Firstly, we stood in the tunnel that goes under the Forest Hill overground station, with the train tracks right above our heads. Actively listening blindfolded really helped me fully focus solely on my auditory senses. The sounds produced by the trains passing by were very interesting, especially because of the space we were in – the sound was definitely passing through the ceiling, but also through the two sides of the tunnel on my left and right. The thunderous rumbling of the tracks as the trains would pass was mostly made up of lower frequencies, making the sound feel more impactful and strong. There was a certain rhythm in the sound of the repetitive rumbling of the tracks.

Next, we stood above ground, by the train tracks, next to the platform. This time, I noticed more high frequency sounds. I could now hear a certain whirring sound from the trains that I could not hear from the tunnel previously. The sounds of the train passing by reminded me of the sound of a drill, but wet.

The blindfolded (and guided) walk through the Horniman Museum and Gardens was very interesting, as there were little speakers placed randomly throughout the gardens, which made for quite a riveting auditory experience. It was the first time in my life that I walk around blindfolded, focused exclusively on sound. I noticed that at the beginning it was quite difficult to locate where sounds were coming from, even when it was a clear and defined sound, like a human voice, or branches crunching on the ground. I definitely felt more conscious of all the sounds around me, and noticed sounds that I don’t think I would have noticed if I wasn’t blindfolded.

I was starting to be able to identify the location of sounds more and more easily, I think it’s like a muscle, that it is something to exercise in order to improve at. Throughout the walk in the Sydenham Hill Woods, I heard a lot of birds chirping. Towards the end of the walk I started to notice a sound that felt like it was coming from very far away, a certain windy and airy ambience. I tried to notice what the elements are that add to the atmosphere of being in the forest – how can I replicate this same feeling and ambience by recording sounds of my own. I think in order to recreate the spacey and airy, constant noise, I will record the sounds coming from a highway or busy road (with many cars and not so many people), and add a huge reverb and have it play at a relatively low volume.

Overall, I really enjoyed the soundwalk as it helped me focus better on sound itself without the sometimes unnecessary addition of the visual. I will definitely be trying this again in my own time and experiment with different scenes and places with different sounds and acoustic spaces.