Three weeks back I asked the internets a simple question. “What’s your favorite sound?”
It’s the kind of question you either have have a stock answer for (guilty), or you’ve gotta think for a few seconds, scratching head, maybe even stopping and listening more often than usual, focusing on the acoustic ecology in your life.
Acoustic ecology? It’s a ten-cent term for the study of sound in our immersive world…which, hey, you do know something about. Most of us have ears. And most of us use them regularly.
So what happens when we peek behind the sonic curtain and poke around? That’s what you did, to entertaining effect.
Let’s go straight to the data. I’ve taken some sloppy liberties with categories. Please excuse.
And if you have more music, sound, voice or silence to add, by all means, let it rip. Or roar.
AMBIENT NOISE
- @laurielamar: one of my favorite sounds is after a band goes onstage but before the band plays its first song. Highly contextual.
- D. Kirby: trains on train track is pretty cool. Announcements on pa system – uncool.
- J. Van Fleteren: Frogs
- J Gorman: Dogs snoring
- J. Franus: Song birds in the morning.
- T. Geoghegan: Yo you can’t forget crickets yo. They’re the crick-schizzle.
- A. Mayher: The waves of the ocean
- E. Reed: My toddler humming while he eats
- E. Reed: Cat purring
- E. Reed: The bird outside our window in Sydney that sang at night
- E. Reed: My Dad whistling in his shop
- E. Reed: The windchimes on my Grandma’s porch
FOREGROUND SOUND
- J. Franus: The sound of our kids genuine laughter
- L. McPherson: My kids laughing
- D. O’Leary: Gavin (son) saying new phrases.
- C. Gibbon: My dog sighing.
- E. Reed: Really good tap dancers
SONIC INTERACTION
- @laurielamar: Another favorite sound is at 9000 feet, the wind sieving through sibilant pine trees, my skis hissing along snowy nordic tracks.
- D. Kirby: Stylus hitting the groove
- D. Kirby: Leather on willow (from the Brit posse)
- J. Gorman: The sound of a breaking york peppermint patty
- S. DiMattia: Breaking water with my paddle blade
- G. Fogarty: The sweet beep of our coffee maker letting me know it’s ready!
- D. O’Leary: The pouring of beer from a bottle into a glass
- T. McBrien: A steamy hiss coming out of the magic soy latte machine in the kitchen.
- E. Reed: The bleep of a new message on my phone
- E. Reed: Pitch on a fire
- E. Reed: Popcorn (popping)
- E. Reed: Plastic packaging bubbles
- E. Reed: Wine cork popping
MUSIC
- J. Forte: Guitar
- H. Waud: The sound of the kids sleeping. And Duran Duran! (NF: all at once? Love it.)
That’s it. Insights to come later. This is side-prep for a session I’m devising for SATE 2010 / Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience this fall.
And special thanks to Emily and Dan for being so prolific—and entertaining,
– Noel Franus
]]>Three weeks back I asked the internets a simple question. “What’s your favorite sound?”
It’s the kind of question you either have have a stock answer for (guilty), or you’ve gotta think for a few seconds, scratching head, maybe even stopping and listening more often than usual, focusing on the acoustic ecology in your life.
Acoustic ecology? It’s a ten-cent term for the study of sound in our immersive world…which, hey, you do know something about. Most of us have ears. And most of us use them regularly.
So what happens when we peek behind the sonic curtain and poke around? That’s what you did, to entertaining effect.
Let’s go straight to the data. I’ve taken some sloppy liberties with categories. Please excuse.
And if you have more music, sound, voice or silence to add, by all means, let it rip. Or roar.
AMBIENT NOISE
- @laurielamar: one of my favorite sounds is after a band goes onstage but before the band plays its first song. Highly contextual.
- D. Kirby: trains on train track is pretty cool. Announcements on pa system – uncool.
- J. Van Fleteren: Frogs
- J Gorman: Dogs snoring
- J. Franus: Song birds in the morning.
- T. Geoghegan: Yo you can’t forget crickets yo. They’re the crick-schizzle.
