Project: The Bells of Cologne Cathedral

Survey: Eleven Bells (9:55) This video documents the sound of the 11 bells of the Cologne Cathedral (Germany) and provides specific information about each. It is noted that the largest bell in this cathedral is the "great" of Germany and European Union. A "great bell" is arbitrarily defined as one which weighs at least 4 tons.

Project: Soundwalking Interactions

Soundwalking Interactions (6:16) "This project investigates how people listen during soundwalk activities and artworks. This video documents the process and performance for a presentation at the Society Of Dance History Scholars Conference 2011.

This creative process began with the 7 members of the team participating in a soundwalk together and recording it. Next the team reviewed the recording as a group to identify interesting segments of sound which were then extracted out of the overall sound recording creating a series of shorter clips. These clips were placed in the interactive space to be manipulated by dancer movement. The choreographer then worked with the dancers to create a piece.

Dancers manipulate sound through motion tracking of gestures. Visualizations of transcoding are projected on a screen in the space."  Source: YouTube

Soundscape: Tourist Railroad

Oregon Coast Railroad Soundscape (5:55) The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad is a non-profit museum group that runs antique tourist steam trains between Garibaldi and Wheeler in the US State of Oregon. The goal of the organization is to keep the history of costal railroading available for the public to learn from and to appreciate. Videographer Jeff Johnston captures the sound and sight of a classic locomotive and consist on a beautiful day along the Pacific Ocean just before Christmas. Source: YouTube.

Soundscape: Thermal Sounds of Yellowstone

Sounds of Yellowstone (8:28) This is a beautiful documentation of the sounds of the many thermal vents, mud pots, hot springs and more in Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone is located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The 3,468 square mile park was established in 1872 and is considered to be the first national park in the world. It contains half of the world's geothermal features. Its amazing soundscape is effectively captured in this video by Edward Mitchell. Source: VIMEO 

Research: Sound Around You - Part 2

"The Sound Around You" is a world wide soundscape research project using a free app for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod, or one's own recorder, that allows one to capture, comment on, and upload their day-to-day sound environment to a sound map. A goal of the project is to raise awareness of how our soundscape influences us - information that might have implications for professions and social groups ranging from urban planners to house buyers. Access Map.  Also, Click2Read background material archived on this blog March 12, 2012.

Sound Around You Video Diary. These were early tests of the software and mapping system by Researcher Charlie Mydlarz. 

• Promo Video  - Project Overview by Charlie Mydlarz

• In and around Paris

• Bryant Park - New York City

• Time Square Part 1 - NYC

• Time Square Part 2  - NYC

• Trump Towner - NYC

• Central Park 1 - NYC

• Central Park 2 - NYC

• Central Park 3 - NYC

• Central Park 4 - NYC

• Exchange Square, Manchester, UK

• Urbis Garden, Manchester, UK

• Printworks, Manchester, UK

• Parsonage Gardens, Manchester, UK

Soundwalk: Bogata Columbia

Soundwalk Bogota (3:22) The cameraman walks around the city of Bogota, Columbia capturing the soundscape of street and pedestrian traffic, a flower market, a rehearsal space, and other acoustic characteristics of the city. Source: YouTube

Project: Soundscape Diary Bryant Park NY

Bryant Park Diary (2:26) Using the Soundscape Around You project mobile phone application, Researcher Charlie Mydlarz explores the soundscapeof New York Cit's Bryant Park. In this video he explains the documentation process and how he rates the environment on scales from 1 - 9 for "pleasantness", "tranquility" etc. This data is then shared with the Soundscape Around You project. Click2Learn more about this project.

Project: Acoustic Architecture and Music

St. George's (6:50) A site-specific exploration by fourteen musicians who worked on site for three months to become a part of St. George's, Bloomsbury, intricate acoustic architecture. Source: YouTube

Interview: Composer Emily Dolittle

Emily Dolittle (9:22) Andrew Stiefel, Artistic Director of the Eugene Contemporary Chamber Ensemble, interviews composer and zoomusicologist Emily Dolittle about her interdisciplinary work researching the song of the Hermit Thrush and the inspiration for her piece, Falling Still.

"Canadian-American composer Emily Doolittle was born in Nova Scotia in 1972 and educated at Dalhousie University, the Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague, Indiana University and Princeton. Her doctoral research was on the relationship between bird and other animal songs and human music, a field in which she continues to be active. Since 2008 she has been Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle." For a full biography, please visit her website Source: Vimeo

Soundscape: New Orleans Street Scene

Spontaneous Dance Scene (2:33) The soundscape of the French Quarter in New Orleans (Louisiana, USA) is frequently filled with street music. In this video, a spontaneous moment takes place on Frenchmen street when, while listening to a busking swing band, a senior citizen visiting from Greece is swept up to dance by a young man walking by pushing a stroller. Source: YouTube.

