App Report: Soundscapes for Working and/or Chilling

Dear Soundscapists, Sound Escapists, and Escapers of Sound,

Cassette tape recorded circa 1985-86 by my
6th-grade self & labeled/preserved by my Mamaw

As an anthropologist, my workflow fluctuates between social engagement in the world (i.e., participant observation, conducting interviews, attending meetings/events, presenting research) and more remote and potentially solitary efforts (i.e., writing funding proposals and reports, conference abstracts, field notes; scheduling/transcribing interviews). Depending on the activity, soundscapes such as audio notes, background music, and community radio play various important roles in both defining my work environment and informing/documenting the content of my research. So this App Report focuses on some of the tools and methods I use in different fields and contexts.

Soundscaping | Sound Escapes | Escaping Sound

Soundscaping
Since the advent and evolution of sound recording technologies, audio documentation has long been a standard method of ethnographic and folklife fieldwork. (For example, see the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian Folkways, Berea College Sound Archives, Lomax Kentucky Recordings, Ethnographic Sound Archives Online, Folkvine, NatuAural, and Soundscapes: Toward a Sounded Anthropology.) I previously posted about sensory postcards as a soundscape methodology (Droumeva 2015) that privileges the auditory sense over visual representation of a place and time. My partner and I also have a multimedia documentary blog about her grandparents' Bluegrass music that incorporates soundscapes of their self-documentation. Audio recordings are an important part of my dissertation fieldwork, and following are some of the most useful apps/software that I use on a regular basis or have experimented with.

iPhone:

OneNote: I use the built in audio recorder in OneNote for mobile note-taking when I'm in the field. I create a OneNote page for each day on my desktop computer and sync so it will be available to edit on my iPhone. I use it for capturing reflections or notes to myself for later follow-up. I haven't been brave enough to attempt recording full-length interviews in OneNote, but I have sometimes used it to capture and embed brief soundscapes of a particular place and moment in dated field notes. (I've written more extensively about using OneNote for research and writing in a previous App Report.)

Voice Memos: The native iOS audio recording produces excellent sound quality, and I use it as either a primary or backup recorder for conducting interviews. It's easy to use, reliable, and displays full-screen visuals of sound levels and active recording status. The main downside is that it only records in Apple's propriety .m4a format, which doesn't work in Audacity for editing or in OneNote for direct playback and transcription. (See MIKSOFT Mobile Media Converter for converting .m4a to .mp3 or other formats.+)

Voice Recorder and Audio Editor (TapMedia Ltd): The interface for this simple iOS audio recorder looks like an old-school cassette recorder that my Mamaw Clemons used to have, which thrills my kid-self. It doesn't show audio levels but displays the steady rolling of the "tape" reels and total recording time. I haven't used this app as much as Voice Memos, but I like the user-friendly buttons, especially the ability to pause/un-pause while recording, and the option to select the default audio format (.aiff, .caf, .m4a, .wav, and .mp3). These audio files are not backed up in "iTunes Media" the same way that Voice Memos are, but they can be retrieved from the device through iTunes (the app shows up under "File Sharing" when connected) and then copied over to another device or cloud drive.

Android:

RecForge II: I now have an Android tablet that I'm still learning how to use. So far I love having a mobile tool between the bulk of a full-size laptop and a phone-size screen; however, I was disappointed to discover that there isn't a native Android audio recording app. I did some research on the best free apps and found RecForge II. I haven't used it much, but the sound quality is good and it displays recording status and sound levels. While it technically offers the option to select different default file formats, I tried to use it as a backup recorder recently and learned the hard way that there are some limitations to this feature on the free version. "Recording audio in mp3, ogg, wma, flac and opus is interrupted every 3 minutes", BUT there is "no limitation to wav format". I was fortunate that the backup wasn't necessary in this case, but I wish I had paid better attention before trying to use it for a formal interview.

Sony Audio Recorder: I also downloaded and tested this free basic app on the Android tablet. It records in .aac or .wav formats, and the user interface is super-simple and displays the sound levels, recording progress, and list of recordings. 

Sound Escapes

When I'm researching, writing, or performing administrative tasks, I work best when there is minimal background noise or distractions. However, that doesn't mean that I don't listen to music while I work sometimes; in fact, I find ambient/electronica or instrumental jazz both relaxing and motivating as background music as well as a good soundtrack for taking a break and moving around. Following are some of my favorite apps, playlists, and channels for working and chilling.

Background Ambiance:

AccuRadio: This is one of the earliest and longest running online streaming services, and I first started listening to their AccuHolidays channel when a colleague and friend turned me on to it in 2001. (You can listen to the master mix of all holiday music or listen to genre-specific channels.) Later I discovered AccuRadio's non-holiday plethora of genre and sub-genre channels and have considered it my best all-around go-to music site ever since. There are iOS and Android apps, but I tend to listen to AccuRadio from the web app on my laptop. It has a "Chill" station that is great background music for focusing, and there's also a page of "Workplace Moods" that compiles several awesome workout and chill stations that we like. You don't have to have an AccuRadio account to listen, but I eventually created one so that I could access my listening history, save favorite channels, and blend channels into custom stations.  Here are a few of my custom Blend stations for your listening pleasure/productivity:

The only downside I've encountered is that the website version of AccuRadio will automatically log out of the account after a couple of weeks, but that's about it...