- A. Mayher: The waves of the ocean
- E. Reed: My toddler humming while he eats
- E. Reed: Cat purring
- E. Reed: The bird outside our window in Sydney that sang at night
- E. Reed: My Dad whistling in his shop
- E. Reed: The windchimes on my Grandma’s porch
FOREGROUND SOUND
- J. Franus: The sound of our kids genuine laughter
- L. McPherson: My kids laughing
- D. O’Leary: Gavin (son) saying new phrases.
- C. Gibbon: My dog sighing.
- E. Reed: Really good tap dancers
SONIC INTERACTION
- @laurielamar: Another favorite sound is at 9000 feet, the wind sieving through sibilant pine trees, my skis hissing along snowy nordic tracks.
- D. Kirby: Stylus hitting the groove
- D. Kirby: Leather on willow (from the Brit posse)
- J. Gorman: The sound of a breaking york peppermint patty
- S. DiMattia: Breaking water with my paddle blade
- G. Fogarty: The sweet beep of our coffee maker letting me know it’s ready!
- D. O’Leary: The pouring of beer from a bottle into a glass
- T. McBrien: A steamy hiss coming out of the magic soy latte machine in the kitchen.
- E. Reed: The bleep of a new message on my phone
- E. Reed: Pitch on a fire
- E. Reed: Popcorn (popping)
- E. Reed: Plastic packaging bubbles
- E. Reed: Wine cork popping
MUSIC
- J. Forte: Guitar
- H. Waud: The sound of the kids sleeping. And Duran Duran! (NF: all at once? Love it.)
That’s it. Insights to come later. This is side-prep for a session I’m devising for SATE 2010 / Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience this fall.
And special thanks to Emily and Dan for being so prolific—and entertaining,
– Noel Franus
]]>Three weeks back I asked the internets a simple question. “What’s your favorite sound?”
It’s the kind of question you either have have a stock answer for (guilty), or you’ve gotta think for a few seconds, scratching head, maybe even stopping and listening more often than usual, focusing on the acoustic ecology in your life.
Acoustic ecology? It’s a ten-cent term for the study of sound in our immersive world…which, hey, you do know something about. Most of us have ears. And most of us use them regularly.
So what happens when we peek behind the sonic curtain and poke around? That’s what you did, to entertaining effect.
Let’s go straight to the data. I’ve taken some sloppy liberties with categories. Please excuse.
And if you have more music, sound, voice or silence to add, by all means, let it rip. Or roar.
AMBIENT NOISE
- @laurielamar: one of my favorite sounds is after a band goes onstage but before the band plays its first song. Highly contextual.
- D. Kirby: trains on train track is pretty cool. Announcements on pa system – uncool.
- J. Van Fleteren: Frogs
- J Gorman: Dogs snoring
- J. Franus: Song birds in the morning.
- T. Geoghegan: Yo you can’t forget crickets yo. They’re the crick-schizzle.
- A. Mayher: The waves of the ocean
- E. Reed: My toddler humming while he eats
- E. Reed: Cat purring
- E. Reed: The bird outside our window in Sydney that sang at night
- E. Reed: My Dad whistling in his shop
- E. Reed: The windchimes on my Grandma’s porch
FOREGROUND SOUND
- J. Franus: The sound of our kids genuine laughter
- L. McPherson: My kids laughing
- D. O’Leary: Gavin (son) saying new phrases.
- C. Gibbon: My dog sighing.
- E. Reed: Really good tap dancers
SONIC INTERACTION
- @laurielamar: Another favorite sound is at 9000 feet, the wind sieving through sibilant pine trees, my skis hissing along snowy nordic tracks.
- D. Kirby: Stylus hitting the groove
- D. Kirby: Leather on willow (from the Brit posse)
- J. Gorman: The sound of a breaking york peppermint patty
- S. DiMattia: Breaking water with my paddle blade
- G. Fogarty: The sweet beep of our coffee maker letting me know it’s ready!
- D. O’Leary: The pouring of beer from a bottle into a glass
- T. McBrien: A steamy hiss coming out of the magic soy latte machine in the kitchen.
