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Re: human recordings,

Subject: Re: human recordings,
From: Wild Sanctuary <>
Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2002 08:22:39 -0800
How well we understand, Syd.

The journey, such as it was, took about 36 hours, as I recall, with a 
little help (finally had to resort to prune juice) because we were 
getting pretty tired by that time and were a bit worried that the 
device got stuck along the route of its crusade. However, we did 
record right to the end...so to speak. What we didn't do was to 
record the intestinal biophonic soundscape under different dietary 
conditions. Sad to say that the recovered hydrophone, having served 
its noble purpose, was never used again, and not displayed as part of 
the exhibit. I have no idea where it is or what happened to it. 
Ultimately, despite the fact that kids and young adults found it 
almost universally informative and amusing and it became the museum's 
most visited exhibit, the sounds were taken out after a few weeks as 
being too suggestive or, as one major museum donor and board member 
expressed, "too scatological!"  (One can only wonder what THEIR 
intestines sound like.)

The hydrophone was a modified B & K 8103 with a small radio 
transmitter attached. We couldn't record while the device was moving 
or when there was peristalsis present. The device had to be 
momentarily still. We did get heart beats and some breathing at the 
beginning, but that would appear to be a normal part of the corporeal 
soundscape, wouldn't it?

As for a shotgun...best not to swallow it. It hurts the mic and 
distorts the sound of the lyrebird.

All best,
Bernie

>Hi Bernie,
>
>             Sorry, but I've just got to ask.  How long did the recording
>take?  It seems that you kept recording right to the end.  The mind boggles!
>Were heart-beats audible and did they wax and wane with distance from the
>heart? Fascinating!
>
>Did the hydrophone form part of the museum exhibit?
>
>(My problem has been how to avoid recording body sounds when I'm using a
>shotgun mic to record an hour-long lyrebird performance!)
>
>Cheers
>
>Syd
>
>
>>  From: Wild Sanctuary <>
>
>>  Yes! For a museum exhibit that streteched out a model of the
>>  alimentary canal its full 33ft (10m) around the wall of a room,
>>  sounds were required. To do the audio component exhibit, I swallowed
>>  a tiny wireless hydrophone (designed and built by a colleague) and
>>  recorded. Thus the sounds from mouth to anus.
>>
>>  Bernie Krause
>>
>>>  hello i know it may not be of subject on this list, but do any of you have
>>>  an idea on how to record human body sounds, im looking for digestive track
>>>  sistem recordings, but on methods on how to do them myself, not 
>>>pre recorded
>>>  materials. any help will be appreciated, thanks!
>>>  claudio chea
>
>
>
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-- 

Wild Sanctuary, Inc.
P. O. Box 536
Glen Ellen, California  95442-0536
Tel: (707) 996-6677
Fax: (707) 996-0280
http://www.wildsanctuary.com


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