The Sounds of Silence

Email received from Councillor Susan Barker - Essex County Council

The Sounds of Silence - Stop, listen and be part of history!

The Essex Record Office and Explore Essex have launched a campaign to encourage Essex residents to record this historic moment in time and be part of history!

We want to know how the sounds around you have changed during the lockdown.

What sounds are you noticing now that you are working from home, the traffic and aeroplanes have halted and children are home from school?

From loud birdsong when you open the window to the normal items around your home you might never pay attention to, what does your ‘isolation’ sound like? We want you to share the sounds of the Essex Lockdown with us, and have some fun while you do it!

Ideas

Why not record at the same time of day every day for a week? Or take one day and record for twenty seconds every hour to note the differences? You could open the window, record your home working space, the kids at home, the wildlife or the lack of traffic. Create it as a project for the kids. What do you notice? Let us know!

How to

For instructions on how you can record sounds and share them to social media click here.

We advise recording a clip for up to one minute.

Then upload your recording to Facebook or Instagram and tag us @visitparks using #EssexSoundsofSilence. If you’d like your recording to #BePartofHistory and be added to our Sound Archive, please also email it to us at explore.essex [at] essex.gov.uk. Make sure to tell us when and where you recorded your clip, and give it a title.

This really is a historic moment of time, one we think is significant and worth capturing and recording for future generations.

Inspiration

This project was inspired by the Essex Sounds website which hosts the sounds of Essex past and present. Ultimately the idea is to be able to add some of your recordings. For now, do visit the website for inspiration.