- E. Reed: The bleep of a new message on my phone
- E. Reed: Pitch on a fire
- E. Reed: Popcorn (popping)
- E. Reed: Plastic packaging bubbles
- E. Reed: Wine cork popping
MUSIC
- J. Forte: Guitar
- H. Waud: The sound of the kids sleeping. And Duran Duran! (NF: all at once? Love it.)
That’s it. Insights to come later. This is side-prep for a session I’m devising for SATE 2010 / Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience this fall.
And special thanks to Emily and Dan for being so prolific—and entertaining,
– Noel Franus
]]>Three weeks back I asked the internets a simple question. “What’s your favorite sound?”
It’s the kind of question you either have have a stock answer for (guilty), or you’ve gotta think for a few seconds, scratching head, maybe even stopping and listening more often than usual, focusing on the acoustic ecology in your life.
Acoustic ecology? It’s a ten-cent term for the study of sound in our immersive world…which, hey, you do know something about. Most of us have ears. And most of us use them regularly.
So what happens when we peek behind the sonic curtain and poke around? That’s what you did, to entertaining effect.
Let’s go straight to the data. I’ve taken some sloppy liberties with categories. Please excuse.
And if you have more music, sound, voice or silence to add, by all means, let it rip. Or roar.
AMBIENT NOISE
- @laurielamar: one of my favorite sounds is after a band goes onstage but before the band plays its first song. Highly contextual.
- D. Kirby: trains on train track is pretty cool. Announcements on pa system – uncool.
- J. Van Fleteren: Frogs
- J Gorman: Dogs snoring
- J. Franus: Song birds in the morning.
- T. Geoghegan: Yo you can’t forget crickets yo. They’re the crick-schizzle.
- A. Mayher: The waves of the ocean
- E. Reed: My toddler humming while he eats
- E. Reed: Cat purring
- E. Reed: The bird outside our window in Sydney that sang at night
- E. Reed: My Dad whistling in his shop
- E. Reed: The windchimes on my Grandma’s porch
FOREGROUND SOUND
- J. Franus: The sound of our kids genuine laughter
- L. McPherson: My kids laughing
- D. O’Leary: Gavin (son) saying new phrases.
- C. Gibbon: My dog sighing.
- E. Reed: Really good tap dancers
SONIC INTERACTION
- @laurielamar: Another favorite sound is at 9000 feet, the wind sieving through sibilant pine trees, my skis hissing along snowy nordic tracks.
- D. Kirby: Stylus hitting the groove
- D. Kirby: Leather on willow (from the Brit posse)
- J. Gorman: The sound of a breaking york peppermint patty
- S. DiMattia: Breaking water with my paddle blade
- G. Fogarty: The sweet beep of our coffee maker letting me know it’s ready!
- D. O’Leary: The pouring of beer from a bottle into a glass
- T. McBrien: A steamy hiss coming out of the magic soy latte machine in the kitchen.
- E. Reed: The bleep of a new message on my phone
- E. Reed: Pitch on a fire
- E. Reed: Popcorn (popping)
- E. Reed: Plastic packaging bubbles
- E. Reed: Wine cork popping
MUSIC
- J. Forte: Guitar
- H. Waud: The sound of the kids sleeping. And Duran Duran! (NF: all at once? Love it.)
That’s it. Insights to come later. This is side-prep for a session I’m devising for SATE 2010 / Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience this fall.
And special thanks to Emily and Dan for being so prolific—and entertaining,
– Noel Franus
]]>Three weeks back I asked the internets a simple question. “What’s your favorite sound?”
It’s the kind of question you either have have a stock answer for (guilty), or you’ve gotta think for a few seconds, scratching head, maybe even stopping and listening more often than usual, focusing on the acoustic ecology in your life.
Acoustic ecology? It’s a ten-cent term for the study of sound in our immersive world…which, hey, you do know something about. Most of us have ears. And most of us use them regularly.
So what happens when we peek behind the sonic curtain and poke around? That’s what you did, to entertaining effect.
Let’s go straight to the data. I’ve taken some sloppy liberties with categories. Please excuse.
