What I meant was (and said, altho it wasn't quoted either correctly or
in context) was that detail was heard through headphones (because they
tend to focus attention on what's coming through them) that were close
to what our ancestors more likely heard and understood when the
biophonies or geophonies were the only natural sounds heard in their
environments. I. e. I was referring to the inherent temporal and
frequency structure of the biophony and the connection between that
and the origins of some of human cultural endeavour; natural
soundscapes inspired our our music and language as well as providing
an acoustic map that guided hunters on evening and nighttime journeys,
for instance. Because journalists have limited space to present their
cases, and have to endure a measure of editing from even higher ups
who understand little or nothing about the subjects submitted, even
the best publications cut and paste and cover what they believe are
the salient points. Furthermore, these are unfortunately treated more
as "fluff" or "fill" pieces. As a result and often, much is lost in
translation which I why I rarely read those things if I'm looking for
serious information.
That said, it's a subject developed and researched much more
thoroughly in my new book, "The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the
Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places," to be published on
Little Brown (Hachette in Europe) 19 March. This will cover a wide
range of historical background on soundscapes, their impact on human
culture, and the resulting human interrelationships with acoustic
aspects of the natural world.
BTW, I could use some help from group: We're looking for nature
recording, music, and academic chat groups, networks, and associations
(particularly in Europe, Latin and Central America, and Asia) to
contact regarding this effort. Suggestions would be greatly
appreciated (off-line, please). Thanks everyone and Happy New Year.
Bernie Krause
On Jan 8, 2012, at 6:39 PM, Peter Shute wrote:
> I don't understand part of this article:
> "I put on the headphones and was suddenly engulfed in birdsong-so
> much so that for a moment I took them off to look around. Where were
> all these birds?"
>
> "What you're hearing through the headphones is the world the way our
> ancestors heard it, before mechanical sounds dominated everything,"
> Krause explained. "The microphone pulls in the biophony, so it seems
> that you're in your own private music hall."
>
> This sounds like it's being suggested that our ancestors could hear
> thing we can't hear because of mechanical noise, yet in this
> situation there should have been none. I would have thought all that
> was happening was that it was amplified by the recorder, and that
> the listener was simply too far away to hear them unaided. Or is
> this simply an illustration of the sounds that are out there to be
> heard, if we get close enough?
>
> I've only recently started making recordings, and even more recently
> ambient recordings, so I've only just realised how hard it is to get
> away from noise. My pet hate is "frivolous" noise - the sound of
> small aircraft carrying joyriders, trailbikers tearing up a
> mountainside, etc. Unlike the sound of a factory, I get no benefit
> from the process making the noise, and in my opinion they don't get
> a lot either, and the sound is continuous and carries for huge
> distances.
>
> Peter Shute
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: =
ps.com
> ] On Behalf Of Dan Dugan
> Sent: Monday, 9 January 2012 7:00 AM
> To: ; Nature Sounds Society
> Subject: [Nature Recordists] great article about quiet places by
> Virgina Morell
>
>
>
> Here's a great article about quiet places:
>
> http://www.cntraveler.com/features/2012/01/The-Sound-of-Silence
>
> Morell interviewed Bernie Kraus, Robert Dooling, Kurt Fristrup, Hans
> Slabbekoorn, Arthur Popper, Martyn Stewart, and Gordon Hempton.
>
> -Dan
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
> 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
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