THE LOCAL TRANSMISSION · ONLINE SEASON 1 · UES-210
Listening Post: Soundwalks & the Acoustic Commons
SOUND + PLACE
Hear one place as a layered public system: notice rhythm, refuge, noise, voice, weather, machines, and other species, then shape those observations into an ethical and accessible listening route.
Course boundaryNo intelligible private conversations, covert recording, trespass, unsafe routes, or disturbance of wildlife or sensitive sites. A stationary, archival, memory-based, or notation-only path always counts equally.
- Module time
- About 2.5–3 self-paced hours per module
- Pace
- Start anytime · no deadlines · pause and return.
- Completion
- Any four modules plus the final course outcome.
- Materials
- Notebook or notes app · Phone recorder or any audio recorder, optional · Headphones, optional and never required outdoors · Simple map, hand-drawn route, or stationary observation grid
WHY THIS CLASS EXISTS
Make observation useful to somebody else.
Hear one place as a layered public system: notice rhythm, refuge, noise, voice, weather, machines, and other species, then shape those observations into an ethical and accessible listening route.
Builds from Season 0: UES-103, UES-105, UES-107, UES-108.
HOW THE ROOM RUNS
Prompt. Fieldwork. Studio. Receipt.
- 01Module prompt
One central question opens each module. The source shelf is optional; the page itself contains the full path.
- 02Field task
One 90–120 minute act of looking, making, recording, or hosting.
- 03Self-guided studio
A 45-minute making, editing, or reflection session you can complete alone.
- 04Module receipt
A 15-minute useful trace kept privately or shared only when you choose.
YOUR PRIVATE COURSE DESK
Start here. No account required.
Check off modules as you work. Progress stays in this browser; the university never receives your name, work, location, email, or wallet.
0 of 5 completion steps · finish any four modules plus the final outcome.
Local progress is ready. You can also use the class without saving anything.
THE SIX-MODULE ROOM
A complete first syllabus.
Everything required is printed here. References named inside modules are optional; use this on-page toolkit whenever a module asks for a check, scenario, ledger, or handoff.
- MODULE01
What enters attention when we listen for distance, rhythm, masking, and change before naming sounds?
Hear the Layers
On-page prompts + optional references
- National Park Service soundscape listening prompts
- Acoustic ecology and soundwalk score examples
- UES local observation and field-note practice
Self-guided studio
Follow a guided three-minute listen, first marking distance and rhythm, then naming possible sources and uncertainty.
Field task
Make three short listening studies from one safe place using audio, written notation, drawing, vibration, or remembered sound.
Module receipt · private by default
A private or shareable layered listening card with time, place, conditions, method, and three unresolved sounds.
- MODULE02
How does one place change when time, weather, traffic, work, or other species change?
Return at Another Hour
On-page prompts + optional references
- One-minute field-recording and written sound-score examples
- Time, weather, distance, direction, and device metadata
- Headphone safety and hearing-access alternatives
Self-guided studio
Compare two observations without treating volume, device measurements, or memory as perfect evidence.
Field task
Complete the repeated sound inventory across three times, or use three time-stamped public recordings when returning is unavailable.
Module receipt · private by default
A three-column comparison naming stable sounds, changes, missing information, and one possible cause labeled as inference.
- MODULE03
When does recording a place become an intrusion into people, habitat, work, or refuge?
Listen Without Taking
On-page prompts + optional references
- Consent and incidental-conversation recording guidance
- Wildlife-safe observation and sensitive-location practices
- On-page six cases: intelligible private conversation, distant public crowd, consenting speaker, nesting wildlife, safety alarm, and a place whose exact location could cause harm
Self-guided studio
For each of the six cases above, choose record, ask consent, relocate, wait, describe only, or do not document; write one sentence explaining the least intrusive safe choice.
Field task
Write a recording boundary, avoid intelligible private conversation, and make one consented, public, environmental, archival, or notation-only study.
Module receipt · private by default
An ethics note documenting what was recorded, omitted, moved, disguised, described instead, or left private—and why.
- MODULE04
Where do people encounter sound, quiet, warning, masking, invitation, and exclusion along one route?
