What sounds does a music college make?
Have a listen to the vibrant sound of Manchester's musical creativity and culture. And also my clunky boots.
1. My journey to college
(Hit play so you can listen while you read. All views are my own).
The Royal Northern College of Music is right in the centre of Manchester’s university district, a place buzzing with culture and opportunity. It’s busy. The pavements are filled with people eager to get to somewhere they’ve chosen to go to. There’s Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester University (yes, there are two universities), a museum, the poetry library, theatres, music venues, cafés, bars and restaurants.
Basically, loads of great places and spaces.
In this clip, I’m walking towards college. You can hear students (many of them from overseas), cyclists, buses, footsteps, cars. You’ll also hear what sounds like a low-flying helicopter straight out of Apocalypse Now.
It’s not a helicopter.
It’s actually a street-food vendor’s generator. It gets louder as I walk past it. (I think the guy sells ice-cream and waffles. I’ve never dared look too closely at his stall in case I’m tempted to buy literally everything).
2. Walking into college
I love going through the double doors into the bright, airy reception. Listen out for the changing acoustics: outdoors, indoors, further indoors. You’ll hear me bleep in my ID card, say hi to the receptionist, then walk through into the café bar.
I can neither confirm nor deny whether or not I bought a muffin.
3. Walking through the corridors
Now we’re deep inside the college. In this clip, I’m on my way to a supervision session. I have to go up quite a few stairs and down a corridor lined with practice rooms to get to where I need to be.
You’ll hear the sound change from a stairwell to a place where the ceiling is lower and the surfaces aren’t quite so flat.
Can you hear all the instruments people are playing behind each door I pass? The singers going through their exercises?
In this audio, there’s something clicking against my (rather heavy) rucksack. I have no idea what it was.
At one point it sounds as if I’m wearing chain mail but I promise you I wasn’t.
Dear Emma, purely for 'compare and contrast' purposes, please supply further audio of your college commute, recorded WHILST wearing chain mail. Thank you.