And if you have more music, sound, voice or silence to add, by all means, let it rip. Or roar.
AMBIENT NOISE
- @laurielamar: one of my favorite sounds is after a band goes onstage but before the band plays its first song. Highly contextual.
- D. Kirby: trains on train track is pretty cool. Announcements on pa system – uncool.
- J. Van Fleteren: Frogs
- J Gorman: Dogs snoring
- J. Franus: Song birds in the morning.
- T. Geoghegan: Yo you can’t forget crickets yo. They’re the crick-schizzle.
- A. Mayher: The waves of the ocean
- E. Reed: My toddler humming while he eats
- E. Reed: Cat purring
- E. Reed: The bird outside our window in Sydney that sang at night
- E. Reed: My Dad whistling in his shop
- E. Reed: The windchimes on my Grandma’s porch
FOREGROUND SOUND
- J. Franus: The sound of our kids genuine laughter
- L. McPherson: My kids laughing
- D. O’Leary: Gavin (son) saying new phrases.
- C. Gibbon: My dog sighing.
- E. Reed: Really good tap dancers
SONIC INTERACTION
- @laurielamar: Another favorite sound is at 9000 feet, the wind sieving through sibilant pine trees, my skis hissing along snowy nordic tracks.
- D. Kirby: Stylus hitting the groove
- D. Kirby: Leather on willow (from the Brit posse)
- J. Gorman: The sound of a breaking york peppermint patty
- S. DiMattia: Breaking water with my paddle blade
- G. Fogarty: The sweet beep of our coffee maker letting me know it’s ready!
- D. O’Leary: The pouring of beer from a bottle into a glass
- T. McBrien: A steamy hiss coming out of the magic soy latte machine in the kitchen.
- E. Reed: The bleep of a new message on my phone
- E. Reed: Pitch on a fire
- E. Reed: Popcorn (popping)
- E. Reed: Plastic packaging bubbles
- E. Reed: Wine cork popping
MUSIC
- J. Forte: Guitar
- H. Waud: The sound of the kids sleeping. And Duran Duran! (NF: all at once? Love it.)
That’s it. Insights to come later. This is side-prep for a session I’m devising for SATE 2010 / Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience this fall.
And special thanks to Emily and Dan for being so prolific—and entertaining,
– Noel Franus
]]>Three weeks back I asked the internets a simple question. “What’s your favorite sound?”
It’s the kind of question you either have have a stock answer for (guilty), or you’ve gotta think for a few seconds, scratching head, maybe even stopping and listening more often than usual, focusing on the acoustic ecology in your life.
Acoustic ecology? It’s a ten-cent term for the study of sound in our immersive world…which, hey, you do know something about. Most of us have ears. And most of us use them regularly.
So what happens when we peek behind the sonic curtain and poke around? That’s what you did, to entertaining effect.
Let’s go straight to the data. I’ve taken some sloppy liberties with categories. Please excuse.
And if you have more music, sound, voice or silence to add, by all means, let it rip. Or roar.
AMBIENT NOISE
- @laurielamar: one of my favorite sounds is after a band goes onstage but before the band plays its first song. Highly contextual.
- D. Kirby: trains on train track is pretty cool. Announcements on pa system – uncool.
- J. Van Fleteren: Frogs
- J Gorman: Dogs snoring
- J. Franus: Song birds in the morning.
- T. Geoghegan: Yo you can’t forget crickets yo. They’re the crick-schizzle.
- A. Mayher: The waves of the ocean
- E. Reed: My toddler humming while he eats
- E. Reed: Cat purring
- E. Reed: The bird outside our window in Sydney that sang at night
- E. Reed: My Dad whistling in his shop
- E. Reed: The windchimes on my Grandma’s porch
FOREGROUND SOUND
- J. Franus: The sound of our kids genuine laughter
- L. McPherson: My kids laughing
- D. O’Leary: Gavin (son) saying new phrases.
- C. Gibbon: My dog sighing.
- E. Reed: Really good tap dancers
SONIC INTERACTION
- @laurielamar: Another favorite sound is at 9000 feet, the wind sieving through sibilant pine trees, my skis hissing along snowy nordic tracks.
