One
of the biggest distinctions between hi-fi and low-fi are the distances. Hi-fi is a much more long distance soundscape
while low-fi is more in your face. This
is why hi-fi is associated with vast and open areas because “the hi-fi
soundscape allows the listener to hear farther into the distance” (Schafer, 1).
Hi-fi would be used out in the woods, and when I’ve been out in the wilderness,
sounds do seem to linger longer and have more space to roam. Low-fi is the opposite. In a larger city such
as Milwaukee, it’s nearly impossible to avoid low-fi soundscapes. The rustle of traffic is always pertinent. With lo-fi “there is no distance; there is
only presence” (Schafer, 1). I’ve spent time in both open locations and in
large cities, and the distinctions between hi-fi and low-fi really show.
Schafer notes a few sound marks of
his youth, but one sticks out. The first
sound marks he recalls “is the churning of butter” (Schaffer, 6). Schafer notes that the pump would go for an
extended period of time and thus the butter was being made. Despite the habitual churning, at the time he
never paid much heed to it. He also mentions the stamping of boots and the
sounds of geese (Schafer, 6). For me
growing up, one sound stands out the best.
Every day, about thirty minutes after school ended, the ice cream truck
would make its round on my street. Kid’s
love sweets, and that sound would bring joy.
The sound itself, like Schaffer’s sound, was unimportant. When the song played, the sound itself was
not the first thing that came to mind. Instead it was the potential for some
ice cream. As this would happen daily,
it was a fairly consistent sound mark of my childhood.
