Sound Song

If you had to introduce yourself without using written text, what would you do?

This was the question asked of us on the first day of a multimodal composition class I’m auditing this semester. Like a good professor, ours came armed with objects to show—some with clear value and some with sentimental value, some that made noise and some spoke loudly in their silence.

She gave us a few minutes to brainstorm how we would introduce ourselves using photos, videos, and sounds.

The first was easy. I passed out my business card with my blog header on it—a photograph that has become my identity. Thanks to the wonder of technology, I pulled out some photos of important moments in my life.

I talked about tastes that represent me—namely anything chocolaty and minty. I showed off my writer’s notebook and talked about the significance of pen, pencil, and marker.

But sound… what sound represents me?

All I could think of were song lyrics that describe me—or I wish described me—but those seemed out of place in a classroom full of creaking rocking chairs, winding camera film, and hissing sprinklers.

For the rest of the day, Taylor Swift sang in my head, “Our song is the slam of screen doors…”

What’s my sound song?

The cheese knife against the cutting board because in Wisconsin we set the cheese out on the counter for snacks at least once daily? The flip of the Twitter feed on an iPhone because to say I’m addicted would put it nicely? The cliché scraping of this pen against college ruled white paper?

“Our song is the slam of screen doors…”

I never did figure out my sound song but I did become very well aware of the sounds in my world. The running water against the sink basin. The cacophonous gas heater that sounds like a campfire in my living room. The symphony in my pocket composed of a new email ping, a text message doorbell, and a guitar strum ringtone. The click of my big girl heels on the hardwood floor. I felt a little bit like a hard of hearing person discovering for the first time that the world is so noisy!

“Our song is the slam of screen doors…”

What’s your sound? How would you introduce yourself online without any written text?

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