- D. Kirby: Stylus hitting the groove
- D. Kirby: Leather on willow (from the Brit posse)
- J. Gorman: The sound of a breaking york peppermint patty
- S. DiMattia: Breaking water with my paddle blade
- G. Fogarty: The sweet beep of our coffee maker letting me know it’s ready!
- D. O’Leary: The pouring of beer from a bottle into a glass
- T. McBrien: A steamy hiss coming out of the magic soy latte machine in the kitchen.
- E. Reed: The bleep of a new message on my phone
- E. Reed: Pitch on a fire
- E. Reed: Popcorn (popping)
- E. Reed: Plastic packaging bubbles
- E. Reed: Wine cork popping
MUSIC
- J. Forte: Guitar
- H. Waud: The sound of the kids sleeping. And Duran Duran! (NF: all at once? Love it.)
That’s it. Insights to come later. This is side-prep for a session I’m devising for SATE 2010 / Storytelling, Architecture, Technology, Experience this fall.
And special thanks to Emily and Dan for being so prolific—and entertaining,
– Noel Franus
]]>Good conversation picking up at the LinkedIn group for sonic branding and identity: how do we solve the problem of silent hybrids and electric vehicles?
You’d think this is an issue that one or two distant labs would be slowly addressing, but you’d be wrong. Turns out there’s more than a handful of us focusing on this very thing. Here’s more.
]]>
WFMU’s Beware of the Blog posted a great story on tracking down the source of a dance and melody. Who needs social media when both the medium and the contents have ‘sociality’ inherently built in?
]]>
He’s now studied ‘the world’s most addictive sounds.’ Here’s the summary.
I’m excited about the notion of anything sonic-branding related appearing in a consumer mag like Time. But I’m stumped. The study, or what I’ve read about it, feels too trite to be taken seriously.
Lindstrom breaks the world of sound into ‘branded’ and ‘non-branded’ sounds. But that’s an artificial bifurcation—smart brands can very much influence our thoughts, feelings and behaviors in the real world around us without having to rely on ‘branded sound.’
Brands live in these spaces—but it doesn’t mean they have to rely on ‘branded sound’ to effect change. Maybe a sense of ‘brand-oriented choreography,’ but there’s a huge difference between the two. You wouldn’t guess that from this study if you took it at face value.
More nits: Lindstrom says in this Time interview that many generic sounds, such as a baby’s laugh or a burger sizzling on the grill, are not ‘owned’ by brands today but will be so in the near future. We can assume that consistent, repetitive television advertising is will drive this because the conversation is exclusively about ‘advertising.’
Ick. Though it’s hard to argue with the notion that repetition breeds familiarity, it’s dependent on the assumption that tv is king. Today it is for a mass audience. But the future is much more thin-sliced.
Our media and our lives are far more fragmented than they were 50, 20, even 5 years ago. We live online, with our smartphones, consuming time-shifted media on a variety of devices and in a zillion private and public places.
If brands can’t find a way to be relevant in each of these spaces—through messaging or, God forbid, utility—they die.
We’re trying to change behaviors. Brands that succeed are those that evoke meaning with intent, precision and a keen sense of context. Not those who have the best bag of tricks for crashing the amygdala in just a 30-second spot.
Finally: babies? Most powerful sound on earth? I’ve got a stick of dynamite over here that says otherwise.
– Noel Franus
We do a lot of writing on the business of sonic branding and identity. Now and then it’s nice to have a break and have someone else do the writing.
Fortunately we’ve received such a break. Sonic ID‘s creative director Martyn Ware and I are featured in the latest (June 2009) issue of I.D. Magazine, which is its “Design+Business” issue.
“Rock Brand: Sonic ID Rethinks Advertising with Next-Generation Jingles” is available online and in print at newsstands near you now.
Just between you and me: it’s taken the talents of writer (and accomplished musician) Daron Murphy just 1,000 words to say what normally takes us quite a bit more. So a huge thanks to Daron and the I.D. team for sharing our story with this wider audience.
– Noel Franus