Deep Listening Exercise

Cyber Cafe

On Monday after class I sat in the Cyber Cafe and I did the assignment. The entire ten minutes of sitting there I heard a background noise of low toned voices just surrounding me. There was also the low frequency of the heater consistently blowing air. I also heard more distinct noises that would only last for a short duration. Coming from the kitchen part of the cafe (to my left) were the sounds of a blender at a very high amplitude. It sounded as if ice was being crushed up. I also heard the squeaky compression of a toaster. Over the period of me listening I noticed that even though the voices were constant they morphed into different frequencies due to the changing of people in and out of the space. Coming from a bunch of different areas of the space for short bursts of time were the sound of someone typing on a keyboard, papers crumpling up, someone tapping on the table like drums, coins rattling in the register, chairs dragging across the floor at a high frequency, and people laughing and coughing loudly. One noise that really stuck out to me was the sound of wet squeaky shoes walking across the cafe! These sounds were a bunch of sounds that I most likely wouldn't have heard if I wasn't paying attention to them. The cafe is a place to eat, chat with friends, and study and I think that all three are possible to do in this space. The mood of this area is pretty flexible and how you feel when you enter is pretty much the mood you can stay!