tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9123555181313913872024-02-18T20:30:07.500-05:00Sympathies Enlarged: A John Cage ForumA blog devoted to exploring the "all-sound music of the future" predicted by John Cage.Jerome Langguthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232771961596244247noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-83461274167220526822018-07-05T10:10:00.000-04:002018-07-05T10:10:03.215-04:00Moving on...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nRH5ieqBw-EhmEUXHWfGeZSnZH4nC-6vEKbRm4AQqb_9XCt2x-iCVOjEPsgfE4GrZQRaEcaSCUImNkRYE22UZD2XPUiY7XHR8dFaC-a9RWZV4mQylayFUlnCwI6QjqLprD9zCiHdi6zO/s1600/SaintofSilence.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0nRH5ieqBw-EhmEUXHWfGeZSnZH4nC-6vEKbRm4AQqb_9XCt2x-iCVOjEPsgfE4GrZQRaEcaSCUImNkRYE22UZD2XPUiY7XHR8dFaC-a9RWZV4mQylayFUlnCwI6QjqLprD9zCiHdi6zO/s400/SaintofSilence.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>John Cage, Saint of Sound & Silence</i>, by me.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's been a while. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm no longer in the remote Blue Mountains of the Caribbean, I have electricity and an internet connection and even running water back here in the US. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But I don't think I'll be back to this blog much. It's been ten years. I've made a good effort. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I say that now... but as we know, it is quite possible to change one's mind about things.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Please enjoy my canonization of John Cage, complete with the introduction of a "Lecture on Nothing," there in the left hand corner.</div>
<br />pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-47751836642563729292017-09-06T08:23:00.000-04:002017-09-06T08:23:25.598-04:00Measuring Biodiversity with the Soundtrack of the Forest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXmHKkIYEhodG5aNwcNPdxzuCtvEQ8xEHaA5FI4JaG1DWz6NTRfxVfGPRqr9_S0lIUHnhfFOcnha2WRIkUTdbC-kUhFr2PQVwekzOfNcRNhfKYMQ_WjH30TzKA4RXbiuS5Xlpkfc7QZg1/s1600/IMG_4126-1260x708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1260" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXmHKkIYEhodG5aNwcNPdxzuCtvEQ8xEHaA5FI4JaG1DWz6NTRfxVfGPRqr9_S0lIUHnhfFOcnha2WRIkUTdbC-kUhFr2PQVwekzOfNcRNhfKYMQ_WjH30TzKA4RXbiuS5Xlpkfc7QZg1/s640/IMG_4126-1260x708.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo © The Nature Conservancy (Justine E. Hausheer)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
Nature Conservancy scientists are using bioacoustic analyses to discover how different types of land uses affect biodiversity in the forests of Borneo.<br />
<br />
Between 2000 and 2010, Indonesia lost 14.7 million hectares of forest. The four main drivers of deforestation in Indonesia are timber, oil palm, mining, and the pulp paper industry, all of which accounted for 44.7% of forest loss in Indonesia’s five main districts during that ten year period. (The rest was lost due to rubber plantations, small-scale agriculture, and village development)<br />
<br />
With many logging areas transitioning to more intensive land uses, conservationists are looking to improve land-use planning to balance biodiversity conservation and resource production.<br />
<br />
<b>The Question</b>: Is it better to use one portion of the land intensively and protect the rest (sparing), or is it better to lightly use a vast majority of the land, spreading out the less-intensive resource use (sharing)?<br />
<br />
Answering this simple question is not so simple. Land use strategies by indusrty are already in place, and the effect of each strategy could vary depending upon the exact combination of land uses, how they are implemented, and how they are organized spatially across the whole landscape.<br />
<br />
And that’s where acoustic data comes in.<br />
<br />
