Location. This soundscape was recorded around 8:30pm on, February 25th, 2023, just outside the main entrance of the Gibson residence hall on the Pomona College campus, under the rather large tree that lives there. It was raining very heavily throughout the recording period.
About the soundscape. This soundscape, as mentioned in the locational description, was taken in the pouring rain underneath the large tree in front of Gibson Hall. I would say that a majority of this soundscape is made up of keynote sounds, which is certainly a very unique characteristic – in most soundscapes, there is some kind of clear soundmark or signal sound as well. In this case, the pitter pattering of the heavy rain on the tree leaves, on the pavement around the recording device, and on my umbrella all lend themselves to the stormy and dark ambience of the soundscape, and the rustling wind only enhances that baseline keynote sound. There are some very minimal signal sounds, such as the crackling of the microphone in the wind, even with the wind muff on, and the occasional rustling of my umbrella. There is also a much less obvious signal that also acts as a soundmark of the environment, that requires much more conscious listening and attention, which is the sound of water falling from roof draining system a bit farther down from where I was standing. Another very interesting element in this soundscape recording is the point where you can clearly hear the combination of keynote sounds become much stronger, around halfway through the recording. The wind and rain picks up, and in the last few seconds of the recording, it even begins to hail a bit, all of which is very visible in the darkening shades of the spectogram.
Recording setup. I used a TASCAM DR-40 Sound Recorder to record this sound. I held the device underneath the umbrella with me, microphones facing upward.
Keywords. Rain, wind, umbrella, trees
