rigging and masts

My Walk this Week 151 – The Music of Storm Hannah

My walk this week was short, cold and through the remnants of Storm Hannah – it was part of a sound and weave workshop I was running over the weekend. The first stage of the workshop was to go round Swansea Marina and listen to the sounds which featured what is known as the Marina Orchestra.

dark water

The leading orchestral instruments are the masts and rigging followed by the percussion of clanks and bangs, thumps and gloops of other maritime artefacts and of course the choppy water of the marina itself.

It was wild and cold and although we found a relatively sheltered spot to listen to the “symphony”, when we ventured down to the seafront, we soon decided to turn round and head back as the crescendo and bluster of bass from the crashing wind was too much to bear for more than a few moments.

The purpose of the workshop was to use sound as a starting point for design for tapestry weaving, interpreting the maritime “music” through colour, texture and technique. The students, almost all of whom were new to weaving, did some great work and all thoroughly enjoyed both the sound and weave aspects of the weekend. Putting their new found listening skills to the test on Sunday morning, when the weather had calmed down a bit, allowed us to compare a different piece of music to that of the day before.

Marina Orchestra Soundscape

Click the play button above and then the first image to listen and look through the features of my walk this week.

 

Posted in art, My Walk this Week, Photography, Sound, weaving and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

4 Comments

  1. What a wonderful soundscape you’ve captured, Alastair! Combined with your lovely images it makes me feel as if I was right there with you.

    • Thank you so much Heide. It was wild and cold out there but we all loved listening to the sounds. We also managed to get back indoors to start weaving just before the rain came down – and it really did pour down that afternoon!

  2. Once again, a plethora of intriguing sounds, Alastair. A true pleasure to listen to the soundscape. After I look at your photos, I like to close my eyes, it takes me quickly to your location. The banging masts was so prevalent, easy to feel the wind; the squawking gulls were a joy; once I heard a buzzing fly; several different birds, and some pleasant howling of the wind. Also enjoyed your photos. The weavings are gorgeous. Your workshop sounds delightful. Thanks for sharing this landscape, my friend.

    • Thank you Jet. Could you imagine how cold and battered by the wind we felt when we returned indoors. I find a windy soundscape can do that and from a StillWalks point of view is perhaps less calming than others. But it’s all about the focus of our senses so maybe hearing all the details of the sound (as you clearly did) is what does the trick. Thanks very much for listening and looking too

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