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4. Re: The Great Animal Orchestra book release

Subject: 4. Re: The Great Animal Orchestra book release
From: "John Crockett" naturalcontemplative
Date: Wed Feb 29, 2012 1:17 pm ((PST))
Thank you for clarifying the audio situation. I know that publishing is a v=
ery tricky business these days with the rapid changes in technology. I gues=
s I, too, am a thing of the ancient past! I'm quite fond of the oral tradit=
ion. So maybe I'll end up buying the audio book version and listening to yo=
u, or that and the print version so I have the shelf reference that I am su=
re will be an inspiration for our Voice of the Earth programs, in which we =
try to make the point through sound recordings and live music that human mu=
sic is one voice in a singing planet, not quite as unique and separate as w=
e usually think.

Thank you for your work and for finding ways to share it with so many.

best wishes,

John

John L Crockett
Westminster, VT

Let us live in harmony with the Earth
And all creatures
That our lives may be a blessing

--- In  Bernie Krause <> wrote:
>
> Thanks for your note, John. Yeah. We struggled with this audio issue
> for months. The publisher (Little Brown) felt strongly that CDs in
> books were a thing of the ancient past. I then suggested adding QR
> codes at the end of paragraphs that referenced sound so that readers
> could scan them with their iPhone apps, etc. for the appropriate audio =

> samples. The publisher tested that option pretty extensively (some
> 4,000 or 5,000 respondents, I understand) and found such strong
> resistance from their focus groups -- based, I'm told, on the response =

> that the QR symbol was distracting and disrupted the flow of the
> narrative -- that they eliminated that idea...even in the back of the =

> book as an addendum in the Notes section. They are also anticipating
> that since a large and quickly growing readership segment will consist =

> of those opting for eBooks, Kindle, and audio book formats, those are =

> the formats in which they've opted to embed audio.
>
> Remember,  while I may have some expertise in my narrow field, I
> possess little knowledge of marketing or structure of the worldwide
> publishing industry and where it's headed, so I have chosen to rely
> entirely on the expertise of my publisher and its choices. That's why =

> I picked this group (over others who offered more incentives).
>
> I, too, am not particularly tech savvy or literate. I do not own ebook =

> or even iPhone tech (but my dear wife, who's younger and better
> looking, does). I rarely use my cell phone. But I am an author who -- =

> late in life and with scant time to fart around demanding things that =

> may not work -- wishes, now, to reach the largest audience possible
> with this important message. And the choices I've made with regard to =

> this issue, in particular, have been completely vetted to meet that
> goal. And lastly, while the exposition of the narrative might be
> enhanced with the audio examples, keep in mind that it will be the new =

> ideas and concepts that I've brought to the field, that will hopefully =

> endure.
>
> Bernie
>
> PS. When our new web site is up and running (hopefully by mid-month)
> many of the referenced sounds will be found, there.
>
>
> On Feb 29, 2012, at 7:46 AM, John Crockett wrote:
>
> > I've been looking forward to this release for months. A subject near =

> > and dear to my heart. But I'm confused about the audio. Is there no =

> > CD to accompany the hardcover? I always assumed there would be.
> > There are no ebook readers in this household yet, and I'm not eager =

> > to go down that road.
> >
> > John
> >
> > --- In  Bernie Krause <chirp@>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Cool, ol' bean. And thanks. You and your terrific work play a serious
> >> role in this one. One thing: we wanted to include QR codes in
> >> paragraphs that referred to sound. That way folks could scan the
> >> codes
> >> and hear them in context of the narrative on their iPhones, etc. But
> >> the publisher had other ideas and the soundscapes can be heard only =

> >> in
> >> the iBook, Kindle (?) and audio book versions. The hard cover, alas,
> >> is mute on the subject.
> >>
> >> Bernie
> >>
> >> On Feb 28, 2012, at 2:05 PM, Kevin Colver wrote:
> >>
> >>> I placed my order!  Looking forward to your book.
> >>> Kevin
> >>>
> >>> On Feb 28, 2012, at 9:13 AM, Bernie Krause wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> Sorry folks. The earlier posting seems to have lost it's
> >>>> formatting.
> >>>> Hope this works better.
> >>>> Bernie
> >>>>
> >>>> "The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the
> >>>> World's Wild Places," will be published the 19th of March by Little
> >>>> Brown, a division of Hachette Book Group.
> >>>>
> >>>> The narrative summarizes a lifetime of field, lab, and soundscape
> >>>> production experience into an accessible story clarifying, among
> >>>> other
> >>>> themes, how animals taught us to dance and sing. The sub-plot
> >>>> reveals
> >>>> how perceiving the world through the voice of natural soundscapes
> >>>> links us to an astounding array of other disciplines including,
> >>>> biology, natural history, environmental studies, linguistics,
> >>>> physics,
> >>>> field recording, politics, architecture, religion, medicine,
> >>>> philosophy, literature, resource management, and many others. And
> >>>> finally, the text sheds new light on the multiple constructive and
> >>>> destructive nets cast by anthrophony -- the human-generated
> >>>> acoustic
> >>>> signatures of the soundscape -- as they penetrate and affect nearly
> >>>> every marine and terrestrial habitat on the planet.
> >>>>
> >>>> The emerging field of soundscape ecology (as differentiated from
> >>>> acoustic ecology) is central to the premise. A reanimated theme, =

