The Sounds of the City

Living in the city you can forget to take it in with all of your senses. The city offers its inhabitants many great things, one example being the variety of sounds that it makes.

I took a walk around my neighborhood, Kips Bay, and tried to take in all the activities that were going on around me by focusing on just listening. The most apparent noise was the traffic. The roars of all the cars accelerating as the light turned green, the honking of the impatient taxis, the slamming of car doors, the music that would blare from passing cars. I noticed the array of music being listened to, from today’s hits to cultural Indian music. And of course I heard the sound of the sirens, from near and far. Sirens are something that we hear so often in New York City that it becomes white noise to us. But when you stop and think about what that sounds means, emergency, it makes you think; “Where are they going? Are they close to where they need to be? Will they make it on time?” A furry of thoughts can fill your brain when you give yourself time to process your surroundings.

Along with the sounds of traffic people themselves are a huge contributor to the sound of New York. Whether it is the sound of their feet, or the jingling from their keys looped to their pants, it all makes sounds. What I found the most interesting were the conversations. Something you can’t forget while living in the city is that you are living with millions of people, however I myself tend to forget all the human lives I’m surround by. When I stopped listening to my own inner dialog and started to listen to bits and pieces of people’s public dialog I was given an interesting glance into their lives. I started to wonder about these people, wonder about their day. It is truly amazing, and crazy, how close we are to so many people physically yet so distanced from them mentally.

The city is always buzzing whether we take in or let it fade into the background. The sounds surrounding us will keep on going, the lives around us will keep on going, the question is whether or not we stop for a moment and soak in the sound of the city.