The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment And The Tuning Of The World by R. Murray Schafer Page B
Authors: R. Murray Schafer
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music with the multiple echoes of submarine acoustics—a subject to which we will return later. The songs of the humpback whale can be analyzed in musical terms. Each song seems to consist of a series of variations on constant themes or motifs, repeated differing numbers of times. Researchers are beginning to wonder if different herds or family groups of humpback whales may have different dialects.
Several of the crustaceans make sounds. The mantis shrimp (Chloridella) makes a loud noise by rubbing parts of its tail together, while the Florida spiny lobster makes a squeaking sound by rubbing a special flap on its antennae. Other crustaceans produce snapping, buzzing, hissing or even growling sounds which can often be heard on the seashore.
In the early spring, marshes in many parts of the world are filled with the sounds of frogs and toads. North America possesses a whole orchestra of performers: the narrow-mouthed toad bleats, the barking frog barks, the spring peeper chirps, the swamp cricket frog and the American toad trill, the least swamp cricket frog tinkles like an insect, the meadow frog rattles, the gopher frog snores, the green frog plays the banjo while the southern bullfrog belches.
When Julian Huxley visited America and heard the call of a bullfrog for the first time, he “refused to believe that it could proceed from a mere frog: it suggested a large and rather dangerous mammal, so loud it was and so low-pitched.” Frogs are to North Americans what cicadas are to the Japanese or the Australians. The high resonant stridulations of some species such as the southern toad (Bufo terrestris) do indeed resemble cicadas, and sustained trills of the western toad {Bufo cognatus) have been recorded lasting as long as 33 seconds. But with the passing of the night, ardor wanes in the swamps; the voice of the bullfrog drops in pitch and the other instrumentalists gradually fade away.
The song of the humpback whale, consisting of distinct themes and variations .
The Sounds of Animals It is impossible to survey all the sounds produced by animals. I will mention only a few on our way to man himself. The carnivores produce the greatest range of individual sounds among animals, and many of these sounds, such as the roaring of lions, the howling of wolves or the laughing of hyenas, have such striking qualities that they impress themselves instantaneously on the human imagination. They present intense acoustic images. One hearing and they will never be mistaken or forgotten in a lifetime. They are among the great sounds that make history. Men who have heard tell of them only from the lips of the bard will still shudder at the thought of them.
Ludwig Koch recorded at least six distinct types of vocal expression in lions. Cubs yelp to obtain the attention of their parents and apparently yelp differently according to which parent they are soliciting. The maternal response is a rumbling sound with a certain grunting quality. There is a “pleasure call” chiefly noticed among lions in captivity, which is initiated by the appearance of the keeper. The feeding sound, when the beast is alone and undisturbed, is a deep, gentle growl. Just when the prey is seized, lions produce a short and terrifying bark of ferocity. Finally there is the true roaring, usually heard at night, rarely heard during daylight. When roaring, lions will sometimes set their mouths close to the ground to assist the resonance and reverberation of their voices.
Lions do not purr. But leopards do and so do cheetahs, loudly. Aside from the hissing and spitting noises that most cats produce when angry, each cat has a repertoire of unique sounds. For instance, the puma has a loud wailing scream which Julian Huxley says could “be mistaken for that of a child,” and the cubs produce a whistling note. Tigers are less noisy animals than lions but they do have a crazy love call, like that of ordinary cats, but greatly magnified.
The howling of
Several of the crustaceans make sounds. The mantis shrimp (Chloridella) makes a loud noise by rubbing parts of its tail together, while the Florida spiny lobster makes a squeaking sound by rubbing a special flap on its antennae. Other crustaceans produce snapping, buzzing, hissing or even growling sounds which can often be heard on the seashore.
In the early spring, marshes in many parts of the world are filled with the sounds of frogs and toads. North America possesses a whole orchestra of performers: the narrow-mouthed toad bleats, the barking frog barks, the spring peeper chirps, the swamp cricket frog and the American toad trill, the least swamp cricket frog tinkles like an insect, the meadow frog rattles, the gopher frog snores, the green frog plays the banjo while the southern bullfrog belches.
When Julian Huxley visited America and heard the call of a bullfrog for the first time, he “refused to believe that it could proceed from a mere frog: it suggested a large and rather dangerous mammal, so loud it was and so low-pitched.” Frogs are to North Americans what cicadas are to the Japanese or the Australians. The high resonant stridulations of some species such as the southern toad (Bufo terrestris) do indeed resemble cicadas, and sustained trills of the western toad {Bufo cognatus) have been recorded lasting as long as 33 seconds. But with the passing of the night, ardor wanes in the swamps; the voice of the bullfrog drops in pitch and the other instrumentalists gradually fade away.
The song of the humpback whale, consisting of distinct themes and variations .
The Sounds of Animals It is impossible to survey all the sounds produced by animals. I will mention only a few on our way to man himself. The carnivores produce the greatest range of individual sounds among animals, and many of these sounds, such as the roaring of lions, the howling of wolves or the laughing of hyenas, have such striking qualities that they impress themselves instantaneously on the human imagination. They present intense acoustic images. One hearing and they will never be mistaken or forgotten in a lifetime. They are among the great sounds that make history. Men who have heard tell of them only from the lips of the bard will still shudder at the thought of them.
Ludwig Koch recorded at least six distinct types of vocal expression in lions. Cubs yelp to obtain the attention of their parents and apparently yelp differently according to which parent they are soliciting. The maternal response is a rumbling sound with a certain grunting quality. There is a “pleasure call” chiefly noticed among lions in captivity, which is initiated by the appearance of the keeper. The feeding sound, when the beast is alone and undisturbed, is a deep, gentle growl. Just when the prey is seized, lions produce a short and terrifying bark of ferocity. Finally there is the true roaring, usually heard at night, rarely heard during daylight. When roaring, lions will sometimes set their mouths close to the ground to assist the resonance and reverberation of their voices.
Lions do not purr. But leopards do and so do cheetahs, loudly. Aside from the hissing and spitting noises that most cats produce when angry, each cat has a repertoire of unique sounds. For instance, the puma has a loud wailing scream which Julian Huxley says could “be mistaken for that of a child,” and the cubs produce a whistling note. Tigers are less noisy animals than lions but they do have a crazy love call, like that of ordinary cats, but greatly magnified.
The howling of
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