I’ve been experimenting with field recording based of ideas of ‘assistive listening.’ I have an old digital voice note maker with a cheap clip microphone which is a great, cheap portable microphone that records very low quality. I have been thinking about putting limitations of field recordings as a means to kind of influence the user and I will write up a kind of template/score for how these microphone listening exercises will work.

Influenced by Ka Baird I swung the microphone around hoping for an interesting effect. Due to the low quality something interesting happens to the recorded sound. Much like Amacher talking about the hallucinatory effects of playing tones through buildings, I almost feel this in types of fidelities. These sound good played from the device, because I can’t get this mobility from swinging the mono microphone around, I am going to perform the recording into a separate recorder in order to get that effect.

I went recording without my headphones, thinking I always monitor what I’m hearing. I wanted to consider what thoughts entered my head if I wasn’t monitoring the sound. In this process I am aware that I’m being recorded and unable to hear myself. It felt like a self-imposed surveillance.

I went for a walk with a sound devices and LOM Usi’s tied to my shoes. Influenced by

Ear Piece – Adapted from Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening Excercise

1. Are you recording now?
2. Are you listening to what you are now recording?
3. Are you recording while you listen?
4. Are you listening while you are recording?
5. Do you remember the last sound you recorded before this question?
6. What will you record in the near future?
7. Can you hear now and also listen to a recording of an old sound?
8. What causes you to listen?
9. Do you record yourself in daily life?
10. Do you have healthy ears?
11. If you could record any sound what would it be?
12. Are you listening to sounds now or just recording them?
13. What sound is most meaningful to you?

Native – Adapted from Pauline Oliveros

Record at night, walk so silently your ears become feet.

Press record on a handheld recorder, place in an empty pocket, go for a walk.

Exercising with weights

Take out your recycling. Find somewhere to record. Keep your recorder and your recycling on you at all times.

Don’t bring headphones with you

Grapefruit

Record for a minimum of one hour, delete the recordings after