Chillhop Music: This is the ultimate YouTube music channel for chill/study background grooves. I don't even remember how I came across it, but it's another go-to soundtrack for quiet, energetic focus. Chillhop features individual tracks by artists on their label as well as extended mixes that last an hour or two. Another bonus is that they frequently broadcast these extended playlists live and archive them on the YouTube site (and the live comments feed is a fascinating ethnographic detour if you have time to go down that rabbit hole).

Soma FM: This is another fortuitous find that includes various unique selections for invoking an intellectual ambience. There are so many good ones... Some of my favorites are Lush (electronica with all-female vocals), Mission Control (recordings of actual NASA communications overlaid with ambient music), Secret Agent (byline: "The soundtrack for your stylish, mysterious, dangerous life."), but Soma FM has lots of other ambient and space-related specialties as well. There is a free iOS app (only third-party apps are available for Android), but they do request donations as "a listener-supported, commercial-free internet-only radio station."

Radio Fields:

One of my Mamaw's many media artifacts

Fieldwork is an important aspect of my research and relationships as an anthropologist, and it involves spending time in my different field sites as well as virtual interactions within and outside of these geographical spaces. Both traveling and working remotely can be solitary experiences, so I also try to engage sensorially with my field sites en route by listening to local community radio stations when they are in range or online when I'm not physically in the field.

TuneIn: Some local radio stations have their own mobile apps or online streaming sites, but I use the TuneIn app (iOS & Android) to listen to community stations from my different field sites when I'm not there in person. There is a premium version that's commercial-free, but you don't have to have an account to use it, and the free version is fine if you don't mind listening to ads. I haven't explored it much beyond this purpose, but it seems to have a wide-ranging offering of local, regional, and national radio stations as well as genre-specific TuneIn channels to choose from. (Like this Chill station...)

Escaping Sound

Sometimes music can be a good way to block other sounds, but absence of disruptive sound is one of the best elements for a focus-friendly work environment. I'm fortunate and grateful to live in the woods, which is respite from town sounds while providing a peaceful soundscape of trees, breezes, birds, frogs, insects, pets, and far-off neighbors. However, living in a dome can be its own aural challenge because the open, round shape works like a giant megaphone. The acoustics are great for listening to music and watching movies, but there is literally no barrier to block out competing sounds when I'm trying to concentrate. 

So I am currently looking for a good set of headphones that can help create a more defined workspace when necessary. A GradHacker blog post from a couple of years ago explored "Hearing without (Necessarily) Listening: The Soundtrack to Your Work Life" and different ways of "Thinking about our research soundscapes." The author mentions "noice-cancelling headphones" but doesn't really explain what they are, how they work, or where to get them. It was also unclear whether these are standalone headphones to dampen loud sounds (like one would wear using lawn equipment, etc.) or if they are special headphones for listening to audio without outside distraction. Luckily, I found a helpful discussion board with some explanations and user recommendations of different types.

I'm keenly aware of the great privilege of having a wilderness sanctuary to live and work in when I'm not in the field, going to meetings, etc. I'm grateful for my home and its different seasonal soundscapes that support my work. I also appreciate having various digital tools for recording data and producing soundscapes for working and chilling, and I hope this App Report is useful to others as well.

Be Kind, Be Kin,
*AnthroBone

+ Audacity is a free audio editing software that can also be used to convert files to different formats, but I will discuss this tool more in-depth in a future app report on editing/production apps.

Me and my Mamaw Ruby Clemons
at Clemons' Shoe Store in
Camargo, Kentucky circa 1978

p.s. I was exposed to audio recording at an early age by my maternal grandmother Ruby Clemons who, despite her constant disclaimers of being technologically challenged, always had the latest recording/playback devices. Her "formal" living room was really her home recording studio with a piano, guitars, harmonicas, music books, tape recorders, speakers, etc. So, long before I got my first "boombox" cassette player/recorder for Christmas in 6th grade, I was allowed to play with my Mamaw's equipment if I asked first. I credit her for influencing and supporting much of my creative, academic, and sustainability aspirations. My engagement with sound documentation and preservation is an excellent example of her example in my life. 

I'm an only child, and borrowing my Mamaw's cassette recorder was a common method of entertaining myself. Every day after school, I'd get off the bus in front of her shoe store and hang out with her watching soap operas and playing behind the counter. The cassette depicted above is labeled for my piano solo of Beethoven's "Für Elise," but it also includes bonus tracks of rounds and other songs that I learned in music class and recorded so I could play them back to sing with myself. There is also the super bonus of an a capella Madonna medley of song choruses from her numerous 1980s hits. I wanted to share an audio clip of 6th-grade AnthroBone from this infamous recording, but I'm having trouble locating it the digital version in our vast hard drive archive. 

I plan to post a couple of new multisensory postcards in the near future, but meanwhile I offer this alternative Bonus Track from Postmodern Jukebox, another favorite source of audio treats that requires more direct attention because it is so much more than background music. Pianist Scott Bradlee posts regular re-arrangements of pop songs from different eras utilizing "vintage" musical styles and genres from other decades. There are many amazing examples of his various remixes and collaborations, but I chose this remix of his remix of Macklemore's "Thift Store" that he synched with some old movie clips. Mucho meta-media mixing!



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Disclaimer: For the record, I share my experience and opinions as an independent user of the audio-related apps and websites in this post. I am not formally affiliated with nor have I received any compensation for endorsement of any of the companies/products listed here.