The forest is never silent. With hundreds of species vocalizing simultaneously, the noise can be overwhelming to animal inhabitants. So different species evolved to communicate at different frequencies, or acoustic niches, so that individuals of one species can hear each other over the roar of all the other forest sounds.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AMjLtbbqbCrjgPELMG4bOieaARyO1JcQClUfWyi6Z7cYsFFmQ1u_zMlJVQVkrL91SWF9h1UJC4Q0h4cb_SZBpn6IAoVuuh8xaEh1myCIfHUk0OZ6xe7Mwo1Fmh3TLcy5Vi7a56UPSCob/s1600/tnc_87530624_preview_cropped-1260x708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="1260" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9AMjLtbbqbCrjgPELMG4bOieaARyO1JcQClUfWyi6Z7cYsFFmQ1u_zMlJVQVkrL91SWF9h1UJC4Q0h4cb_SZBpn6IAoVuuh8xaEh1myCIfHUk0OZ6xe7Mwo1Fmh3TLcy5Vi7a56UPSCob/s640/tnc_87530624_preview_cropped-1260x708.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mist over East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo © The Nature Conservancy (Nick Hall)</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Lato, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span>
Because each species has its own specific frequency, scientists can use acoustic data to calculate biodiversity — and therefore ecosystem health — by recording the forest soundscape over 24 hours. And those soundscapes are they key to understanding changes caused by development and resource extraction.<br />
<br />
As with many ecological studies, complications abound. Measures of soundscape overall saturation, species similarity, species composition, disparate measures in different parts of the forest, and the problem of invasive species all muddy the water, so to speak. Nobody in the scientific community really knows what happens at a large scale, so this is brand new territory. Eventually, the team will conduct an analysis using species-recognition algorithms to compile a list of all audible species at each site, allowing them to cross-check the soundscape measures of diversity.<br />
<br />
The bioacoustics research is part of a larger effort — funded by the Science for Nature and People Partnership (SNAPP) — to investigate how to best achieve conservation and benefits for people in tropical timber production landscapes.<br />
<br />
In essence, the hope is to identify the deforestation "sweet spot." How to extract the maximum amount of resources while incurring the least amount of ecosystem damage.<br />
<br />
Because if a tree falls in the forest, you bet it makes a sound.<br />
<br />
To learn more about this project:<br />
<a href="http://snappartnership.net/">http://snappartnership.net/</a><br />
<a href="https://blog.nature.org/science/2017/04/25/where-logging-reigns-going-beyond-sharing-vs-sparing/">https://blog.nature.org/science/2017/04/25/where-logging-reigns-going-beyond-sharing-vs-sparing/</a><br />
<a href="http://research.ecosounds.org/">http://research.ecosounds.org/</a><br />
<a href="https://blog.nature.org/science/explainer/how-can-bioacoustics-help-conserve-biodiversity/?utm_source=cgs&utm_medium=archive&utm_campaign=explainer">https://blog.nature.org/science/explainer/how-can-bioacoustics-help-conserve-biodiversity/?utm_source=cgs&utm_medium=archive&utm_campaign=explainer</a><br />
<a href="https://blog.nature.org/science/2015/09/14/bioacoustics-for-conservation-land-use-planning/">https://blog.nature.org/science/2015/09/14/bioacoustics-for-conservation-land-use-planning/</a>pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-33412803494895966942017-09-06T07:35:00.001-04:002017-09-06T07:35:06.539-04:00"We Send Back Music"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-73zkWmFNXoHvr_ozEjAHceLN-HlxlRxwRzcpuoihOnY5gFUe2CUsDnqK8TcNlM5a_TW_LiNdtWQvIw67TqfmMEX7FRCIpBSc8iLfvhx0aw5bIT81cvTzToP9FNVSvDFrn-LfjtMpBku0/s1600/images.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-73zkWmFNXoHvr_ozEjAHceLN-HlxlRxwRzcpuoihOnY5gFUe2CUsDnqK8TcNlM5a_TW_LiNdtWQvIw67TqfmMEX7FRCIpBSc8iLfvhx0aw5bIT81cvTzToP9FNVSvDFrn-LfjtMpBku0/s400/images.jpe" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /><div>
