Water | The Music of Nature

Wings Over The Prairie

by Lang Elliott · March 9, 2011 · 9 Comments

We’ve all seen waterfowl flying overhead, but few of us are aware of how much sound they make with their wings.

In 1994, Ted Mack and I embarked on a six-month recording expedition. Our first project was to document the spring migration of waterfowl as they moved northward through the prairie states. For nearly two months, we worked numerous lakes and potholes in shortgrass prairie from Nebraska to North Dakota and Manitoba. One of our favorite spots was Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in west-central Nebraska. During one of his visits to the refuge, Ted discovered a long and narrow pothole that appeared to be a primary flight path for waterfowl moving between large marshy wetlands at each end. He noticed that duck after duck would fly the length of the pothole, often only ten or fifteen feet above the surface of the water. During a lull in activity, Ted quickly placed his soundscape microphone along the shoreline and then retreated to his pickup truck a few hundred feet away. There he smiled with pleasure as ducks not only flew over the mic, but also landed and swam right in front of it. Here are some highlights from his session, featuring the wing sounds of a variety of species, including Common Goldeneye, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, and Northern Shoveler:

Wing noises of various species of waterfowl flying over and landing in a prairie pothole. 8 am, 23 March 1994, Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in western Nebraska. Recording by Ted Mack.

Can you believe the incredible whooshes made by the ducks in flight? I was shocked when I first heard these sounds. Sure, I had heard the musical twittering of beating wings and some measure of swishiness, but never anything so powerfully loud as what Ted has documented. Good job Ted!!

Let me help you identify some of the sounds. The musical wing twitter or whistle that is prominent about a third of the way through is made by the Common Goldeneye (also called “The Whistler”). Listen also for the loud musical peeps of Green-winged Teal, heard right after the Goldeneye. The odd nasal notes heard at various points are made by Lesser Scaup—a small group was swimming not far from the microphone. About halfway through, listen for a male Ring-necked Pheasant that cackles and then shakes his wings. About two-thirds the way through, a Northern Shoveler takes flight and makes calls that sound like chux, chux, chux.

So whatya think of these amazing sounds? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Wrensong

by Lang Elliott · February 13, 2011 · 18 Comments

When I launch my soundscape series of products, I plan to include a title called “Songbird Portraits,” which will include recordings of a variety of my favorite singers. These will differ from most of my other soundscape recordings in that individual singers will be prominently featured, even though embedded in a wide soundscape.

The following recording of a Winter Wren is a good example. The male was singing from the top of a tall conifer next to a babbling brook and I was excited by the pleasurable mix of sound. The wren’s complex and silvery song was prominent but not overwhelming. The gurgling of the brook sounded nice to my ear. What’s more, there were two Wood Thrushes fluting in the background. Everything went well, except that while setting up I tripped over the microphone cable, lost my balance, and fell into the stream! Hrmph! No damage done, thankfully, and I managed to get my recording with a smile on my face:

Soundscape portrait of a Winter Wren with a babbling brook, Wood Thrush, and other bird songs, 6am, 9 May 2006, Shindagin Hollow near Brooktondale, New York. Recorded by Lang Elliott.

I would like some feedback here. I believe most folks will like the sound of this recording, but I wonder how long they might want to play it. Would it get tiring to listen-to after a few minutes?

For relaxing soundscapes, I intend to offer tracks that are five to ten minutes long. But for species portraits like this one, my hunch is that tracks should should be shorter, perhaps lasting around three or four minutes. What does everyone think? One advantage of making species portraits rather brief is that I could cover more birds and include fifteen or more species portraits in the one title (for a total of 60-70 minutes). Or maybe that would be foolish. Maybe a recording like this should last five minutes or more. Whatya think?

Tinkling Trickle

by Lang Elliott · February 9, 2011 · 5 Comments

The sound of water is universally soothing. Ocean waves washing in, raindrops falling on the forest floor, the trickling sounds of a small brook . . . all have deep and timeless qualities that help calm the mind. Many times in my life, I have sat for hours next to streams, absorbed in the mesmerizing soundscape that is at once changing, yet always the same.

I made the following trickling brook recording in the mountains of West Virginia during the spring of 2000. I was captivated by the “tinkling” sound of the water, and I was pleased that the bird songs remained subtle throughout:

A trickling stream at dawn with subtle bird sounds, 29 May 2000. Cranberry Glades Natural Area, near Marlinton, West Virginia. Recorded by Lang Elliott.

Now for a quiz! What birds are singing in this recording? Yes, there is a robin sounding off in the distance, but who are the two or three high-pitchy singers heard periodically in the soundscape?

Robin Brook

by Lang Elliott · January 21, 2011 · 7 Comments

Common, well-known birds are sometimes the most difficult to characterize with recordings, especially if one desires to convey the mood evoked by the bird’s song. The ubiquitous and well-known American Robin certainly falls into this category. Robins are easy to record because they sing loudly and prominently. But I’ve discovered that close and loud recordings don’t do the song justice—what we remember as comforting and musical ends up jolting our ears.

The soothing quality of the robin’s song can only be conveyed when it is part of a larger and more inclusive soundscape. The singer should be at a distance where the song is richly reverberant, its sharp edges smoothed. This is the way we generally hear robin songs, drifting into our windows at dawn, gently begging us from sleep.

Is capturing such magic an impossible goal? I think not. Consider the following recording that I made last spring in nearby Shindagin Hollow. I set my microphone next to a trickling brook and waited. I could hear a distant Wood Thrush. Soon a robin joined in, singing from several hundred feet away. The mix of sound was intensely pleasurable and I beamed with delight as I made my recording:

A babbling brook with a distant American Robin, 4:37 am, 14 June 2010, Shindagin Hollow near Brooktondale, New York. Recorded by Lang Elliott.

This soundscape definitely fits into the relaxation category. I would love to rise each dawn to such a concert. The babbling brook is mesmerizing. The robin is at the perfect distance, it’s songs richly reverberant. The thrush is also a key player, providing a subtle yet beautifully melodic element to the composition.

I would put this soundscape near the top of the list for relaxation and stress relief. Would you?

Water Speaking Water

by Lang Elliott · January 10, 2011 · 3 Comments

Last autumn, I participated in a sustainability conference sponsored by The Finger Lakes Bioneers. I was asked to create an artistic rendering of water in high definition video and sound. The result was a three-part video called “Water Speaking Water” that features music by my friends Samite Mulondo (playing kalimba, and African thumb piano) and Sunita Staneslow (playing folk harp):

> HD version.

The three sections are: 1) An Open Door (footage from northern Alabama gathered last spring), 2) Water Abstracted (footage from around Ithaca, NY and the Adirondack Mountain region, gathered during the spring and summer), and 3) Autumn Lullaby (footage from around Ithaca, NY, gathered in mid-October.

All three sections feature the sound of water with subtle bird songs in the background. The soundscapes are all eminently relaxing, at least I think. Let me know if you agree (please leave a comment!).