Map the Acoustic Commons
On-page prompts + optional references
- Sonic map, route score, and accessibility-audit examples
- Public right-of-way and daytime-route safety prompts
- Noise, refuge, masking, rhythm, and threshold vocabulary
Self-guided studio
Turn observations into four ordered stops with duration, direction, access alternative, safety note, and listening instruction.
Field task
Complete the ethical sonic map as a short route or stationary four-zone field; travel is never required.
Module receipt · private by default
The map with four listening prompts, access and safety alternatives, privacy decisions, and a text-only version.
- MODULE05
How much shaping helps attention, and when does cleanup manufacture a place that was never heard?
Edit Without Erasing Place
On-page prompts + optional references
- Basic edit, level, fade, and file-export guidance
- Non-audio equivalents: notation, text score, and spectrogram description
- Credit, rights, provenance, and correction metadata
Self-guided studio
Build one lightly edited audio sequence or text score, retaining original files and documenting each material transformation.
Field task
Create a five-minute draft, write its transcript or equivalent description, and check it without relying on sound alone.
Module receipt · private by default
A draft sequence plus an edit ledger naming cuts, fades, level changes, omissions, sources, and uncertainties.
- MODULE06
What can a future listener revisit, correct, or hear differently?
Open the Listening Post
On-page prompts + optional references
- On-page listening-post check: audio is optional; include a text score or transcript, map or stationary grid, route alternative, volume warning if relevant, privacy decision, credits, rights, and a downloadable local package
- Portable metadata and stable-file naming practices
- Community listening and optional Tezos publication boundary
Self-guided studio
Assemble the route or atlas, run privacy, access, credit, file, and route checks, and write a repeatable listening prompt.
Field task
Finish the listening post and preserve its source recording or score, map, transcript, metadata, and private/public choice.
Module receipt · private by default
Completed listening post or private equivalent with map, access assets, ethics note, credits, correction path, and next-listen date.
WHAT COMPLETION MEANS
No grades. Real work.
- 01
Repeated sound inventory · suggested after module 2
Observe the same place three times and document foreground, middle distance, background, rhythm, interruption, refuge, weather, time, and uncertainty through audio or notation. - 02
Ethical sonic map · suggested after module 4
Map a short route or stationary listening field with four stops, access and safety alternatives, privacy decisions, consent notes, and one non-audio reading path. - 03
Listening post · suggested after module 6
Edit the observations into a five-minute route or atlas with recording or score, transcript or equivalent description, credits, metadata, source files, and a future listening prompt.
Complete any four of the six module receipts and finish the course outcome or a private equivalent. There are no grades, deadlines, peer requirements, or public-posting requirements.
ACCESS IS PART OF THE SYLLABUS
More than one way through the room.
- Every instruction is readable on the public course page; audio or video references require a transcript or equivalent text path.
- Every required prompt, scenario, rubric, and checklist is written on this course page; named sources are optional references, not missing course materials.
- Low-bandwidth, print-friendly syllabus with no paid platform or subscription required.
- No live attendance, camera, account, wallet, or public posting is required.
- Progress stays in this browser unless the learner chooses to download a private completion receipt.
- A notebook-based sound score fully replaces recording equipment, headphones, or hearing-dependent tasks.
- Every route can be completed from one safe indoor location, through memory, or with public archival audio.
- A text-score path completes the whole course without an audio editor.
- Independent route
- Active now. The complete sequence, studio prompts, access paths, and private checklist are on this page.
- Optional faculty profile
- A sound artist, radio producer, acoustic ecologist, musician, or field recordist able to teach close listening, recording ethics, accessible audio, and restrained editing.
- Supported cohort
- Optional and funding-dependent. Human review or scheduled sessions never gate access or completion.
- Planning cost
- $3,500 for maintenance, access, materials, and an optional supported cohort—not tuition or admission.
Learners retain copyright. Public licensing and Tezos minting are optional and separate. A wallet, public identity, public artifact, or blockchain transaction is never required for this class.
THE ROOM IS OPEN
Bring one place. Leave one useful trace.
Start now, move at your own pace, and keep the work private if that is the right path. Human help and supported cohorts can be added without changing anyone’s right to learn independently.
Support does not buy admission, curriculum control, governance rights, or faculty appointments.