Top photo citation: [Walking into the storm image]. (n.d.). Good Free Photos. https://www.goodfreephotos.com/people/walking-into-the-storm.jpg.php
Have you ever thought about creating a sound but do not have access to a studio to record a particular sound?
For example, I decided to create my own audio of someone taking a stroll until a storm calls out. This helped show me how easy it was to create a meaningful soundscape without professional equipment.
Listen Below:
Down below is a table in which sounds I used to make “A Stroll Outside.”
| # | Sound | Creator | Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rain with traffic | lwdickens | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 2 | Running | Vendarro | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 3 | Thunder | bastipictures | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 4 | Door opening/closing | JakLocke | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 5 | Wind chimes | Philip_Goddard | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 6 | Singing birds | jaromarsalek | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 7 | Footsteps | bia87 | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 8 | Waterfall | LG | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
| 9 | Air sounds | kyles | Link | Edited in Clipchamp |
There are many different websites that you are able to use that offer free sounds that other people have posted for public use, which are listed below:
FreeSound – A collaborative database
Audio Archive – Part of the Internet Archive
SoundBible – Royalty and public domain sounds
In order to put the sounds together to create your own digital audio, you can use the website I have listed below:
This image illustrates the setup of a digital sound mixer used in audio production:
According to the Digital Studies 101 website, there are many reasons that you need to create your own sound. Whether that is a song, story, video game, movie, journal, or even a podcast. This source notes that podcasts have become a popular form of digital audio on the internet. As stated by DGST101, a podcast is a good mixture of speech, auditory effects, music, and silence. 1(DGST101 n.d.)
The photograph shows us a roadmap that can be helpful if you want to start a podcast:
The Digital Audio module of DGS101 explains that creating digital audio, whether through recording or editing hardware, is characterized by its ease, low cost, accessibility, and freedom. Using cheap microphones and free software, DGST101 highlights that with a very low budget and little practice, you can create multiple different digital audios.2(DGST n.d.)
Significance of digital technology:
- Provide sensory– Rich auditory experiences in media, engaging listeners in unique ways3 (Trufelman, 2018)
- Text- to-speech accessibility– Communicate through digital voices that replicate natural speech (Mashable, 2017)4
- Voice Donation– Contribute voices to create artificial voices for those who cannot speak5(Hernan, 2015)
Thinking Critically:
The Sound of Life: What Is a Soundscape observes that digital audio production helps make real-world soundscapes, which helps humans relate to their surroundings through experiences that have sounds to connect them to moments.6 (Smithsonian Folklife, n.d.)
As noted by The Sound of Life: What Is a Soundscape? The purr of equipment is making the world never completely silent. It is the sound of the digital age, which is in everyday life.7 (Smithsonian Folklife, n.d.)
Ways of Hearing, a project by Radiotopia points out that a digital voice does not have the same feeling as the original sound of hearing it in real life. Trading intimacy for efficiency for a loved one’s voice. 8 (Radiotopia, n.d.)
The GIF demonstrates the ambiance of someone walking in the rain:
When I put together my sounds I got from Freesound, I had made an environment that helped connect sounds to a story of someone taking a stroll outside. The soundscape included the door opening and closing, the crunch of the gravel, the sound of water, wind chimes in the distance, cars passing by, and the thunderstorm with rain.
Digital audio has shown me how it allows us to express creativity in a new way while still having connections to the world around us. With a few free tools and sounds, you can create an atmosphere that tells everyone a story. Digital sounds have the potential to bring emotion and imagination to life.
Click HERE if you want to learn about how I created my audio.
- DGST101, “Digital Audio,” DGST101: Digital Studies 101, accessed October 28, 2025, https://new.dgst101.net/modules/digital-audio ↩︎
- DGST101, “Digital Audio.” ↩︎
- Avery Trufelman, host, The Sound of the Artificial World, episode 15, 99% Invisible, June 5, 2018, https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/episode-15-the-sound-of-the-artificial-world. ↩︎
- Mashable, “Stephen Hawking Got His Voice from This Man,” YouTube video, March 30, 2017, https://mashable.com/article/stephen-hawking-voice-origin-story ↩︎
- Hernan, producer, Being Siri, UnFictional, KCRW, November 20, 2015, https://www.kcrw.com/shows/unfictional/stories/being-siri. ↩︎
- The Sound of Life: What Is a Soundscape? Smithsonian Folklife, accessed October 30, 2025, https://folklife.si.edu/talkstory/the-sound-of-life-what-is-a-soundscape. ↩︎
- The Sound of Life: What Is a Soundscape? Smithsonian Folklife, accessed October 30, 2025, https://folklife.si.edu/talkstory/the-sound-of-life-what-is-a-soundscape. ↩︎
- Ways of Hearing, Radiotopia, accessed October 30, 2025, https://www.radiotopia.fm/showcase/ways-of-hearing/ ↩︎
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