Soundwalks

Join ACA as we explore the sounds and rhythms of our urban and natural world. Each walk is beneficial for people of all ages to de-stress, focus, and develop a deeper understanding of how we fit into the ecosystem of our environment.

Join us at 11 AM for any of our Saturday Soundwalks:

September 24: Marine Discovery Center (meet outside the entrance): 520 Barracuda Boulevard

October 1: Spruce Creek Park (meet at fishing pier): 6250 S. Ridgewood Avenue

October 8: ACA Main Campus – This walk has been canceled due to Hurricane Mathew

October 15: Flagler Avenue, Peninsula Avenue (meet at Cor Meth Boutique): 201 S. Peninsula Avenue

October 22: Riverside Park (meet at Harris House): 214 S. Riverside Drive

October 29: Bethune Beach Park (meet at the main pavilion): 6656 S. Atlantic Avenue

After each Soundwalk, for those interested, you will have an opportunity to join in the creation of a ‘soundmap’ of NSB that will be a part of our December Exhibition at ACA at Harris House. This sound recording assignment will take less than one hour to make and is a collaborative creation that can be scheduled on your own time.  Join us Rain or Shine!

This event is free and limited to 20 participants. Please RSVP at this link: http://www.meetup.com/Soundwalk/

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Bio:

The curator and presenter of the NSB Soundwalk series is local musician, Lady Eve. She is a classical oboist and ambient music producer who has contributed to the sophisticated modern movement blending orchestral and electronic sound. She has performed at the Mutek Mexico Festival, 800 East Atlanta Art Collective, been a curator at Vancouver’s alternative performance festival: Signal & Noise, and produced her Pan Ambient event series with Seattle’s Decibel Festival.  As an active Zazen practitioner, Lady Eve incorporates mindfulness and awareness throughout her artistic endeavors. www.ladyeve.ca

https://soundcloud.com/nsbsoundmap      #nsbsoundwalk

What is a soundwalk?

“A soundwalk is any excursion whose main purpose is listening to the environment. It is exposing our ears to every sound around us no matter where we are. We may be at home, we may be walking across a downtown street, through a park, along the beach; we may be sitting in a doctor’s office, in a hotel lobby, in a bank; we may be shopping in a supermarket, a department store, or a Chinese grocery store; we may be standing at the airport, the train station, the bus-stop. Wherever we go we will give our ears priority. They have been neglected by us for a long time and, as a result, we have done little to develop an acoustic environment of good quality.” – Hildegard Westerkamp (published in Sound Heritage, 1974)

How can a soundwalk improve health?

Focused, silent walks can be a key to reducing stress levels, anxiety, distractions, and can improve breath control. Our sense of hearing is heightened, and awareness of our connection to nature is enhanced. Concentrating on the sound environment links us to the risk of noise pollution and solutions to create an ecologically balanced soundscape. Taking the time to listen to our surroundings gives us a deeper understanding of how our everyday actions affect both nature and our well-being.

How much walking will there be?

Each soundwalk is designed to move through different sound environments. We will be walking at a slow pace to allow for time to fully hear each location. Over the duration of one hour, a distance of approximately ½ mile will be traveled.

Rain or shine?

Yes. These walks are outdoors. Please check the weather before departing for the soundwalk, and prepare accordingly. Weather conditions affect the way sound travels. It is a wonderful experience to hear how the sound waves of a bird call in humid air travels differently than in dry air.

Are the soundwalks open to all ages?

Anyone can participate in a soundwalk. On our walks, we do ask that talking and distraction (cellphone use) be kept to a minimum to allow for the enjoyment of the environmental sounds. Therefore, small children may not be engaged enough in this activity to avoid becoming restless.

What is a soundmap?

Each individual location around the world has its own fingerprint of sound. Here in New Smyrna Beach, we have a diverse and vital ecosystem. Sound can give us a wider perspective of the health of our environment, and reveal things we cannot see. A soundmap is a tool used to map the sounds of a location. The soundmap that is being developed through the soundwalk program will use online mapping to present field recordings of various locations. Visitors to the online map can click on a location and hear the sound that was collected. Sounds will be archived at https://soundcloud.com/nsbsoundmap