{"id":151,"date":"2015-10-04T23:54:11","date_gmt":"2015-10-05T03:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/vlbrenna-sound2015\/?p=151"},"modified":"2015-10-04T23:58:04","modified_gmt":"2015-10-05T03:58:04","slug":"converse-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/vlbrenna-sound2015\/2015\/10\/04\/converse-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Converse Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Day in the Life of a College Student: Converse Style
\nBy Lindsay Chaplin<\/p>\n

Hearing is an ability that we all take advantage of; we consider the slight rumbling of trucks and mechanical hums of a heater to be a nuisance, when in fact they\u2019re a blessing in disguise. Within Sound and Society, various texts such as \u201cThe Voice of the Grain\u201d by Barthes, and \u201cOpen Ears\u201d by Schafer have open my eyes (and ears) to how sound has impacted my daily life. In fact, my perspective now has caused me to become more appreciative of all vibrations. With this new-found perspective, my classmates and I have the task to record ten prominent sounds here at the university and explain not only the significance of the sound, but also to contextualize it with our readings from class.<\/p>\n

Waking up in the frigid rooms of Converse, nothing sounds more appealing than a nice hot shower. Just by reading the word \u201cshower,\u201d you can already imagine the sound of the hissing water panging against the floor. Similarly, the tapping of footsteps, a creak and lock of a door and the murmuring of voices in a library are all something that we are familiar with; it\u2019s just a matter of how much we pay attention to it. In Hudspeth\u2019s \u201cThe Energetic Ear\u201d he states: \u201cMoreover, like many manmade feedback systems, the active process exhibits gain control: it can be turned up or down as circumstances dictate,\u201d (Hudspeth, p. 50). This leads to the idea that despite the ability to focus on particular sounds, we won\u2019t always have the ability to isolate ourselves from sound. As I write this paper I can hear people locking their doors, the bass of music through the floors, and murmuring voices in the background all at once. Yes, it can be an annoyance, but without those sounds my life would be filed with unbearable silence. We all have to face it: we all want what we can\u2019t have. There will always be a constant battle between what is considered to be \u201cnoise\u201d or \u201csound,\u201d and it all has to do with how you decide to perceive it.<\/p>\n

In the piece, \u201cSenses of Vibrations: A History of the Pleasure and Pain of Sound,\u201d Shelly Trower discusses the idea that hearing is not just one sense, but a full body experience for individuals. Looking from this perspective, many vibrations can be a pleasant experience. For an example, listening to ringing of the phone until a loved one answers is a comforting moment as they greet us with a warm \u201chello.\u201d A particular song can also cause a swelling of emotions, whether that is of happiness or sadness. Within my Podcast that I created, I used the theme song from Scrubs because, although it is short, it brings me joy knowing that I can relax and unwind to a great comedy. In addition to this, \u201cThe Grain of the Voice,\u201d by Roland Barthes, the idea of \u201cthe grain\u201d illustrates the presence (or lack thereof) technicality, uniqueness, and mind and soul of the performer in their piece; each individual can experience a sense of pleasure or emptiness towards music, it is just a matter of having a connection. The song \u201cHello, I\u2019m in Delaware,\u201d by City and Colour, is a song that I would consider to have \u201cthe grain\u201d regardless of when or where I listen to it due to the numerous emotions it evokes.; it grabs my attention, the singer relaxes me with his soothing voice, but yet my mind wanders from a distance thinking about my past in relation to the lyrics.<\/p>\n

Each of the examples that I have presented all hold value to me, regardless of how small the sounds are. Similar to Schafer\u2019s ideas in terms of how our history has been influenced by both opened and closed ears, as students at University of Vermont, we have the power to not only change how we view vibrations as a whole, but impact how our peers view campus sounds.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Citations<\/p>\n

Trower, Shelly. “Introduction: Hearing Vibrations.”\u00a0Senses of Vibration: A History of the Pleasure and Pain of Sound<\/em>. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 1-12. Print.<\/p>\n

Hudspeth, A. J.\u00a0The Energetic Ear<\/em>. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 50. Print.<\/p>\n

Scrubs the Complete Season Seven<\/em>. ABC, 2007.<\/p>\n

Barthes, Roland.\u00a0The Grain of the Voice<\/em>. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.<\/p>\n

City and Colour.\u00a0Hello, I’m in Delaware<\/em>. 2005. MP3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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