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Olivia Tharpe

Dr. Katherine Leo

Ethnomusicology

30 November 2018

Greyhouse Coffee

When I was back in my home town of Lafayette over Fall break, I decided to go to a

coffeeshop on the campus of Purdue University. Purdue is right across the Wabash River in West

Lafayette. The coffeeshop that I chose to go to is called Greyhouse Coffee. As a high schooler I

loved going to Greyhouse because of how trendy it was and therefore, the crowd it attracted. I

always found it fascinating to sit, drink coffee and watch the interesting students and professors

mill around the place. When I went back this time, they had remodeled the shop to make it more

open and inviting. There were more places to sit, which meant more customers, which meant

more music. This venue may seem boring at first, or too “western,” but there are so many

countries represented at Purdue. It is a melting pot of different cultures that come together to

make a new kind of culture. Before I delve into the analysis of my specific soundscape, I want to

talk about the definition of music and how we have talked about that in ethnomusicology this

year.

At the beginning of the year, we defined music as a group of sounds. Ideas govern these

sounds are different depending on the cultures present in the environment. It is incredibly hard to

define music because each culture has an idea of what music is to them. A Soundscape is all

sounds in a space. From every chair moving to bell ringing to a bird chirping. All these sounds

are a kind of music. They come together to create unique harmonies or interesting melodies.
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Because of my cultural upbringing I will perceive my soundscape in a different way than

someone else would.

One of the first things I heard when I walked into Greyhouse coffeeshop was the sound of

the barista yelling out names and orders for people. From this sound and the sight of people in

the shop, I gathered that they were busy. I walked in around 12:14 so it was lunchtime. When I

was able to sit down, I noticed the music that was playing in the background. This music was

what many of us at Millikin would immediately think of when we think “music.” It was an

eclectic mix of indie rock and pop. One of the first sounds I noticed in my fifteen-minute clip

was the clinking of dishes. It was a high-pitched porcelain sound. It was very bright but a little

like percussion. The clinking of the dishes was a clue that they served different foods there. It

also showed me that people were ordering food. There was also a lot of indistinct chatter in the

background, but it was not very loud yet.

In the background the song Woods by Bon Iver plays on the speakers. This song

specifically says a lot about the kind of audience Greyhouse wants to attract. Bon Iver has been

lumped in to the huge category of indie music. His “official” genres are indie folk, chamber pop,

and folktronica. Bon Iver came to popularity in the early 2000’s which is when indie music and

“hipster” culture started to become more mainstream. His music was different for the time. He

uses almost angelic vocals that are layered on top of each other. One of the most stunning parts

of his music is the use of guitar (chordophone). The music is pretty stripped down which makes

it feel intimate or special. His lyrics are filled with emotion of past trauma, but they are

ambiguous enough to make the listener feel like the song could apply to them. This feeling is at

the root of hipster culture. People want to be different but understood at the same time. This song

is also important to my soundscape because of my personal history with it. I sang an a cappella
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version of “Woods” as a part of Dissonance. I recognized the song because of my history with it,

and it brought back many personal memories and feelings. In fact, not just the composed songs,

but all the sounds in this space are connected to my own memories.

The sound of chairs moving indicates that people are getting up and walking around or

sitting down after grabbing their orders. The frequent moving of chairs and the chatter tell me

that the customers are full of energy. The barista would yell out things like “apple cider” and

“hot cocoa” that would be a clue that I recorded this during a cooler time of year, specifically

autumn. I can also hear the espresso machine and the steaming milk machine. This is another

indication that I am in a coffeeshop. Not only that, but the baristas are probably making latte’s

which probably have latte art another popular trend. People my age and younger love to take

pictures of fancy latte art. It is part of the aesthetic of our culture in America. We constantly must

share things that we find beautiful. There are both male and female voices intermingled in

conversation. Many of the female voices that are audible sound very animated. From their tone

and the sound of their voices I can tell that they are young and probably students. The different

pitches of people’s voices create unique harmonies. I hear laughter which indicates that people

are happy. After “Woods” plays more acoustic indie music makes its way out of the speakers. I

can hear people coughing which could indicate sickness and indicate that the seasons are

transitioning.

Not many more new sounds are introduced into the space until the shop reached its peak

time. About halfway through the recording there is so much chatter and the volume escalates.

