I recall that Don Hunter produced a couple of LPs in the 50's, featuring
some very long takes of steam locomotives idling, braking, chuffing up stee=
p
grades and whistling down canyonways. Haven't come across any CD reissues,
though. (I wonder if he edited out any bird calls or animal sounds as
"noise.")
I believe some critters take advantage of pink noise 'confusing the space',
as you put it. Whilst recording in marshes, I've noticed frogs and red-wing
blackbirds (among others) piping up when a jet plane blankets the area in
pink noise, or when a diesel truck downshifts on a nearby hill. When the je=
t
or truck fades away, the frog chorus has reached critical mass and continue=
s
on its own for a while, only to eventually die down and await the next
protective, predator-disorienting pink blanket.
Clearly, the real trick to enjoying machine sounds (and the dinosaur spirit=
s
dwelling therein) is being able to start and stop them at will. That's okay
for me, but my houseguests and neighbors might disagree. ;>)
-- Don
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Rob Danielson
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 11:50 AM
To:
Subject: RE: [Nature Recordists] historical recordings (was respectful,
"topic" question
Great link Don! Even the few, chopped=A0 whistles
tweaked my full curiosity. I found myself
longing to hear several different recordings of
whistle blasts shrinking into valleys of Oregon.
I wonder, what medium, other than sound, can
claim to be a better historical record of the
experience of space?=A0 Can't all animals can
navigate by hearing where they are? Some species
use local resonances to amplify their calls and
sometimes its easier to hear these naturally
reinforced frequencies when "struck" by a solo
truck emerging out of the quiet in the same
direction. The phasing rumbling drones of a
train, a high altitude jet, a single engine plane
or a Harley can be very mesmerizing, especially
when set in relief. The chords from these sources
can be more complex than those of a ship's horn;
what prejudice is it that can make a ship's horn
seem more pleasing?
Multiple loud sources and pink noise "roars" like
those of compressors, jets and traffic confuse
the space. I have to be geared-up, mentally, to
find pleasures in the confusion, but some people
find this experience of space exhilarating, even
"communicative," in a limited sense.
Any one know where can one get the graphite for
making historical nature mics? Rob D.
=A0 =3D =3D =3D =3D
At 11:13 AM -0700 9/4/05, Don Lloyd wrote:
>There are trainrecordists, of course. Don Hunter comes to mind:
>
>=A0=A0=A0=A0=A0 http://natural-history.uoregon.edu/Pages/dh_virtual_tour/h=
ome.html
>
>A major part of his legacy consists of many archival recordings of steam
>locomotives all over the Pacific Northwest, captured in the 40=92s and 50=
=92s
>when they were still operating. He wanted to preserve certain soundscapes
>that he knew were vanishing. The recordings that are being done right now
in
>Muir Woods and other parks will eventually have historic value as well.
>While I can thoroughly enjoy listening to Hunter's recordings, just now I
>can't imagine deriving pleasure from listening to airplanes.
>
>(In keeping with the microphone tech threads, I=92ll mention that Hunter
built
>his own mic=92s in the 30=92s, using cigar boxes and graphite.)
>
>-- Don
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:
> On Behalf Of Lou Judson
>Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 5:19 PM
>To:
>Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] respectful, "topic" question
>
>Hmmm, are there trainrecordists too?=A0 Never mind.
>
><L>
>On Sep 3, 2005, at 6:16 PM, Lou Judson wrote:
>
>>=A0 "Some railfans like to use the term Ferroequinology (the study of the
>>=A0 Iron Horse)"
>>
>>=A0 which, while cute, is about as off topic as one can get!
>>
>>=A0 <L>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>
>
>SPONSORED LINKS
>Science kits
>Science education
>Science kit for kid
>Natural sound
>Recording technique
>My first science kit
>
>
>YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
>
>=95 =A0Visit your group "naturerecordists" on the web.
>
>=95 =A0To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>=A0
>
>=95 =A0Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service=
.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>"Microphones are not ears,
>Loudspeakers are not birds,
>A listening room is not nature."
>Klas Strandberg
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
--
Rob Danielson
Film Department
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
"Microphones are not ears,
Loudspeakers are not birds,
A listening room is not nature."
Klas Strandberg
SPONSORED LINKS
Science kits
Science education
Science kit for kid
Natural sound
Recording technique
My first science kit
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
=95 =A0Visit your group "naturerecordists" on the web.
=A0
=95 =A0To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
=
=A0
=95 =A0Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.=
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