MUS 116 - Yura Song

Baby sounds: crying and laughing

A baby’s cry is piercing and eye-catching. It’s a sign that symbolises new beginnings, birth, and life. A baby’s laughter bursts with energy and comes from pure enjoyment.

A filled stadium

The sound of a filled stadium is one of the largest sounds that a group of people can make for fun. The energy in the air is vibrant, filled with varied sounds as people cheer and cry.

The sounds at the beach

The sound of the ocean waves is a roaring continuous sound that fills the surroundings. There are other background noises such as seagulls, seals, or even people talking.

Reason

As human beings are the ones sending this record out, I believe that it’s important to showcase the different aspects that we display. Baby sounds makes are the most pure and innocent sounds that human beings can make. A filled stadium shows the potential of the population as well as what we could accomplish if we’re all together. Lastly, the powerful ocean covers such a large component of the Earth that it must be included as to represent nature.

• Looking back at the “bones of summer” how have you engaged or created art? If you haven’t engaged or created art, please describe why.
  • I created art over the summer through crocheting and knitting. I was watching a lot of Netflix, K-Dramas, and anime and needed something to keep my hands busy. I ended up knitting and crocheting a lot of things such as cardigans, scarves, shawls, etc. I also created art through helping translate comics. Not many people know about the business and work behind translating comics or webtoons, but I find it super enjoyable. Some may not consider it as art because the artist has already drawn everything but the way that we translate and publish the translations gives it a new personality. Here is the link to one of the projects I’m working on. It’s called Pyxis and I love how the author described how my group translated it by saying, “My beloved Pyxis has an english “voice” now,” which supports my point behind how I’m helping create something entirely new from something that already existed.
  • If you’re interested, here are links to a couple more works I’ve done with my team:
    • I’m a Fish
    • A Long Night
• What things, if any, surround you that you consider powerful?
  • This might sound odd or too cliché but one of the things in my surroundings that I consider powerful is the piano. The first thing that probably comes to mind is imagining a pianist playing fortissimo using the full range of keys. The sound that emits from that, especially if the pianist is conveying anger or triumphant thoughts, is very strong and feels like a forceful block of sound and air that pushes against the audience. It’s also powerful because despite how much sound can be exerted, it is able to do exactly the opposite. It can play at barely a whisper, making everyone lean forward to hear more of it. All of this contributes to how the music it creates is impactful and affects the listener. There is power in being able to control what people feel and think. Lastly of course, is a very obvious reason that most people don’t consider. A piano is sturdy, big, and solid. If a piano is dropped on someone, it will cause significant injury to them. Or if it is slammed against them. Even closing the piano lid on fingers is painful. I promise I’m not sadistic but just acutely aware of the situations that are possible due to its build.
  • Here is a scene from a music video that caused me to think about what a piano falling on someone would be like. It’s only a few seconds long at approximately 2:55.
• Over the next couple of days, take note of the dominant sounds in areas that you consistently walk. What are the sounds you notice most of all? Be specific.
  • The sounds that I notice the most are the sound of cars, skytrains, and crosswalk sounds. I live in the middle of a city and am constantly surrounded by vehicles. One minute doesn’t even pass by before another car drives by. Sometimes they’re loud, like motorcycles, and sometimes they’re quieter if they’re electronic cars. For skytrains, it sounds like how a normal train would sound like except it’s just high above the ground. Comes approximately every 5 minutes. Keeping in mind that it goes both ways so I can hear it much more frequently than every 5 minutes. Lastly, crosswalk beeping noises. I absolutely hate it so much but I can understand its usefulness. It’s on almost every single crossing I pass by. Often, the one on the opposite side of the street doesn’t “beep” at the same time as the one that’s closer to me. Maybe it’s due to the distance or maybe it’s actually offset. All these sounds mix together to create my daily normal background noise.
• How do you relate to the phrase “free time only works if you steal it?”
  • I disagree with this statement. I consider stealing free time as in carving out time for myself in between different tasks that I’m busy with. However, I’m able to have free time and enjoy it even without having to steal it. I might even appreciate it even more if I don’t have to steal it. I accomplish this by finishing all the set goals I make for myself each day. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have more things to do beyond that to do list but that’s the minimum I have to do before I permit myself to have free time. By doing so, I value my free time more because I put in time and effort to achieve it. Also, by getting these tasks out of the way, I can relax and destress during my free time. If I’m sitting there playing video games without doing anything productive before that, I would be riddled with anxious thoughts about what I should be doing instead of playing video games. These are a few reasons why I disagree with the phrase that “free time only works if you steal it.”
• Do you have any other takeaways from the film?
  •  Leslie Laskey is very admirable. He inspires me. I hope that I’m still able to create art when I’m at his age and enjoy it. A scene in particular that really resonated with me was the clips from when he was teaching. I want to go into Music Education because I love teaching. I don’t remember his exact wording but he said something along the lines of how he learns by teaching. I teach a lot in real life such as swimming lessons or in air cadets and I agree with this statement completely. I learn more by researching the topics I’m teaching and by helping others understand it, I explore different aspects and point of views that I didn’t see before. I love how I can relate to him and I aspire to be as motivated when I’m at that age.