Soundscapes, Soundscape Ecology, & Acoustic Ecology

The first episode in a new series of podcasts looking at – and listening to – the sounds of the world around us. The forthcoming instalments will look at all aspects of our noisy cosmos and how we listen to it, the stories we tell about it, and all the ideas, inventions, discoveries, possibilities and ideas that live in the realm of the audible. Written and produced by Tim Hinman. Supported by B&O PLAY

We kick off with the ambitiously titled episode "The Sound Of Life Itself" where we meet field recordist, sound ecologist and musician Bernie Krause.

01 – The Sound Of Life Itself

Paulus and Annie take to the studio to fight through acoustic ecology jargon in search of a better way to listen. 

Photo credit: Joel Rogers

Soundscapes In Crisis: A Love/Break-up Letter to Acoustic Ecology

How noisy is the underwater environment? Tom Heap dips beneath the surface to find out if man-made noise is affecting the marine life that lives below the waves.

Costing The Earth begins a new series with three programmes investigating the health of our oceans. The team tackles ocean acidification and how the UK plans to protect marine areas in its overseas territories but first Tom Heap delves into a mystery soundscape: one that exists underwater.

Scientists are only just beginning to study the complex noises coming from beneath the waves. All marine life depends on sound to communicate but in a world that is becoming increasingly loud, whales, dolphins, fish of all shapes and sizes, all the way down to molluscs and the smallest organisms are finding their voices lost in a sub-aqua world of rumbles and crunches from various man-made sources.

Presenter: Tom Heap
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts. Published on September 8, 2015.

Sounds of the Seas

Recording of sounds at the Cannon plaza at Pratt Institute on February 24, 2017 between 3:30 and 4:40pm.  Actual recording 1 hour and 10 minutes and was divided into 5 minute segments, each segment is layered on the other to "compress" the recording into a total of 5 minutes. A total of 12 tracks were produced and layered. Minimal mixing and no effects.  
Approximate Location (via Google): 
40°41'25.0"N 73°57'53.3"W
40.690267, -73.964806
Example for use by my Sociology of Music/Sound/Noise course, Spring 2017 http://node801.blogspot.com/2017/01/description-for-new-course-sociology-of.html

Pratt Cannon Plaza - 2-24-017 Layered Compression 12 Soundscape

Composed radio documentary about ecological sound art, broadcast on Resonance FM on 23rd June 2015 as part of Critical Waves Radio.

Critical Waves

'Ecoacoustics' - composed documentary for Critical Waves Radio (2015)

Documentary commissioned by basic.fm. Newcastle, England.
A two-part documentary investigating the history and influence of the Acoustic Ecology movement started by R. Murray Schafer in the 1970s.

Documentary - A Short History Of Acoustic Ecology: Part 1

Icterus icterus: Both female and male Troupials can sing songs with simple alternating notes or more complex combinations of phrases. Both sexes may also overlap their mate’s songs to form duets.
Range: northern South America and the Caribbean.
Recorded by Karan Odom in Puerto Rico.

Venezuelan Troupial Duetting

Range: northern South America and the Caribbean.
Recorded by Karan Odom in Puerto Rico

Venezuelan Troupial Male

Venezuelan Troupial Female

Catherpes mexicanus: Females and males both sing, but their songs are slightly different. Males sing a ringing, clear cascade of descending notes. In contrast, the female song is buzzy and ascending. Each male sings approximately five songs, while each female sings only one.
Range: western North America.
Songs courtesy of Lauryn Benedict, University of Northern Colorado, USA.

Canyon Wren Male

The Sound Of A Diving Hummingbird

Some bird calls come from an unexpected source—it is not just males that perform calls, and the bee hummingbird uses its tail feathers to create chirps.

A Look At Unconventional Bird Calls

Researchers monitoring the soundscape of a coral reef have found a dramatic drop in the sounds of wildlife under the sea.

The Reef Is Quiet. Too Quiet.

The Pratt New Year's Eve Whistle Blow began in the mid 1960's. Conrad is the Chief Engineer at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and every year he delights visitors by welcoming the New Year with the sounds of old steam whistles, including The Victor Whistle. 

Victor Whistle

Conrad is the Chief Engineer at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and for years has been collecting  the sounds of old steam whistles, including the old Newburgh Beacon Ferry - the Orange.  
To listen to more sounds visit <link>http://www.soundandstory.org</link> 

Orange Whistle

Conrad Milster is the Chief Engineer at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and a steamboat enthusiast. Machine sounds are like music to Conrad Milster.  He spent hours collecting the sonic details of anything steam powered and today has over 100 reel to reel tapes of historic sounds. These are some of the sounds he recorded in the 1960s while riding on the Newburgh-Beacon ferry.  

 Interviewee: Conrad Milster

Recorded: April 12, 2008

Time Period: 1960's- 2008

Subjects: Hudson River, steamboats, steam powered engine, ferries

Collection: River Voices Audio Tour, Newburgh-Beacon Audio Tour

Credits: Photo of Conrad Milster by Sound and Story

Production: Produced by Eileen McAdam and narrated by Jim Metzner

One bell and a double jingle- what did it mean?

Steam whistle at Pratt Institute

The Pratt  New Year's Eve Whistle Blow began in the mid 1960's. Conrad is the Chief Engineer at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and every year he delights visitors by  welcoming the New Year with the sounds of old steam whistles. This is the Orange ferry whistle recorded at the Whistle Blow.

The Pratt  New Year's Eve Whistle Blow

A new montage of recordings largely taken from the World Soundscape Project's 1973 Canadian Collection.

A The Canada Collection  A World Soundscape Project Montage from 1973 was commissioned by Pixel Palace for Basic FM

The Canada Collection  A World Soundscape Project Montage from 1973

An audio documentary by Chris Wood, Camara Miller and Nathan Clarkson. Mastered at The Banff Centre by Magdalena Kasparek.

The programme is an overview of soundscape studies and acoustic ecology featuring new and archive interviews with Hildegaard Westerkamp, Barry Truax and researchers from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada alongside recordings from the World Soundscape Project.

A Short History of Acoustic Ecology was commissioned by Pixel Palace for Basic FM

Soundscapes, Soundscape Ecology, & Acoustic Ecology

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