Soundmap: People and Place

Soundmap: People and Place

Explore: Sound Walks

Get outdoors and explore your community, following the audio guides to tune in to the sounds around you.

All you need is a smart phone or tablet and a set of head phones. There are six walks to chose from:

1. Make sure the smart phone, tablet or computer you are using has a compatible browser. Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are recommended. Safari also works for apple devices 
2. Click on the walk title in the table to load the Sonic Maps Player
3. Use the information in the table to direct you to the start of the walk

If for any reason you can't go on a walk "in real life" you can still follow the routes and listen to the voices and sounds remotely. To see how to do this and how to get the most from the Sonic Maps Player, watch the short video below. 

Sound Walks: How to use

Anyone undertaking a walk is advised to follow the latest guidance in relation to COVID-19, to be aware of their surroundings and take care near roads and water.

The video shows an iOS (iPhone) operating system but the steps you need to go through are the same for other smart phones and tablets.

If you need to upgrade your browser, follow these links to download the latest versions:

• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Edge

Discover: 5 Sound Maps

Hear Ladysbridge, Banff, New Byth, Rosehearty and Sandhaven in a new way. Whether you know these places well, or have always wanted to visit, you can explore them using these online maps where the landmarks are sounds.

Ladysbridge

Banff

New Byth

Rosehearty

Sandhaven

Inspired by the places and the people that live there, the maps capture a moment in time and can offer different experiences, from relaxing nature sounds to town centre bustle. Here, Pete shows you how to get the most from the online maps:

Listen to the sea, woodpeckers in the woods or pink footed geese passing over-head. Or maybe enjoy some of the sounds that were rare during lockdown – a noisy playground or busy Banff High Street.

Google Earth

All the sound maps are created using Google Earth - a free to use resource mapping the whole world in amazing detail. All the images of streets and houses, coastline and fields is accessible to anyone with an internet connection. If you haven't used Google Earth before, here are some instructions to get you started.

You need to have Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge as your browser. If you don’t have one of these already, you can search for it using any web browser and download it. This video tutorial will talk you through how to download Chrome:

Then you need to enter the web address for the sound map you want to access into the Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge address bar eg: 

http://bit.ly/soundmapladysbridge

The links for the other maps are here:

http://bit.ly/soundmapbanff

http://bit.ly/soundmapnewbyth

http://bit.ly/soundmaprosehearty

http://bit.ly/soundmapsandhaven

You can click on them or copy and paste into Chrome, Edge or Safari. 

Using a computer, smart phone or tablet you can listen to any of the locations. Click on the icons on the map then hit the "Play" button to hear the sounds, or work through them all by clicking on "Presentation" and using the > arrows to guide you. 

If you need help with this, use this video tutorial to talk you through. Skip straight to 3:20 if you only want to know about using Google Earth on a smart phone or tablet:

What is a Sound Walk?

A Sound Walk is a "sonic guide" to a specific place, a bit like an audio tour in a museum or gallery, but outdoors.

You follow the route on your tablet or smart phone and, listening through headphones, you hear sounds captured in that place. You will also hear the thoughts, emotions and memories of local people.

Each walk can be downloaded to any smart phone or tablet via the browser, so you don't need to use up data on the walk.

They can all be accessed from this link:

https://recursivearts.com/sonicmaps/

The video at the top of the page shows in detail how to use the walks whether your are out and about or listening from home. 

About the Project

The project is an artist-led, inter-generational, community art project. 

What does that mean? 

Commissioned by Live Life Aberdeenshire's Arts and Heritage team, two professional artists - Pete Stollery (Sound) and Bryan Angus (Visual) - led the project. People who live, work and walk the dog in Ladysbridge, Banff, New Byth, Rosehearty and Sandhaven are the most important partners on the project.

Behind the Scenes

This video gives an exclusive look into how the Artists created the sound maps.

It follows the process from the initial sound recording, through the creating an image from that sound, to then showing how, technically, both sound and image are made available in an online map.

Thanks

Volunteer writers and voices: Alan Cluley, Gerry Duncan, Nathan Duncan, The Findlay Family, Jo Gilbert, Jack Mitchell, Lewis Murray, Jo Nicholson, Elizabeth Pirie, Scott Riddoch, Gillian Robertson, Tamzin Rooke, Lynne Rose, Cameron Seivwright, Chloe Stollery, Eva Wackett, Ciaran Whyte.

Many of the sounds captured in the maps and walks came from public sessions run by Pete and Bryan in schools and with different community groups. Some sounds were suggested by participants and captured later, other sounds were recorded on the day as part of the meeting.

Feedback

We'd like to hear from you. Have you enjoyed the Sound Maps and Walks? What could make them better?

Take the short survey 

V for Victory Geese

Airborn
     Exhilaration
          Pinkness, “wink wink-ness”
Winter shape-makers over the New Byth skies

Corvids

Tumbling
     Blackness
          Squawking
Swirl of the sunrise and silhouetted winter trees.