Record a Soundscape

In this activity, you will record a soundscape of your home or neighborhood. You will practice listening, investigate how sound can invite a deeper understanding of the past, and gain insight into the impacts of human behavior and technology on the natural world.

Sit quietly with your eyes closed and listen closely to your environment.

• What do you hear?
• Can you distinguish between natural sounds and human-produced sounds?
• Is there a difference between sound and noise?

Turn on the Tascam recorder and let it run for a minute. Stop the recording.

• What did you learn by listening to your environment?
• Can you identify any soundmarks that make your home or neighborhood unique? A soundmark is a sound that makes the soundscape of a certain place different from any other place.
• How do you think sounds in your home or neighborhood have changed since March of 2020?

Give your soundscape a title, and identify the location, date, and time of day of the recording. This information will help researchers find and make use of their soundscape in the future!