scene has a lot of sounds but a general calmness due to the poor weather. It is relaxing in contrast to the busy architecture studio and provides a balancing break. The Kebab cutter is relatively annoying after hearing it for a while due to the repetition of a distinct unpleasant electric cutting sound.