> >>>> the
> >>>> focus, here, highlights how biophonies and geophonies -- features =

> >>>> of
> >>>> the soundscape germane to an understanding of natural sound =C2=AD -=
-
> >>>> serve
> >>>> as a type of Rosetta Stone exposing the secrets behind numerous
> >>>> riddles emanating from the beaks, mouths, wings, tails, and other
> >>>> signal-producing body parts of many critters performing
> >>>> collectively
> >>>> as a chorus -- the same ones that humans, relying on those messages
> >>>> for survival and spiritual inspiration, completely understood at a
> >>>> time when we lived more closely connected to the wild natural. The
> >>>> acoustic scenarios of healthy habitats are celebrated through the
> >>>> poetic and proto-musical textures of its biophonic phrasing,
> >>>> represented by exquisite bandwidth and temporal organization -- aka
> >>>> the niche hypothesis -- an inherent yet ever-mutable font of
> >>>> knowledge. Nature, in the end, is the best and most prolific editor
> >>>> we
> >>>> know of -- always adjusting for ultimate performance and outcomes.
> >>>> From an emulation and expression of this resource we have acquired
> >>>> the basis of nearly every organic sound and cultural utterance we
> >>>> generate.
> >>>>
> >>>> The Great Animal Orchestra is available in hardcover, as an eBook
> >>>> (with numerous audio examples), as an audio book (with narration =

> >>>> and
> >>>> soundscapes by the author), and will be translated into several
> >>>> languages.
> >>>>
> >>>> Enjoy!
> >>>> Bernie Krause, PhD
> >>>>
> >>>> ORDERS AVAILABLE NOW AT:
> >>>> YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE
> >>>> or:
> >>>>
> >>>> ALIBRIS.COM
> >>>> http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780316086875
> >>>>
> >>>> AMAZON.COM
> >>>> http://www.amazon.com/Great-Animal-Orchestra-Finding-Origins/dp/0316=
086878
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> AND THESE OTHER FINE BOOKSELLERS:
> >>>> http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316086875_WhereToBuy.htm
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Responses to The Great Animal Orchestra:
> >>>>
> >>>> Bernie Krause and his niche theory are the real thing. His
> >>>> originality, research, and above all basic knowledge of the sound
> >>>> environments in nature are impressive. The idea of music
> >>>> originating
> >>>> in the sound communication systems of wild animals (including
> >>>> insects)
> >>>> is a sound and provocative hypothesis. I admire also his
> >>>> attention to
> >>>> the preservation of ancestral-level cultures for their own value =

> >>>> but
> >>>> also as a testing ground for theory on human behavioral
> >>>> evolution. --
> >>>> E. O. Wilson, author of "Biophilia" and distinguished Professor
> >>>> (Emeritus) of Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University.
> >>>>
> >>>> "Krause shows us the music of the natural world - long may his work
> >>>> continue!"--Pete Seeger
> >>>>
> >>>> The Great Animal Orchestra speaks to us of an ancient music to
> >>>> which
> >>>> so many of us are deaf.  Bernie Krause is, above all, an artist.  I
> >>>> have watched him recording the calls of chimpanzees, the singing of
> >>>> the insects and birds and seen his deep love for the harmonies of
> >>>> nature.  In this book he helps us to hear and appreciate the often
> >>>> hidden musicians in a new way.  But he warns that these songs, an
> >>>> intrinsic part of the natural world and essential to human well
> >>>> being,
> >>>> are vanishing, one by one, snuffed out by human actions.  Read The
> >>>> Great Animal Orchestra, tell your friends about it.  And as Bernie
> >>>> urges, let us all do our part to preserve the age-old sounds of
> >>>> nature. -- Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE Founder - the Jane Goodall
> >>>> Institute
> >>>> & UN Messenger of Peace
> >>>>
> >>>> Discover how each species has its own vocal niche in the intricate
> >>>> soundscape of a stable ecosystem. =C2=97 Dr. Temple Grandin, author
> >>>> Animals
> >>>> in Translation
> >>>>
> >>>> "Krause always reveals wondrous stories of the meaning of music and
> >>>> sounds of our natural environment. Bernie's research into the
> >>>> subtleties of animal and insect sounds is unparalleled, but it is =

> >>>> his
> >>>> description of the radical changes that are taking place on this
> >>>> planet that really makes one stop and wonder
> >>>> Listen carefully, for
> >>>> the sounds you hear may never be the same again."=C2=97 Sir George =

> >>>> Martin,
> >>>> Producer, The Beatles, and host of BBC's Rhythms of Life series.
> >>>>
> >>>> "This fascinating book awakens our ancient ears to the source of =