If you're gonna be in the Land of Oz any time soon, lucky you! You can catch a special Sydney screening of <i>Landfill Harmonic</i>, a film about “The Recycled Orchestra,” <a href="https://forthebirdstmc.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-world-sends-them-garbage.html" target="_blank">previously mentioned on this blog. </a><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Recycled Orchestra began with a group of children from a Paraguayan slum built on a landfill. The group built and played instruments made entirely of the refuse.<br /><a href="https://www.cityrecitalhall.com/events/landfill-harmonic" target="_blank">https://www.cityrecitalhall.com/events/landfill-harmonic</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9YyVMp8KpUN7q9_Tbqf55d5_FURfVvknfCDmr0_wQFYtfP_vDxcNa29gEB_7m-C3Zb6wi3AP9hRVHIGFOiyLklZxmWWeqHhHqq99LAwsPptTj-I9it4t2PdEzdIn-EEzNzYNHJFuqWEL/s1600/download+%25281%2529.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn9YyVMp8KpUN7q9_Tbqf55d5_FURfVvknfCDmr0_wQFYtfP_vDxcNa29gEB_7m-C3Zb6wi3AP9hRVHIGFOiyLklZxmWWeqHhHqq99LAwsPptTj-I9it4t2PdEzdIn-EEzNzYNHJFuqWEL/s400/download+%25281%2529.jpe" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
If you're not gonna be in Sydney this September 10th, don't despair. You can watch the film on Vimeo: <a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/landfillharmonic">https://vimeo.com/ondemand/landfillharmonic</a></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNlyKPMZ2sn6wltQXX2SER9eyNMwEP7mgUv874niVKvOtqDg2Zu7qLkLZ-c4joTZ4ePl26JkfOorDlzBr4TuQfFOyN-eeJBHkVK7Qnq7u2BHO1RunE-MYzv-j-pv0Umco9E2C9gPrif0W/s1600/download.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNlyKPMZ2sn6wltQXX2SER9eyNMwEP7mgUv874niVKvOtqDg2Zu7qLkLZ-c4joTZ4ePl26JkfOorDlzBr4TuQfFOyN-eeJBHkVK7Qnq7u2BHO1RunE-MYzv-j-pv0Umco9E2C9gPrif0W/s400/download.jpe" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-23172532080726812342017-08-21T13:59:00.001-04:002017-08-21T13:59:39.177-04:00Worth a listenIf you've noticed the surge in popularity of podcasting lately, then you won't be surprised to hear that I have a recommendation for you.<br />
<br />
I've really enjoyed listening to the first season of <i>Cadence</i>, a new podcast that explores how music impacts our lives, and how science can help us understand why. In discussions with neuroscientists, musicians, comedians and students, host Indre Viskontas examines the nature of music and the humans who love it.<br />
<br />
Check. It. Out.<br />
<a href="http://theensembleproject.com/cadence/">http://theensembleproject.com/cadence/</a>pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-57816090229040020082017-05-06T07:00:00.000-04:002017-05-06T07:00:13.197-04:00Turning Up the Volume<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC4idAnaRr-i4pvfxAmtLAzn2RBOdE6saKXTOd9RzHBV5TtjeQTK3DRac5db-TThdB5Y4P6zKtR9biF1YV_1xtbkZykwqPQvnrxX61WbMU9T_JBNRGxaN7JqYML3aZRlB5LkvNtwyWS4a/s1600/Estonia-Wooden-Megaphones-61-889x646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC4idAnaRr-i4pvfxAmtLAzn2RBOdE6saKXTOd9RzHBV5TtjeQTK3DRac5db-TThdB5Y4P6zKtR9biF1YV_1xtbkZykwqPQvnrxX61WbMU9T_JBNRGxaN7JqYML3aZRlB5LkvNtwyWS4a/s640/Estonia-Wooden-Megaphones-61-889x646.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
If you've ever found yourself out in the woods, seeking some peace and quiet, you might have found that the outdoors is anything but. If you are lucky enough to escape the anthropogenic sounds of air conditioners and traffic, you will find the forest cacaphonous with birdsong all day and frogs and crickets at night.<br />
<br />
Students in Estonia thought it would be a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/oversized-wooden-megaphones-in-estonia-amplify-the-sounds-of-the-forest/" target="_blank">good idea</a> to amplify this "peace and quiet" with enormous wooden megaphones. I must say I concur.<br />
<br />pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-34528906973013958232017-05-05T12:34:00.000-04:002017-05-05T12:34:13.201-04:00Mento: Where it all Began<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudXtXafINdF4JGJ0n904naiEMrssF4JLuSpfV7RuIsd_wPE1GXWGS3SQQstZgyuYeL2cGzVFKBhGJVWBo0K3Pu8oq3kZ9JSI4xG3f7GFlgwSGxGM5m0QB4FPdvtRYHooIdK7ebcPb2Lqp/s1600/download.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhudXtXafINdF4JGJ0n904naiEMrssF4JLuSpfV7RuIsd_wPE1GXWGS3SQQstZgyuYeL2cGzVFKBhGJVWBo0K3Pu8oq3kZ9JSI4xG3f7GFlgwSGxGM5m0QB4FPdvtRYHooIdK7ebcPb2Lqp/s1600/download.jpe" /></a></div>
