Schafer did address the aesthetic, Aaron. "(He referred to the=A0
Vancouver Soundscape Project as an example of how field
recording was used not only for aesthetic value, but [more=A0
importantly] for social and historical value.") So that is one of his=A0
concerns.
Of course what Schafer has missed, here, is that=A0 because sound in our=A0=
culture has relatively recently been returned to as a valued source of=A0
inspiration, information, and wonder as one of the senses, on one side=A0
of the coin, none of us know squat about it and what the narrative=A0
begins to reveal. Not yet anyway. Not even Schafer (although he's gone=A0
a long way to frame it out in a form we Westerns can begin to=A0
understand).
We think we know something. But there's the rub. There are still=A0
certain groups (BaAka, Kaluli, Jivaro, etc), living much more closely=A0
connected to the natural world, who have learned to navigate through=A0
the densest forest by subtle changes in the biophony, alone. It serves=A0
as a virtual GPS by which they navigate from spot to spot at night=A0
with no light to guide them. Only the soundscape. They can even=A0
determine from the biophony what critter is down the path, what=A0
direction it's heading, whether it's worth chasing down for a meal,=A0
etc. And the biophony inspires their music and dance, as it once did=A0
ours. When we get to that point as a culture, there will be lots to=A0
celebrate. Schafer enjoins us to pay attention. That's all.
Schafer is clearly not here to judge whether or not one takes pleasure=A0
in grabbing their LS-10 off the shelf and running into a nearby field=A0
(assuming there's one left within walking distance of any of us) to=A0
capture the sound of crickets or frogs or birds and knowing the name=A0
of not a single organism or even what season it is. That's where most=A0
of us begin/began. Nothing terrible about that. Some will latch onto=A0
the finer details of our sonic world, embracing it as we travel and=A0
engage. Others won't. Some will approach it in a Linnean fashion.=A0
Other will choose to hear things as Charles Ives did.
What it is to be a "good recordist" is a solipsistic question that has=A0
as many answers as there are recordists. Since there are not a lot of=A0
criteria that large numbers of us would ipso facto buy into, each of=A0
us, by default, would be the best (if, indeed, any of=A0 need to be=A0
elevated as such).
As I point out in the narrative of my new book (paraphrasing Dorothea=A0
Lang), "...a recorder is a tool for learning to hear without a=A0
recorder." Thus we are perpetual students all. That's why I thought=A0
Schafer's comment was of note. Frankly, I love the guy's provocation=A0
to incite dialog.
Bernie
On Apr 19, 2010, at 12:15 PM, Aaron Ximm wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 11:48 AM, Bernie Krause <=
> > wrote:
>> Murray concluded that, "Technology has made it easy to record. Any
>> idiot can do it and produce an interesting document. But to produce a
>> historical recording of value takes time and patience. Many=A0
>> recordists
>> are merely tourists in the soundscape=E2=80=94unfortunately."
>
> As a frequent tourist and self-described idiot who has produced
> interesting documents, I take issue with the generalization.
>
> In fact I reject it outright, and with all due respect to RMS for whom
> I have the greatest respect, I think it inadvertently reveals a set of
> assumptions about how good investigative and documentary work can and
> should be done that are rapidly becoming antiquated.
>
> For one thing, I think there are other reasons that data-gathering to
> make recordings ~ in particular, aesthetic ones. And there is a great
> deal of potential nuance within that domain. Much of my own work is
> explicitly about the experience of being out of one's depth when
> traveling outside of one's comfort zone -- regardless of location.
> There is much that I might (and do at times) record within blocks of
> my home that is rich with cultural (not to mention, biophonetic)
> intricacies I am totally ignorant of.
>
> For my money there is great value in capturing high-quality documents
> of those things, even in the absence of my own understanding --
> precisely because I anticipate (and have indeed experienced numerous
> times first-hand) that within them others will, years later, find much
> they value -- and can explain.
>
> Small example: I recorded a private ritual taking place in the Bayon
> temple in the Angkor complex one afternoon. Sad to say I understood no
> Khmer, so the words -- both ritual and casual -- that the small
> collection of people gathered were saying were opaque to me.
> Nonetheless I thought that particular recording captured a moment
> worth listening to...
>
> Years later, finding it on my website, someone of Cambodian ancestry
> wrote me up to tell me how moved they were by the recording, and
> translated every word in it for me.
>
> To have value like this, though, recordings must be shared ~ they must
> be accessible. For me, that is the great worth of the 'net and our
> progress towards lowering the cost of sharing large quantities of our
> work freely with as many people as possible. This is not to downplay
> the legitimate question (I know this has been a challenge for you
> Bernie) of how to make a living out of one's life-work...
>
> ...but it is to say that the inter-connectedness the 'net allows means
> that it is not as Schafer contends necessary for every individual to
> acquire expertise in order to make recordings of value. To make a
> contribution, in other words.
>
> The point in sum being that expertise is not longer required to reside
> in each individual, but within the network of those with ready access
> to the network's resources -- of which raw recordings and domain
> expertise are just two examples.
>
> This list itself is a perfect demonstration of my point... :)
>
> For some of us it should be enough to be good recordists. We will miss
> what is most of interest to certain experts, but as long as we are
> diligent in at least noting what where and when we recorded, who knows
> what gems we may inadvertently uncover...
>
> aaron
>
> --
>=A0
>=A0 quietamerican.org
>=A0 oneminutevacation.org
>
>=A0 83% happy
>=A0 9% disgusted
>=A0 6% fearful
>=A0 2% angry
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie=A0
> Krause
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
Wild Sanctuary
POB 536
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
707-996-6677
http://www.wildsanctuary.com
Google Earth zooms: http://earth.wildsanctuary.com
SKYPE: biophony
------------------------------------
"While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
Yahoo! Groups Links
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
|