> >>>> all
> >>>> music. Read it, and you'll yearn to muffle our din=C2=97and hear =

> >>>> anew." =C2=97
> >>>> Alan Weisman, author of THE WORLD WITHOUT US and the forthcoming
> >>>> COUNTDOWN
> >>>>
> >>>> "Bernie Krause has admirably produced not only a comprehensive
> >>>> overview of the art of nature recording, but also shows his
> >>>> heartfelt
> >>>> understanding and appreciation of natural soundscapes, a threatened
> >>>> heritage in our modern world."=C2=97 Dr. Roger Payne (Songs of the
> >>>> Humpback
> >>>> Whale)
> >>>>
> >>>> "If a picture is worth a thousand words, what is a sound recording
> >>>> worth? Perhaps much more... We say we want peace and quiet, but
> >>>> Bernie
> >>>> knows better. What we really want is something worth listening to.
> >>>> There is plenty of it out there. Nobody knows how to find it better
> >>>> than Bernie Krause."=C2=97 Jean Michel Cousteau, environmentalist, f=
ilm
> >>>> producer
> >>>>
> >>>> `Bernie Krause, one of the lions of soundscape recording, shares =

> >>>> his
> >>>> tales of jaguars, wind, and waterfalls, and how hard it is to
> >>>> capture
> >>>> their sounds. Who knew before that the most emotional animal
> >>>> sound he
> >>>> ever heard was the wail of a beaver after seeing his dam destroyed?
> >>>> Krause has spent decades hunting for those few sonic oases
> >>>> untrammeled
> >>>> by human noise, and at last he brings us his life philosophy. This
> >>>> expansive tale of living amidst wild and beautiful sounds has been
> >>>> well worth waiting for.' =C2=96 Dr. David Rothenberg, ECM recording
> >>>> artist,
> >>>> and author of Why Birds Sing, Thousand Mile Song and Survival of =

> >>>> the
> >>>> Beautiful
> >>>>
> >>>> `A vade mecum of ordered tranquillity -- a gift that came with the
> >>>> harmony of the spheres, allowing even the smallest living things to
> >>>> sing love songs in many diverse ways while bragging that they are =

> >>>> the
> >>>> fittest and will survive above the cacophony of war. A fascinating
> >>>> book of natural history, worthy to be read in the silence your own
> >>>> library; please listen to what it warns about all our futures.' --
> >>>> David Bellamy, OBE, naturalist, and author of Botanic Man.
> >>>>
> >>>> `Bernie Krause will make you rethink much of what you know about
> >>>> music. A man whose first job was recording the sound of corn
> >>>> growing
> >>>> in a Kansas field, he has spent 40 years listening with
> >>>> professional
> >>>> intent to things the rest of us never hear. He has studied the way
> >>>> ants sing and whales roar. He can track the sound a virus makes
> >>>> as it
> >>>> moves from one surface to another. Krause is David Attenborough
> >>>> without the pictures and accompanying orchestra. He takes us
> >>>> close to
> >>>> the roots of the music and reminds us to stop and listen, not just
> >>>> lose our bearings in noise. It's such an unusual book -- and, in =

> >>>> its
> >>>> quiet way, so important. Remarkable.' -- Norman Lebrecht, author of
> >>>> Why Mahler?
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Wild Sanctuary
> >>>> POB 536
> >>>> Glen Ellen, CA 95442
> >>>> 707-996-6677
> >>>> http://www.wildsanctuary.com
> >>>> chirp@
> >>>> Google Earth zooms: http://earth.wildsanctuary.com
> >>>> SKYPE: biophony
> >>>> FaceBook:
> >>>> http://www.facebook.com/TheGreatAnimalOrchestra
> >>>> http://www.facebook.com/BernieKrauseAuthor
> >>>> Twitter:
> >>>> http://www.twitter.com/berniekrause
> >>>> YouTube:
> >>>> https://www.youtube.com/BernieKrauseTV
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> ------------------------------------
> >>>>
> >>>> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> >>>> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
> >>>> Krause.
> >>>>
> >>>> Yahoo! Groups Links
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> ------------------------------------
> >>>
> >>> "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
> >> chirp@
> >> Google Earth zooms: http://earth.wildsanctuary.com
> >> SKYPE: biophony
> >> FaceBook:
> >> http://www.facebook.com/TheGreatAnimalOrchestra
> >> http://www.facebook.com/BernieKrauseAuthor
> >> Twitter:
> >> http://www.twitter.com/berniekrause
> >> YouTube:
> >> https://www.youtube.com/BernieKrauseTV
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------
> >
> > "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
> FaceBook:
> http://www.facebook.com/TheGreatAnimalOrchestra
> http://www.facebook.com/BernieKrauseAuthor
> Twitter:
> http://www.twitter.com/berniekrause
> YouTube:
> https://www.youtube.com/BernieKrauseTV
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>








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  • 4. Re: The Great Animal Orchestra book release, John Crockett <=
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