When you walk around New York City there are several sound marks and sound signals that can be heard in any part you go, but when you venture into Central Park there are many keynotes that emerge as those sound marks and signals dull.
I walked from Hunter College to Central Park and then wandered through the park with "open ears." On my walk to the park the most prominent sounds were the engines of cars, sirens ringing in the air, jackhammers in construction zones, cars beeping, and people talking. There were people talking in different languages, people talking on phones, people talking to other people.
But as I entered the park a more serene environment emerged. Those more prominent sounds of the city begin to dull and little sounds that you wouldn't normally hear over the hustle and bustle of the city became amplified. The sound of birds chirping became much clearer the deeper into the park I walked. I could hear the scuffle of shoes on gravel as people walked, the squeals of children playing, the splat of my foot hitting a muddy puddle, the jingle of a dog's leash, the metal clinking of a bike. I could hear the soft crunch of feet hitting the ground, then getting louder, and then softer again as they ran past me. Every drain I passed I could hear water dripping down it from the melting snow. There was an airplane flying overhead and a dog barking so far from me that I didn't see either, but I heard both.
Finally I hear the loud chime of the church bells, marking the top of the hour as I make my way away from the sounds of scraping as a man shovels, the whistling of a man walking by, and the taps of someone's crutches on the gravel and back to the sounds of beeping as a bus reverses, the starting of a car as it's engines revs, and more sirens.