More people in the shop means more business, more sound, and indicates that it may be a

mealtime.
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I believe that the original purpose of this coffeeshop was for it to be a more

contemplative area. It used to be more closed off and did not have as many seats. There was the

door to go inside then a small open space with the cash register. Further back there was a little

hall area that led to the back of the shop where overstuffed chairs beckoned for people to sit

down. There also used to be boardgames lying around that people could pick up and play.

Because the shop became more popular with the college crowd, in the last few years, they

remodeled to make it more accessible to larger crowds. Because of this space change, the

dynamic of the soundscape also changed. It was very busy when I went. I had to wait to sit down

and detected many interesting conversations happening around me. Along with noise inside the

store, there was also noise from the street outside when someone would open the door.

Greyhouse is on one of the main streets of campus. It is right on the peak of a hill where there is

a stoplight. You can hear cars stopping and starting and the occasional honk of a horn.

Conversations in the shop bounce off each other because it is a more intimate place.

Students discuss majors and upcoming projects. As more people come in the volume increases.

Not just because there are more people in the store but because people have to start talking

louder to be heard over the noise.

The sound in the shop was very friendly. No one in the space seemed to be negatively

affected by the amount of sound. When you are outside you cannot hear any sounds from the

inside of the shop. The volume in the shop never gets too loud because people are trying to be

considerate of those who are studying or reading.

Because this coffeeshop is on a huge college campus, the prices are pretty high. It attracts

a more affluent crowd. I have applied to work here before and believe that the barista’s make

above minimum wage for Indiana. Everyone who talks in the soundscape sounds very well
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educated and most likely from upper middle class or middle-class families. There were a lot of

international students as well. I remember hearing a couple of languages when I was there.

I am almost positive that the music in the shop was playing off a Spotify playlist. We

talked about the practices of Spotify earlier in the semester and how little they compensate the

musicians they represent. You can also use the app Shazam to find songs that are playing in the

background. The app listens to the song and then finds it through the internet.

Because many of the people in my soundscape were students, and it was around the time

of midterms, they were most likely studying or talking about subjects related to school. Many of

the people in my soundscape were international students. I heard a couple of languages during

the hour that I was at Greyhouse. The baristas were extremely busy the whole time. They had to

make sure all the customers were happy and get their drinks quickly but efficiently. They wear a

lot of different hats because they have to make drinks, clean, and prepare all of the food.

International students may be worrying about getting a flight home for the holidays. I don’t

know what anyone in my soundscape is personally going through, but I can tell by the chatter

that most peoples minds are on school or on working at the shop.

The Encyclopedia Britannica defines Transnationalism as “economic, political, and

cultural processes that extend beyond the boundaries of nation states.”1 In class we said that it

makes geopolitical borders less significant. Transnationalism is seriously at work in my

soundscape environment. The world has become smaller because of the invention of internet,

smart phones and social media. We are able to post videos and pictures from any part of the

world. When we see these videos and hear the music of other cultures, it can be easier to become

open minded about our differences. We can learn to appreciate the beauty of every culture. Like I

1
Richard Huff, “Transnationalism,” Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed November 30th 2018,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/transnationalism
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said earlier, it helps weaken geopolitical borders. On the other side of the coin, our exposure to

different world musics can make it easier for us to “steal” music that is sacred to other cultures. I

put steal in quotes because it is such a gray area. All this music is out there on the internet for us

to enjoy. Because there is so much information, it is impossible to monitor everything that goes

on. As soon as one copyrighted or plagiarized thing is taken down, someone else uploads the

same thing.

I think the environment and the soundscape of the coffeeshop is particularly interesting

because not only are people from different cultures coming to enjoy the atmosphere, but the

trendy hipster culture is also influencing them. They, in turn, will share photos or videos of the

shop with people back home who spread it around to even more people. It is amazing to see how

people influence other people. It is almost impossible to know who had an idea first, or where a

certain way of talking, or instrument comes from. Especially with the sounds of a soundscape,

this is not documented like “normal,” composed music would be. Because it is undocumented,

we do not place a high importance in knowing where it is from and therefore, we often do not

even consider it to be music. I am so much more aware of everything in my sound environments

now. My whole way of thinking has changed.

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Works Cited

Huff, Richard. “Transnationalism.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified 2018.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/transnationalism