An echoing bridge

Here I was walking across a bridge that had a metal grated platform that the cars drove over. The sound that the bridge made as the cars drove over it echoed from one side to the other with a deep, urethral sound. I stuck the mics down at the base of the bride so that I could capture the sound of the bridge with minimal traffic interference. To hear the sound the bridge made click on the picture.

The Rusty Chain

As I was walking up behind the Bradley Center I noticed what at first was a faint sound with higher pitches that didn't seem like it was travelling too far.I saw at the entrance to a parking lot a sign that was attached to a metal post and had a chain dangling from it and another smaller sign dangling by one bolt. It was blowing in the wind and making an interesting sound that was light and actually seemed somewhat consistent for the situation. I got as close as I could with the mics and gathered a little sample of the chain. The selection is a small excerpt from the sound that the chain was basically making constantly as I walked by it. To hear a sample of the chain dangling click on the picture.

Tumbling along

While I was walking over by the Bradley Center I all of a sudden heard a sound coming up from behind me. It was interesting. It had a noisy sound with higher pitches and crunchy sounds, and was inconsistent in its pattern.I looked behind me to see an empty bag of chips tumbling across the ground. The noise was noticeable and ear catching. I saw that it was about 25 ft behind me and coming right towards me.I I took my microphones and held them about 2ft apart alt recorded the sound as I let the empty bag blow by.I tried to follow it a few feet more to get a longer recording of this, but it was hard to keep up with the bag without catching the sounds of myself walking along and the mics jostling around. However, a segment that I captured portrays well the sound of the chips as they move from one side of me to the other. To hear the sound of the chips you can click on the picture.

Glad I wasn't shovelling snow

As I walked down State St. towards Olde Third Ward St. I passed an alley where there was a man outside shovelling the snow away from a trash can near a back entrance to one of the restaurants or bars that is there. I heard him from far away, but wanted to try to get a little closer. I had my headphones on, so I figured it would look like I was just strolling along listening to music. I turned the recorder on and put it in my pocket set to low sensitivity. I put the mics in one hand and slid them up just inside my coat sleeve. I listened and adjusted the way they were positioned until they were still hidden, but picking up good sound. I then began to walk by him while recording and moving my hands trying to find steadiness and good quality recording. I realized I would have to stop walking for a few seconds when I got near him and pulled out my cell phone. I acted like I was just checking my calls or something, meanwhile I was steadying my hand and finding the right position about 15 ft away. I sat for about a minute "messing with my phone" while he continued his project undisturbed. Then I just walked away back the way I came as though I was lost. Click on the picture to hear the sound of a guy shovelling snow!

The steam pipe

I was walking along and came across a pipe coming out of the side of either an office building or appartment building lobby. I could hear the sound coming for awhile as I walked. As I approached the sound was deep and constant. I liked the way the sound had built as I walked up to it, so I decided to try to capture the effect by starting the mics out a few feet from the pipe. I moved them in and out a little, and around to different sides of the pipes. The result ot this sound segment reflects the feeling that I got from approaching the pipe, having heard it more quietly at first, and steadily getting richer and deeper as I approached to discover what it was. Click on the picture to hear the sound of the pipe steaming as I approached it.

How I chose my path

To decide where I would walk I took a google map of Milwaukee and hung it up on a wall. I then threw a dart at it and landed at (roughly) the intersection of 4th st. and Wells. I then picked cards to decide which ways to walk. I didn't think to write down the exact cards I drew, but I had a distinct set of rule that I followed. I chose which direction to walk initially by designating the spades to north, clubs were south, hearts were east and diamonds were west. I do remember that the first card was a king of spades, so I went north. From there I determined that red cards would be right turns, and black would be left. I also decided to make it a little more random by assigning cards 1-5 to one block, 6-10 to two blocks, and Jack through Ace would be three blocks. You can find a map of my drift here