Category: Sound Studies and Aural Cultures

I began the final mix. Spatial movement, loudness balance and transitions were refined so the journey feels continuous.  I removed unnecessary narration and kept words minimal. The sound is the argument. I noticed how the project changed my own listening habits.  At the beginning I heard Khoomei mainly as a cultural signal. Now I hear…

I focused on the ending sections.  I decided that returning to a cleaner throat-singing phrase would complete the arc. After everything the listener has heard, that return would feel different. It is not the same purity as before. The sound has already been reconstructed by context.  I also reflected on authorship and responsibility. I am…

I worked on the most experimental sections. Distortion, resonators, spring noise and glitch effects began transforming the throat-singing beyond recognition.  It felt powerful but also risky. Sometimes the sound crossed a line and became just noise.  I kept adjusting until each transformation still carried a trace of the original breath and resonance. I added metallic…

I began recording the narration using a Zoom H5 with foam windscreen. Then I used Audacity to reduce noise and adjust loudness so the details remained clear and consistent. I wanted my voice to be calm and reflective rather than instructional.  The voice is not the centre. It is more like a companion guiding the…

I spent time listening to multiple Khoomei recordings to understand timbre and structure.  I am not aiming to imitate or represent Mongolian culture. Instead, I am engaging with sound as a listener shaped by different environments.  I also began reading Jonathan Sterne, which helped me realize that listening is never neutral. The way I hear…

Today in class we discussed ideas for the audio paper and I was inspired by how sound can reflect political structures. One example from a classmate involved the sound system of North Korea and how authority shapes what people can hear.  I shared my initial idea about Mongolian throat-singing because I am fascinated by its…