transportation

Sound recording of bicycle bell rung by Kwanza Hall on the Proctor Creek Greenway (PCG). Recorded with Zoom H6 recorder and Rode NTG2 shotgun condenser microphone. The bright, almost shrill chirp of the bell cuts through the otherwise serene soundscape of the PCG. Despite not conforming with the rest of the soundscape, however, it is nevertheless part of the welcoming culture of the PCG as it is the sound of multiple people and multiple methods of transportation interacting—it is the sound of a biker warning those on foot that s/he is approaching. It is additionally a sound of the safe pathway within the PCG itself as the ringing of a bicycle bell warns everybody on the path to be alert such that no accidents happen.

Position, distance, and location can all change the way you hear sounds. This is the sound of a train horn in the distance versus when it is getting closer and closer. Notice, you may hear vibrations the second time the horn blows. This is because the sound as well as the actual moving of the train caused the ground and my car to vibrate lightly, my phone had touched the car door as I was recording which reflected in the audio. You can also hear sounds of crickets because this was recorded at night in my car as I waited for a train to pass by. There is an abrupt transition in the recording as it goes from far away to close up because the sound was edited to be shorter than the original recording. This was recorded using the voice memo feature on the iPhone 7 Plus.

Sound recording of a person getting off the Bull City Connector, a local bus in Durham, NC. As the bus comes to a stop, the door rattles and makes a ticking sound. The door clicks open, and the bus lets air out to lower itself for the person getting off. There is an announcement for the safety of the passengers, from both the inside and the outside of the bus. Air whooshes out as the break is released, and the bus leaves with a loud engine noise, getting quieter as the bus moves farther away. Recorded on a Zoom H4N.

Soundscape on the Bull City Connector, a local bus in Durham, North Carolina. People are having conversations, and the bus is rattling as it comes to a stop for the intersection. The bell rings as someone requests for a stop. Recorded on a Zoom H4N.

Sound recording of an elevator being ridden from the second floor to the first floor of Randolph residence hall on Duke University's East Campus. Recorded on a Zoom H4N.

A recording of the sound of a GE-90 Boeing 777 airplane engine as it takes off.

This recording gives us a variety of frequencies of one sound, which is really helpful when it comes to learning about sounds. By getting close to the source of the sound, the sound became louder and the frequency was higher. In contrast to when the distance between the sound source, in this case the bus, and the recording device (iPhone 6) increased, the sound was not as loud and the frequency of the sound was lower. While recording, I was holding the recording device in my hand and kept it as still as possible. I started by siting on the bench at the bus stop, but after a period of time I decided to get closer to the bus. The bus seemed like one of those old, public transportation buses, not one of the new, more modernized buses. Also this recording was recorded at night, approximately 8 PM.

This is an experiment testing how people change their levels of volume according to the environment that they are in. Here, we discover how people subscribe to a certain set of generally-accepted social guidelines regarding appropriate noise level of a given location. This recording is one example of how sound is incorporated into cultural and social norms. The recording begins on the Duke University C1 bus and ends on the East Campus quad.

From the adjacent sidewalk, I took this sound recording of an articulated bus passing through the tunnel leading to Duke's East campus. The audio begins as the bus approaches the entrance of the tunnel. The noise intensifies as the bus proceeds to halfway point of the tunnel where I stood holding the mic and then fades as it exits. Recorded on iPhone 5.

Sound recording of the noise made when buckling a seatbelt, including both the sound of pulling down the seatbelt and the click of fastening it.