Morning Glory

Walking to work this morning was wonderful. I stepped off the tram listening to the gentle shuffle of morning footsteps break from a heaving cluster in the station, spreading out in polyrhythm into the crisp damp morning. The sound of forty soles padding away at different speeds, velocities and intensities at the start of their sonic day.

I only catch a snippet of the audio collage that each of these people will create today, but it would be amazing to be able to tune in closer, because even from a relative distance each persons walk sounds unique, and is dependent on factors such as mood, gender and weight, style of shoe, weather and terrain.

Today was bright but the ground was damp, meaning that instead of sounding fierce and mechanical the cars zipped past me lapping and fizzing like waves, the sound of calm emanating from the warm growl of their engines, the glitch and crackle of tyres fighting to grip the road.

The sound was repetitive, circular, and rhythmic, aided by the time and space between vehicles lending a bustling but unhurried feel to the occasion, allowing me to hear subtle nuances, changes in pitch and panorama as vehicles came closer or moved further away, how sounds interact, combine and breed as one vehicle passes another.

Just as I near my place of work I hear the church bells ring out behind me and I think a little about how sounds symbolise times, cultures and behaviours. I felt relaxed today, and I truly believe that my morning sonic experience had a lot to do with that.