<br />
The granddaddy of many later Jamaican styles, mento music had its beginnings in Jamaica as early as the 19th century. A uniquely Jamaican fusion of African and European musical traditions, the first recordings emerged in the 1920s when Caribbean jazz artists put their songs to wax cylinders. By the the 1950s, mento had reached a golden age and recordings began to appear on records.<br />
<br />
These early disks reveal the diverity of sound among mento artists. An assortment of rhythms and styles, the diversity and creativity exhibited in the genre grew with the birth of Jamaica's recording industry. By the late 1950s, mento artists were incorperating pan Caribbean influences, as well as taking inspiration from American jazz.<br />
<br />
With all this diversity, what gives mento its uniquely Jamaican sound? The classic mento sound has been described as "acoustic, informal, folksy and rural." Mento is still sometimes referred to as "country music" in Jamaica and many folk songs were recorded in this style. Instruments typical of mento surprise a lot of people. Mento musicians include banjo and acoustic guitar, as well as home-made instruments like the bamboo saxophone and rumba box.<br />
<br />
The banjo is used in a variety of ways in mento music. It is strummed to provide rhythm, it is picked with precision (or not) to create solos, and it's even chimed like a steel drum. Its use in mento is quite distinct from the banjo in American musical traditions (as you might gather when you hear it, as it sounds nothing like Bluegrass).Unfortunately the use of the banjo didn't carry over into other, later types of Jamaican musical styles... Real shame.<br />
<br />
The bamboo sax is exactly what you think it might be: a saxophone-type instrument made with a large piece of bamboo. It doesn't sound quite like a saxophone, but contributes a very unique, organic sound. You can learn more about bamboo saxophones and listen to a recording <a href="http://www.mentomusic.com/sugar.htm" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JlqMkQl451rh_uXWAkwjd8IHyjNAXT9KU_I_rax2pkM3lnUsISOvRIv3fy-Bu5E0SMpXWVhyphenhyphenG_mZkBhRXYj62wdCvNnuwy4CVIur6TktpZaOYEM5ejxEpZ6C8nZIFsWGJRkHuOSTzdmt/s1600/sbpcSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-JlqMkQl451rh_uXWAkwjd8IHyjNAXT9KU_I_rax2pkM3lnUsISOvRIv3fy-Bu5E0SMpXWVhyphenhyphenG_mZkBhRXYj62wdCvNnuwy4CVIur6TktpZaOYEM5ejxEpZ6C8nZIFsWGJRkHuOSTzdmt/s320/sbpcSmall.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The rumba box is also a mainstay of mento music. It is a large thumb piano built from from a wooden box (fancy, I know) A large circular sound hole is cut into the front, over which are secured a number of tuned metal tines. These are plucked to produce wonderful, belly-rumbling bass notes. The rumba box would later find a home is reggae music, too.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGydnZ9llACiyK3eSakNEaW6HG8P5GmkaNLyJmjqpSp3N9imtPoj0JS_PgfrbMT9xcDfc1RUul31h0C8NlIXsCgIJxlUQIn1lziZzJVnf9KXgWiwSJbnyj82RzR8FVfWxzSUan3mDpshb/s1600/rumbabox2small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaGydnZ9llACiyK3eSakNEaW6HG8P5GmkaNLyJmjqpSp3N9imtPoj0JS_PgfrbMT9xcDfc1RUul31h0C8NlIXsCgIJxlUQIn1lziZzJVnf9KXgWiwSJbnyj82RzR8FVfWxzSUan3mDpshb/s1600/rumbabox2small.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As the tourism industry developed in Jamaica, mento groups began to write songs specifically for visitors, like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFjkth_3XfU" target="_blank">this one</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sVdGwEXFWc" target="_blank">this little tune</a>, which you may have heard before.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Gotta love grandpa music.</div>
