The Sound of Place
Have you ever visited a place that stayed so much in you memory that you could recall some of the senses of that you experienced? It's so vivid that in your memory, you remember what the weather was like, the sounds that you heard from around you, who you were with... and then slowly a collage senses seemed to take you back to exactly where you were.
When I was doing my PhD in Melbourne, my husband and I would often go to a flea market, called the Sunday Market, located in the neighbourhood of Camberwell. We visited the Sunday Market throughout the year in different seasons on some of our weekends... not so much to buy anything specific, but to just go see what's there, and sort of taking part in the "local" activity.
There was this one particular Sunday in winter when the weather was cloudy and pretty cold. However, something was different in the "atmosphere" that day. Something that had set that Sunday apart from the other Sundays that I visited the market. Usually, there would be buskers playing the guitar with some random songs. But that day, a different group of buskers were playing the violin, keyboard and the bass. There was also a girl playing the accordion. The music in the background and the faint melodies from the violin created a serene atmosphere as we walked.
Maybe I recalled that specific day because it "sounded" a bit different than other days. Maybe it was also because the sound of music that became the "soundtrack" to the market setting "matched" very well with the gloomy weather. But what struck me the most was how "senses" played a role in the construction of my personal memory.
Many other elements compose the market atmosphere as a whole. Maybe for some people the sounds were barely noticeable, but "moments" like that are subtle "ingredients" that can make the place experience richer, and then memorable.
When I was doing my PhD in Melbourne, my husband and I would often go to a flea market, called the Sunday Market, located in the neighbourhood of Camberwell. We visited the Sunday Market throughout the year in different seasons on some of our weekends... not so much to buy anything specific, but to just go see what's there, and sort of taking part in the "local" activity.
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| The Sunday Market operates every weekend at an open-air parking lot. (July, 2010) |
There was this one particular Sunday in winter when the weather was cloudy and pretty cold. However, something was different in the "atmosphere" that day. Something that had set that Sunday apart from the other Sundays that I visited the market. Usually, there would be buskers playing the guitar with some random songs. But that day, a different group of buskers were playing the violin, keyboard and the bass. There was also a girl playing the accordion. The music in the background and the faint melodies from the violin created a serene atmosphere as we walked.
Maybe I recalled that specific day because it "sounded" a bit different than other days. Maybe it was also because the sound of music that became the "soundtrack" to the market setting "matched" very well with the gloomy weather. But what struck me the most was how "senses" played a role in the construction of my personal memory.
Senses give places a human touch, or in a way, touch the human experience.
Many other elements compose the market atmosphere as a whole. Maybe for some people the sounds were barely noticeable, but "moments" like that are subtle "ingredients" that can make the place experience richer, and then memorable.
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