"What I Hear"

“What I hear”

Sitting in central park on East 103^rd street

Initially laying in the grass in central park on the Upper East Side, all I heard were the lawn mowers and hedge clippers that were unfortunately maintaining the field the same time that I sat down. These soundmarks of central park are frequently heard in any field or landscaped area. However, after sitting silently and listening for about 5 minutes, I started to become attuned to the myriad of other sounds that served as keynotes in the background. These keynotes usually go unnoticed, as if immune to their mundane nature. However, with the incentive of this blog, I began to notice the hum of a far off jet plane. I noted the occasional chirping of birds that even outshined the landscape machinery. Being in New York City, one becomes extremely used to the sounds of people, talking, walking, singing, running, etc. However, when in the park you experience a peaceful atmosphere lacking the abundance of people. Therefore, I found myself being particularly attuned to the sounds that one single runner would make jogging by, which is extremely different than the usual sounds of hundreds of people. Over the machinery, I could make out his faded footsteps against the pavement. Two women power walking talked amongst themselves, producing a keynote of vocal tones that went from a low, serious chatter, to a high shrieking of laughter. Two men walked by, one holding a boom box. The music, intended to be a sound signal to attract attention, became another keynote as it was washed out by the lawnmowers. All of the sounds I hear contributed together to create one single atmosphere. Typically, I would have recognized the atmosphere alone, without pinpointing each individual sound. It was interesting to dissect the entire myriad of tones instead of grouping then together into one vague sound.