i did it like this but it seemed stupid :
string path = Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location.Substring(0, Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location.LastIndexOf("\\")) + "\\Sounds";
any other ideas?
my actual goal is to locate the files in my project output directory. it can be any directory i created under my windows application. it is not as straight forward as web application where i can use Server.MapPath();