*Allot about 30-40 minutes for this assignment. 

Listen to at least a few tracks of ONE of the albums in the "Recordings for Listening" section. 

Feld, Rainforest Soundwalks (in Bosavi, PNG)

Feld, Time of Bells 1 (Bells in different parts of Europe)

Feld, Time of Bells 2 (Bells in different parts of Europe)

Turnbull, Music of the Ituri forest (anthropologist Colin Turnbull's African recordings from 1950s)

Schwartz, Nueva York (Tony Schwartz's tape documentary of Puerto Rican experience in New York, made in 1950s)

You may choose to listen first and then read the liner notes, or read before/as you listen.  You may want to take some notes as you listen.  

Here are some things you might think about:

  • how much is explained or not explained in the liner notes? how do you know what the subject of the recording is?
  • how do you feel the recording positions you, the listener (spatially, socially, etc)?
  • how is the recording framed (beginning, ending)?
  • how would you describe the sounds you hear?

 

Last modified: Monday, August 31, 2026, 2:40 PM