<br />pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-88023870684000672982016-12-07T10:55:00.002-05:002016-12-07T10:55:25.093-05:00A Caribbean Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiL5uSsb-vCiYb60_NUxjDLQMu3CPJUPXpgvmmgmLV2_Hb9xf8vBgGICfTB01RCCVe41kOMlpCGiConKHybKR3AX07IsZiEheaKL-wF9UymDqYZIohS0Mz63uXWBoZ-zzqJ-fJcHnhD3DZ/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiL5uSsb-vCiYb60_NUxjDLQMu3CPJUPXpgvmmgmLV2_Hb9xf8vBgGICfTB01RCCVe41kOMlpCGiConKHybKR3AX07IsZiEheaKL-wF9UymDqYZIohS0Mz63uXWBoZ-zzqJ-fJcHnhD3DZ/s320/cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
So, I live in the Caribbean.<br />
There's a lot of great music here.<br />
Which means there's a lot I need to learn about the great music here.<br />
<br />
Specifically, I really need to brush up on my genres. There's a distinct difference between ska, mento, rock steady, reggae, dancehall and the R&B that comes out of these islands, and I'm definitely sensing a learning curve. Not to fear- I have a source.<br />
<br />
I work with a 60 year old Rasta man who has an extensive collection of music and an encyclopedic knowledge of artists, albums, and the evolution of Jamaican musical styles. He's not a musician. He's a coffee farmer.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, the area farmers had a social gathering. We cooked outside, traded ant-bite stories and played dominoes. All the while, this coffee farmer friend of mine, played DJ. As he lined up the tracks, pulling from his voluminous discography, I was able to begin to identify the differences in tempo, rhythm and general sound of these musical genres. It was neat to finally be able to piece them out, as I heard them side-by-side. That said, I've got a long way to go before I can comfortably say I have an understanding.<br />
<br />
What better way to keep my thoughts straight, I thought, than to record by observances? And so, I've resolved to keep a record here- as time and internet connection allows- of my new musical experiences and all the questions that manifest alongside them. Is the categorization of "genre" helpful in this case? Is genre just reflective of musical style development over time? Are these new genres, then, only helpful insofar as placing the music in history? Is it same music played on different instruments? And what about all these covers and mixes?<br />
<br />
Then there's the different culture around music in a Caribbean country, and the influence of that culture on the music itself. Does the knowledge that listeners will want to be able to break into song on the public bus influence your creative process? What about the mostly-concrete or outdoor listening acoustics? And perhaps most pertinent: what is the role of all these annoying DJs and their alter egos?<br />
<br />
I sense an adventure.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image: "Dance Hall Hobby" album cover, 2012, by Mr. Williamz <a href="http://jahtari.org/music/JTR12.htm">http://jahtari.org/music/JTR12.htm</a></span>pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-62005379774078420282016-09-09T15:54:00.000-04:002016-12-07T10:55:57.140-05:00Here We Go Again<br />
So, humans like patterns. We just can't get enough of some of them.<br />
We latch onto certain patterns we like and subconsciously use them over and over- leading to the perennial problem of originality, copyright and ensuing legal action.<br />
<br />
An intriguing article over on <a href="https://thepatterning.com/" target="_blank">The Pattering</a> highlights what the author has dubbed "The Millennial Whoop," or a "glorious obsession with the melodic alteration between the fifth and the third" note. It's a musical pattern that's begun to characterize the generation's pop songs, and the piece conveniently provides links to the abundant examples.<br />
<br />
Also curious is the application of thus very same pattern across cultures, and in the common practice of "baby talk" when adults to infants.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://thepatterning.com/2016/08/20/the-millennial-whoop-a-glorious-obsession-with-the-melodic-alternation-between-the-fifth-and-the-third/" target="_blank">Check it out.</a><br />
<br />
