Author Archives: Andrew Acs

Balloon Pop in the Atrium Outside of the Lyon Court Laundry Room 2/22/17

reverb-Pomona-Wig Hall-Atrium Outside of Laundry Room2:22:17

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Space Description: The atrium outside of the Lyon Court laundry room has low ceilings. The entire area in made of hard concrete, so every sound in “boomy”. The atrium has walkways that lead to the courtyard in between Harwood Court and Lyon Court, and to the open space between Harwood and Mudd-Blaisdell, a neighboring dorm. The recording took place at 9:15 PM on February 28, 2017.

Recording Setup: The TASCAM DR-40 Linear PCM was placed on a bench attached to the wall, and was facing towards the walkways leading away. The balloon (approx 18″) was tossed into the air, then popped when it was about 4′ off the ground, and about 3′ away from the recording device.

Reverberation Times:

Max Intensity: 87.5 dB

-30 dB: .796 Seconds

-50dB: 1.737 Seconds

Minimum Intensity: 32.3 dB after 2.6 Seconds

Acoustic Description: Although the atrium itself is fairly closed off, the area around it is very open, so once the sound escapes, there is nothing for it to echo off of. The graph shows that there were not many bumps in the decay. This is because of the lack of echo that the space produces – the sound is amplified due to the enclosure, but the sound is able to escape to where it does not echo.

Soundscape from Black and Yellow Sculpture Outside Thatcher Music Building 2/22/27

Pomona-Thatcher Music Building-Sculpture Outside2:22:17

Location: Outside of Thatcher Music Building

Recording Setup: The TASCAM DR-40 Linear PCM was placed on top of the black and yellow sculpture, and was facing in the direction of Little Bridges.

About the Soundscape: This recording took place at 3:42 PM on Tuesday, February 28. At this time, most students are either still in class or studying, so not many people were out and about. The characteristic sounds of this soundscape are not unique to the area; throughout the recording, cars driving on College Avenue, birds chirping, and wind can be heard. The sound of the wind was exaggerated because it was an unusually windy day, and the wind screen was not on the recording device. Based on my experience in this location, keynotes of this soundscape are wind through trees (the rustling of leaves inaudible in the recording), cars driving on College Avenue, and birds chirping. If I had made my recording about 15 minutes later, there would have been more sounds of people, because classes end at 4:00 PM, so people leaving the building would have been picked up by the recording device.

Soundscape From Harwood Court Room 233 Balcony 2/22/17

Pomona-Harwood Court-Room 233 Balcony2:22:17

Location: Harwood Court Room 233 Balcony

Recording Setup: The TASCAM DR-40 Linear PCM was placed on the balcony of the room facing Bonita Avenue.

About the Soundscape: The recording was made at 8:51 PM, on February 28, 2017. This was a lively evening in the room, as one resident was playing a video game while talking to a friend through the console’s headset; the other was watching a show on Netflix with a friend. The prominent feature of this recording is the voice of the resident playing video games, as he was closer to the recording device. He was speaking in Portuguese. The voices of the others can be heard faintly in the background, as well as periodic coughs and laughs. About a third of the way through the recording, a character in the show breaks out into song. Later, an emergency vehicle drives down College Avenue with sirens on. The room is close enough to that street to hear its traffic, especially when the window is open. The main keynote of this soundscape is traffic on College Avenue and Bonita Avenue. The soundmark of this soundscape are the conversations each resident is having; it is not uncommon for either of the residents to be playing a video game or watching a show. Despite this, the room is not usually that loud – most of the conversations I have had with people living in that room or a neighboring room have happened in either the hallway or a different room.