At 03:12 PM 5/13/04 +0000, Rich Peet wrote:
>Roughed Grouse have a very specific set of needs when choosing a dead
>log to display on. They do use a specific diameter and degree of rot
>within the log to generate a proper mechanical resonance within their
>display. But that too would not be an example of choosing an object
>as an instrument.
Why not? Humans do it all the time. What is a drum - a musical
instrument - if it is not something chosen for its resonating qualities?
Drummers can practice on a small rubber sheet glued to a piece of wood to give
them the tactile qualities of striking a drum without driving the neighbors
insane, but for a concert one chooses something better. So does a bird -
grouse, sapsucker, and the rotten little Nuttall's Woodpecker that has chosen
the power pole outside my bedroom window for his morning performances.
In Peru they have an instrument simply called, 'the box'. And that's
what it is. A box with a hole in one side. One strikes it with whatever
appendage is convenient.
Did you ever see the musical, 'Stomp!'? "Thank you, ladies and
gentlemen. Tonight our special guest performers were Y.B. Sapsucker on Tags,
and Jim Nuttall on Power Poles. Tomorrow night, N. Flicker on Aluminum Siding
and R. Grouse on the Logs."
What I'd like to hear about is a bird *making* a musical instrument, as
those New Caledonian Crows make tools for getting food. When the lyrebirds
start peeling the bark off sticks and drying them for a while to make louder
sounds, that's when I'll get excited.
-- Chuck
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Chuck Bragg, Pacific Palisades, CA
Membership Chair
Newsletter Editor
Santa Monica Bay Audubon Society:
www.smbas.org
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