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Take a sound tour through Toronto

Stop and listen. What do you hear? The iconic clang of a passing streetcar? Vendors hocking produce in Chinatown? Every corner of the city has a sound. And one group of enterprising Ryerson students is mapping them out, one note and a time.

The newly launched Toronto Sound Zone is the work of 23-year-old Adam De Dominicis, a student at the RTA School of Media. Together with three colleagues, he’s created an audio-led guide through the city, collecting signature sounds of 20 locations.

“We’re trying to capture the essence of each location,” says De Dominicis. “It’s giving [listeners] a view of the city in a new way.”

The website consists of a map of the city with mixed audio files of some iconic– and some understated– locales across the GTA. Clicking on Wonderland, for instance, brings up an instantly recognizable clip of shrieks and rushing rollercoasters, dripping with preteen nostalgia for any Torontonian. Other sites on the map include Riverdale Farm, Dundas Square, Steam Whistle Brewery, Ward’s Island and the Hockey Hall of Fame.

De Dominicis and his team see the site as a destination for historians, tourists and anyone interested in exploring the city using their ears.

In a recorded interview on the site, Ryerson audio professor Lori Beckstead says she think the group’s project will help people pay more attention to the ever-present but oft neglected sounds in their lives.

“I think that when we pay more attention to the sounds around us, we start to think of ways that we can improve that sonic environment,” she says. “I find often times [society] will design things that are visually very appealing but yet there hasn’t been much thought put into how it sounds.”

She recalls the screeching of a TTC subway car as an example of a design that neglected to include sound, thus creating a cacophony for commuters.

But the site is also aimed at building a community for audiophiles in the city. Users can upload their own clips and populate the map with the sounds that are iconic to them and their version of Toronto. Users can also download clips, which the groups believes will attract musicians looking to incorporate authentic audio into their homegrown hits (if you’re reading this, Drake, it’s not too late to sample sounds of the Science Centre into your next album).

The site also lends credibility to areas that one might not consider to be worthy of an audio encyclopedia entry. The ROM, for instance, might be known for its silence and striking visuals. However, if you listen hard enough, you’ll realize it’s rife with sounds: the echoing footsteps of cavernous rooms, guided tours, street performers out front.

“The acoustics of the museum was drastically different than any other location,” says De Dominicis.

And when compared to another silent sentinel, say Casa Loma, you realize there’s personality and distinction hiding in the lower frequencies.

The clips not only capture a particular place, but a specific time, elevating the site from a two-dimensional thesis project into a time capsule. The shouts of animal rights protestors in the Dundas Square clip evoke the Toronto of today but, strangely enough, create an ephemeral feeling, like you’ve walked by that very protest (or at least one like it). And while there’s no reason to assume Dundas Square will disappear tomorrow, other landmarks are not so lucky.

“In 20 years, someone can look back on something like Honest Ed’s…and relive some of their memories or discover something new if they’ve never been there,” says De Dominicis.

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