When my ears were plugged all of my hearing was focused internally. I could hear my heartbeat, and my breathing. I could also barely hear the jets of airplanes and the rumble of large trucks nearby. When I unplugged my ears, my focus suddenly changed to that which was directly around me.
When my ears were plugged I could hear my my lung filling and emptying with air as well as my heartbeat. I could also barely hear the jets of airplanes and the rumble of large trucks nearby. When my ears were unplugged, I heard birds chirping vibrantly against the faint, but near constant rustle of leaves in the wind. I could hear cars going by, and planes were even more audible. One car screeched it's tires and another definitely needed a new muffler. A ways into the session it sounded as though someone started up a weed-whacker or other large power tool that's engine seemed to pulsate with the motion of the operators arms.
Most of the sounds were quite distinguishable, but there was some sort of bug that buzzed like a locust or something that I couldn't quite place, or obviously find. The power tool was also not definite, but it sure sounded like a weed-whacker. It was easy to hear the cars and trucks go by, but not always easy to differentiate the SUV's or cars. I could hear things in the distance and very far away. I remembered seeing basketball and tennis courts as we walked into the woods, and about halfway through the walk I could hear the distant bouncing of the basketball, and the light squeak of tennis shoes on pavement.
The wind would rustle the leaves in gusts, usually ever present, but not always in the foreground. When the wind picks up it would whistle my ears and push other sounds away. I was unable to make my own sounds, as the group was instructed to not make noise and listen to the sounds of the woods. I haven't heard anything quite as peaceful as Downer woods since I moved to Milwaukee from a rural town in northwestern Wisconsin. I will use this sound walk experience in the future, to know how to dig deep and find real sounds from my environment. It will definitely impact my experience as a media artist.
