Re: Tool for learning species calls?Both Ernie and John hit onimportant poi=
nts concerning the perception of sounds including bird song. =E2=80=9CWe he=
ar what we want to hear=E2=80=9Dis a good description. I tell people sarcas=
tically that they =E2=80=9Cknow=E2=80=9D thatparrots only say things such a=
s =E2=80=9CPolly wants a cracker.=E2=80=9D We are programmed throughrepetit=
ious experience to understand the message in speech before we hear it;the r=
esult is that listeners do not hear sounds; they perceive messages. Whenthe=
y do not immediately understand the message, one=E2=80=99s brain informs th=
e person whathe heard was noise. The sound of a parrot=E2=80=99s speech is =
generally distorted, sofree speech is hardly ever recognized. I have had pe=
ople send me recordings oftheir bird speaking in complete sentences that th=
e owned did not recognize;parrot people call it =E2=80=9Cmumbles.=E2=80=9DJ=
ohn used the term =E2=80=9Cmagicbullet.=E2=80=9D He is more =E2=80=9Cpoliti=
cally correct" than I am; I just say, =E2=80=9CThey are lazy.=E2=80=9DDurin=
g an interview on TV, I said something that connects with many listeningpro=
jects, =E2=80=9CIf you don=E2=80=99t believe birds are capable of sensible =
speech, you willnever find it.=E2=80=9D This is basically a rephrase of the=
idea of prejudice on thepart of listeners. We are our own worst enemies wh=
en it comes to soundperception and interpretation. Part of my inspiration c=
ame from a book I read yearsago about a woman who taught wild songbirds Eng=
lish words; one bird learned tocount using taps on a screen. She was a musi=
cologist and wrote down birdsongsin complicated musical notations. She did =
what no other person I know of didwith birdsong without a spectrogram; she =
heard, perceived, and wrote on paperthe notes within a song like no other n=
otations I have ever seen. If one of thelist=E2=80=99s members is a musicol=
ogist he/she might comment and, perhaps, use thetechnique to great advantag=
e.John asked, =E2=80=9CInnature listening, headphones help, for some reason=
. Changes the context or something.Is there a similar context-changer for l=
istening to parrots? Do people dobetter listening to recordings, without kn=
owing what or who is speaking?=E2=80=9DI listen to recordings as they are m=
ade using headphones.The bird=E2=80=99s idiolect is known to me, so I gener=
ally understand her words immediately. Difficult passages are listened to a=
nd re-listened to many times using headphones.Part of the problem with list=
ening to bird speech is that phrasesand linked sentences are missing long-r=
unning context, which increases thedifficulty to interpret. People are abso=
lutely terrible at understandingunfamiliar, isolated, speech according to p=
erception studies originallyconducted in the 1960s. One last point, headpho=
ne listening is not the end allfor interpreting sounds. I have sometimes li=
stened on a portable device througha non-booming loudspeaker positioned acr=
oss the room. Why that helps on certainrecordings in unclear, but I think t=
he distance from the source and roomresonances play a part.My work will be =
buried for centuries before someonerediscovers it. I am resigned to be like=
the famous American composer who neverheard his work performed, an insuran=
ce salesman, by the name Charles Ives. Ilove his music including =E2=80=9CT=
hree Places in New England.=E2=80=9D MikeFloridawww.ParrotSpeech.com/Anothe=
r_Mind.html
1b Re:Tool for learning species calls? SatJan=C2=A024,=C2=A02015 6:06=C2=A0=
am (PST) . Posted by: =C2=A0"John Crockett" naturalcontemplativeUnfortunate=
ly, most of us hear only what we want to hear, mostof the
time. Learning the art of simple listening, without the filters and
misinterpretations, is very challenging. I still struggle with it. We
do not like having our fundamental paradigms challenged. In nature
listening, headphones help, for some reason. Changes the context or
something. Is there a similar context-changer for listening to
parrots? Do people do better listening to recordings, without knowing
what or who is speaking?
John
John Crockett
Re: Tool for learning species calls? SatJan=C2=A024,=C2=
=A02015 8:04=C2=A0pm (PST) . Posted by:
Mike,
Hopefully your dedication and work fall into the category of a hobby, and y=
ouhave gotten your own rewards for the effort. Some of the greatest ideas(d=
iscoveries) in history have been ridiculed, before being accepted by the"ex=
perts". You do make a very important point with regard to decodingand bird =
song identification, and that is that "one has to want toaccomplish somethi=
ng".
I think a lot of people who "want" to learn bird song, really want amagic b=
ullet that immediately makes them proficient at bird song recognition.Recen=
t claims of instant recognition programs will make these people very happyI=
'm sure, but, for me, if they ever perfect it, it would take the fun and th=
echallenge out of learning these songs, and then being able to pick them ou=
t,when out for a walk, or on a birding trip.
Investing in an iPhone full of apps is not the answer, if the will is not t=
hereto organize, study and take the time to "build" an understanding ofbird=
song. As time goes on it becomes easier (not easy) to add to that base ofu=
nderstanding.
All the best,
Ernie Jardine
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