Project: Listening people / Sounding Places

Listening People/Sounding Places (8:06) "This project aims to understand the role that sound plays within the ecology of urban life, through a continuous series of analytical exercises and artistic interventions. Working with sound implies that all activities are context specific as sound is always intimately linked to space in which it occurs and the materials and actions from which it originates. The dimensions of these sonic possibilities are as varied as the architectural and social contexts of urban environments." This is a collaborative project led by John Grzinich in cooperation with Muzeum Sztuki Łódź. More details with video. Source: YouTube.

Soundscape: Street Crossings Part 1

Acoustic street crossing signals have become "soundmarks" within the urban soundscape. Here are four short videos that provide variations on signaling around the world.

Pedestrian Light (:37) Michal Rinott documents an intersection in which a red no walk signal includes a beeping sound. The walk signal is silence. Source: Vimeo.

Street Crossing (2:57) Ronald Lambert's video of  "Street Crossings" documents a sound installation - a duet. "The work performs along side an existing gesture of municipal aesthetics in the urban soundscape, in downtown Nashville. Electronic bleeps and blips punctuate the urban traffic drone when it is time cross the street. This work fills and extends that moment with a superimposed sonic layer." Source: Vimeo

Signals for Blind  (:10) Music is used to guide blind pedestrians across an intersection.  A blind person can hear one specific sound when the east-west street is clear for crossing, and another distinctly different sound when the north-south street is clear for crossing. Source: YouTube

Street Crossing in Costa Rica (:57) Bird sounds signal pedestrians to cross this complex soundscape of urban traffic.

Soundwalk: Hopkins River

Hopkins River (3:49) This video by James Russell explores, using still image sequences and field recordings, the soundscape encountered from the bridge to the mouth of the Hopkins River in southwestern Victoria.

Project: Road Music

RoadMusic Project (4:34) RoadMusic is a project by Sound Artist Peter Sinclair in which the road becomes the score, the drive becomes the musician, and the music becomes the sound of the situation. The idea is to have a live sonic experience in which music is created from your ride for your ride. Sensors gather data about bumps, curves, accelerations and braking while a camera analyses the visual scene. This data is used by custom software, on a dedicated on-board computer, (AutoSync) to generate sound. RoadMusic is a new art object, participating in a very recent art form - artistic real-time sonification. Sinclair is specifically interested in the situation of the car ride in which we are "traditionally" estranged from the audio environment through which we travel. Source: RoadMusic

Lecture: Claudio Curciotti World Loudness

The Loudness of the Contemporary World (6.2)  Sound artist Claudio Curciotti is the creator of the sound web-archive Field Abuse, a blog focused on the loudness of the contemporary world in relation with religion, ethnic music and traditional cultures. In this short video he highlights two of his projects created in India (2010) and in Egypt (2011). Coming from an electronic music and digital media background, in his work emerges a sensibility towards the acoustic textures, intensities and the rhythmic relationship between sounds and images. Source: Vimeo

Soundscape: Mexico City

Mexico City Soundscapes (3:11) This is an audio slide-show production: a story photographed and recorded by four blind and visually impaired photographers showcasing the sounds of Mexico City's streets related to trades that are slowly but surely disappearing. The project was proposed by Gerardo Ramirez, who worked with his fellow students from the Sight of Emotion organization, Edgar Angeles, Jose Sebastian Munoz and Miguel Fabian. Chico Sanchez edited the audio and photos and produced this audio-slide show. Source: YouTube

Soundscape: Alaska Raven Call

Sound of Ravens (2:21) This short video by Doug Brown, is a recording of a Raven on a crisp sunny day in Anchorage, Alaska. The videographer notes: "Ravens are known to make about 33 distinct sounds which are also combined to make even more sounds. I've always found their vocalizations amazing on a cold, clear, sunny day in winter with the Raven in a near-by tree... it's very much the essence of the Far North for me" Source: YouTube

Interview: Daniel Perlin

The Importance Of Sound Perception (6:55) Daniel Perlin, a sound designer from New York curated a workshop at Strelka and Domus Mixtapes Sound of Moscow event. In this video he talks about the way we may perceive the world through attentive listening to the soundscape environment. He also discusses his own projects, importance of local musicians, potential of sounds as means of communication and also explains what Moscow sounds tell him about the city.

Soundwalk: Grand Central Terminal

Grand Central Terminal (4:06)  This audio/slide program by Carlin M. Wragg is a soundwalk through New York City's Grand Central Terminal. It was recorded on February 3, 2011 as an exercise for Sound and The City, a course taught by Daniel Perlin for NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Soundwalk: Blind listening walk

Soundwalk (4:52) (Italian only). In this soundwalk students of the Professional Institute for the Blind Aurelio Nicolodi (Florence) take a soundwalk to develop an awareness of the soundscape of the Parco Villa il Ventaglio. The walk follows a traditional format - introduction, walk and listening, and debriefing session. Source: YouTube.