Documentation for Project #3 - Ambisonic Soundscapes in Three Dimensions - Recording

For the duration of this semester I have chosen to present recordings only from my experimental microphone. This maintained a consistancy from project to project while building on past experience for me and on prior reference for my fellows. In my independent studies work with Professors Mark Sarisky and Bruce Pennycook, I have made recordings with both the experimental mic and a Core Sound TetraMic. Over the summer and next semester, I will be recording with both microphones simultaneously to compare the results.

My earlier recordings with the experimental microphone were hampered by Texas winds and air conditioning blowers. However, about the time of my second project, I found a source for a furry windscreen for my experimental mic (TheWindcutter). This was a major breakthrough, especially for field work.

I have historically recorded in field and venue environments. I am always surprised when I put on headphones and raise the volume at what can be heard outdoors. In the city, there is a constant drone of low frequency noise, especially since the construction of high-speed expressways with flyovers and people's voices half a block away. There are few places in Travis County to find refuge from the noise of traffic.

In preparation for this project, I spent numerous hours recording around the airport, close to the end of the runway north and south and in the flatlands of Elroy Road and Maha Loop farther to the south and west. I also recorded several hours late in the evenings when the last arriving flights passed over my house in north Austin, including some almost haunting sounds as pilots adjusted their engines. The Wednesday before presentations, I wanted just one more sampling to choose from, though I had actually made a choice, when I heard a sound from the southeast, not the expected northwest; an unexpected sound. I could see through the tree tops the nose light of a helicopter. "Stay on course," I thought, "Stay on course." I had my sample!