Teresa Tippens ’15

January 2013

Hearing Cultures: US & Japan

Teresa Tippens ’15 Musical Studies major with a focus in Sound Design and Technology and a minor in Computer Studies. Ever since she returned from her year abroad in Japan, she has been interested in sound as an integral, and often underrepresented, element of culture. Teresa believes sound conveys cultural significance that is often overlooked; a soundtrack that carries hidden meaning to listeners. For her winter term project she will return to Japan to record “sonic photographs”– compositions made of recorded sounds that try to capture the sonic atmosphere of a place. Teresa intends to record sounds of shops, shrines, churches, temples, and daily life. These sonic photographs will be shared with the Oberlin community upon her return.  In addition to recording sonic photographs, she plans on interning at her old high school and elementary school, holding workshops based on “American” sounds that she has recorded.  She hopes these conversations will spark cultural exchange by examining elements of sound and how they contribute to cultural stereotypes and understandings.