Sound Archive
The Listening in Place Sound Archive involves two elements:
Interviews: What we propose isn’t radical—just do what we do at the Vermont Folklife Center: set aside some time, sit down with someone in your household (at a safe distance!), using a smartphone or other audio recorder, ask some questions, listen to and record what they have to say, and learn about how they see the world. You can also record a remote interview with someone you can’t see in person right now.
We’ll periodically be posting ideas for interview prompts to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, so be sure to follow us if you’d like to receive them. If you’re not on social media, email us and we’ll send them directly to you!
Everyday sounds: What are our lives like right now? What kind of record can we create of our experiences today for the future? Using whatever recording tools you have at hand (smartphone, hand-held recorder…) document the sounds of your “new” daily life.
Are you taking more walks outside? Doing projects in the kitchen? Singing songs? Playing board games? Caring for loved ones? Romping with pets? Is your neighborhood weirdly quiet? Take time to notice and record what you’re hearing. The sounds will surprise you.
OH! And images: Send along a picture or two of the people you interview.
Check out the handy guides in the left-hand menu for Audio Help and Interviewing Advice. You can always get in touch at listening@vermontfolklifecenter.org if you have any quesitons.
What happens to the recordings?
First off, we’d love to preserve your recordings in the VFC Archive—but that is certainly not a requirement! More than anything, this project is about taking time to communicate with the people who surround you and create a document of the thoughts and sounds in your world right now. You could make your own archive! But if you’d like to share your recordings with us, we’d love to have a copy.
So make as many recordings as you like and then, if you want, submit some or all of them to the VFC Archive. Add your sound observations and your voices (with everyone’s permission) to a living document of how Vermonters are coping with this global reality.
Every couple of days we’ll post question prompts and suggestions. Once we start receiving your audio recordings, we’ll share them back to our community through the VFC website and other social media. Our hope is that this online space will open hundreds of small windows into the experiences of Vermonters during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sound Archive will become something we look back on (and listen to), but in the current moment, let it be a reason for us to connect by listening to and recording one another.
Again, even if you don’t feel like submitting or sharing your recordings, we think you’ll find that the act of listening can be healing and transformative, so feel free to simply use this as an invitation to slow down and listen to the sounds and the people and goings-on around you, just for yourself.