Listening Exercise

My Location - Barnes and Noble Booksellers, in the café area

Time and date - 2:30 pm, February 14, 2010

1.

The difficulty to hear the noises around me varied by proximity. As I listened to sounds within six feet of me, I picked up on a number of noises, because people were sitting all around me. The Barnes and Noble Café is usually pretty packed on Sundays as people come to relax and read books and magazines after church, or because they have nothing else to do. High school students can always be found in the store on a Sunday afternoon because they have probably put off their homework for most of the weekend and come to the café because it is away from distractions at home.

As I expanded the area that I was trying to pick up sounds, I heard quite a bit of racket. The noise of baristas making coffee for customers accompanied with the soft chatter of other people sitting around and accented by the store music provided much noise within 20 feet of me. Trying to listen for sounds within the whole store was much more difficult because the café is where the noise is most concentrated. I picked up on noises that were maybe 35 to 40 feet away, but the rest of the store is treated much like a library because it is a bookstore. Thus I doubt I heard any noise emanating from the music and movies section at the back of the store.

Hearing beyond the boundaries of the store wasn’t too difficult because I was sitting next to a window. Outside was the parking lot, and the cars driving by provided noise I was able to pick up on if I listening as hard as I could. The sounds of smaller objects being blown past by the wind were most difficult to hear.

2.

I wasn’t expecting to hear an older lady complaining to someone about her relatives, (probably her grandkids judging by the sound of her voice) and family trips. I heard her mention her grandkids disliking the idea of “visiting Aunt Patsy’s house in the spring.” I wouldn’t think someone would complain about such a subject with so many people within close proximity. However, she was talking quietly, and given the amount of noise generated within the café, and the fact that the lady probably wasn’t expecting someone like me to start focusing on her conversation, it’s not too surprising that I picked up on this.

Unless I had listened as closely as I was, I probably wouldn’t have picked up on the subject of math that the two students behind me were discussing. I heard them mention various terms such as “the quadratic formula” and “x squared” numerous times, leading me to believe they were discussing either algebra or calculus.

As I expanded the area I was listening to, I heard someone say “that small one right there” and guessed they were either pointing at something in a magazine or selecting an item from the various product displays in the café. Also, someone was guilty of ordering a vanilla latte, as I heard one of the baristas call out to a customer that this drink was ready.

My favorite noise that I probably wouldn’t have caught if I hadn’t been listening for it was the deep humming of the various appliances within the café. When you enter a café, you usually aren’t thinking about the machinery surrounding you. You can expect to hear baristas noisily brewing coffee or blending ice for frappucinos, but the humming of refrigerating appliances probably escapes most people who aren’t listening for it.

I also didn’t think I would be able to tell the difference between the turning of a regular book’s pages and the turning of magazine pages. Crackling noises are emitted from the pages of magazines when people turn the pages and the pages bend.

An extremely deep rumbling sound accompanied by vibrations rolled past me every now and then and I could tell that it was coming from outside. I would usually take noises such as these for granted on any normal day.

3.

When I looked around, I discovered that my assumptions of the sources of the noises were correct. At the table in front of me was an elderly couple. The old lady was doing most of the talking and complaining as the old man, who I presume is her husband, sat and muttered in conditioned agreement periodically. Behind my table, two female students, probably in high school, were talking about algebra or calculus homework. While college students also study algebra or calculus, given the location of the Barnes and Noble I was at, the nearest college campuses are quite far. The nearest college is most likely UCO, and the drive from there is at least 15 minutes. The numerous high schools and neighborhoods surrounding the area led me to believe the students were in high school.

The other customers provided the noises of squeaking chairs and shuffling feet on the tile floor. Blenders, brewing machines, and aerosol cans filled with whipped cream provided the noises for the baristas as they made various delicious coffee drinks. The food in the deli area is served on plates, which led to the eventual rattling of dishes being cleaned off.

The speakers in the ceiling were playing the acoustic guitar music. It sounded similar to a CD of acoustic guitar music I bought while I was in Venice two years ago. The rustling and crackling of papery material indeed came from the magazine isle, which lies right before the entrance to the café. The screaming children could be found in the children’s area, which lies just outside the northern end of the café area.

A refrigerated display containing cold bottled drinks was the source of the low humbling, as the cooling mechanism started up every few minutes. Displays containing Godiva chocolates, water bottles and coffee cups were probably the reason I heard someone nearby say “that small one right there.”

Cars, trucks and SUVs rolling past the window provided for the deep rumbling noise that rolled past me periodically. Leaves and trash accounted for the barely audible scraping noises I heard just outside my window.