<h1 class="entry-title" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: white; font-family: Montserrat, sans-serif; font-size: 2.25em; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.0625em; line-height: 1.33333; margin: 0px auto; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 24px; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; vertical-align: baseline;">
THE MILLENNIAL WHOOP: A GLORIOUS OBSESSION WITH THE MELODIC ALTERNATION BETWEEN THE FIFTH AND THE THIRD</h1>
pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-43714786594775547392016-08-13T07:00:00.000-04:002016-08-13T07:00:26.021-04:00Whale Song and Wavelets American engineer Mark Fischer recorded whale songs and dolphin calls. Then he transformed the recordings into visuals using a mathematical tool called "wavelets."<br />
<br />
Here are his pretty pictures:<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTcf1TIrAe9tiNR-avLDGcVSet46YFhtsyUJxhnMPH1p9JJB1zPDggbWcNaVqECPsrnc8M590GTX-FuMKWlqZsqMO0hTXe9qa3BnclHXGKk42L_C37af5kEI6FeT4dANRq1_czOubsQBM/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQTcf1TIrAe9tiNR-avLDGcVSet46YFhtsyUJxhnMPH1p9JJB1zPDggbWcNaVqECPsrnc8M590GTX-FuMKWlqZsqMO0hTXe9qa3BnclHXGKk42L_C37af5kEI6FeT4dANRq1_czOubsQBM/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5LdxrvZzDN4eG3UOgLtRcvzyPIqh969o4sTsJ07RiiOags02n_l73CttIZoy6H3hS4Yxc4jnxh3w4BbTx8cjYm0cX1mipsO2yYHJT76eymW4VsKitQIBa-SlzglVAMSn0kpwS7Obwzz5/s1600/Picture2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc5LdxrvZzDN4eG3UOgLtRcvzyPIqh969o4sTsJ07RiiOags02n_l73CttIZoy6H3hS4Yxc4jnxh3w4BbTx8cjYm0cX1mipsO2yYHJT76eymW4VsKitQIBa-SlzglVAMSn0kpwS7Obwzz5/s320/Picture2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP21O-hnDfbR7zbjAmyp4sTSLsrXNtJtYVlrrbqZzH8DxBSC_lV9xHUsGfT6Mu_vlQg4XTOc4m_gFo1ewZOu4Tgu5XBxbjlH8d1ManavPoDGxp5xsaQ_MEclZKioMcXey_96DInv-lIST/s1600/Picture3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxP21O-hnDfbR7zbjAmyp4sTSLsrXNtJtYVlrrbqZzH8DxBSC_lV9xHUsGfT6Mu_vlQg4XTOc4m_gFo1ewZOu4Tgu5XBxbjlH8d1ManavPoDGxp5xsaQ_MEclZKioMcXey_96DInv-lIST/s320/Picture3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgMYxAT-BnvjARYeGYKafez75FFHM_q-vbTgooH58b5a8uZnupJWJd0uBXY6fWzHNy97SAIgVeluyI26xYvwk5jCzkXIVu2oDD7vjxnEHQrCrPfKS9CP05jHeWm0F-wSz0oDGUs2oHfZj/s1600/Picture4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkgMYxAT-BnvjARYeGYKafez75FFHM_q-vbTgooH58b5a8uZnupJWJd0uBXY6fWzHNy97SAIgVeluyI26xYvwk5jCzkXIVu2oDD7vjxnEHQrCrPfKS9CP05jHeWm0F-wSz0oDGUs2oHfZj/s320/Picture4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
See more here: <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/picture-galleries/6644756/Whale-song-art-dolphin-calls-turned-into-kaleidoscopic-patterns-using-wavelets.html">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/picture-galleries/6644756/Whale-song-art-dolphin-calls-turned-into-kaleidoscopic-patterns-using-wavelets.html</a>pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-20426623400292508972016-08-12T14:42:00.002-04:002016-08-12T14:42:47.053-04:00Same Old Song: Humans Are Too Loud, and It's Ruining Everything<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3v5pzdMuefYgjiOM0X0-iBq8byepMU36cJ_WWuSx_Am1DZcUY7A_c4ywB0NxxmL8epDMztRLzb_JEVcmaPvNDPrrmlxOnLsBOgfzYiYysrH6gd8mivnyDPDCy1hpWbw7N3hDyOH-LWwx7/s1600/SCI_20_FS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3v5pzdMuefYgjiOM0X0-iBq8byepMU36cJ_WWuSx_Am1DZcUY7A_c4ywB0NxxmL8epDMztRLzb_JEVcmaPvNDPrrmlxOnLsBOgfzYiYysrH6gd8mivnyDPDCy1hpWbw7N3hDyOH-LWwx7/s400/SCI_20_FS.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I know I've written about this before. A few times. Quite a lot, actually.<br />
<br />
But it bears repeating.<br />
<br />
Humans make a lot of noise.<br />
<br />
And it's messing things up for other animals.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347214002486" target="_blank">body of research</a> suggesting that anthropogenic noise pollution has negative impacts on everything from birds, <a href="http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol14/iss1/art25/" target="_blank">frogs</a>, <a href="http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/06/13/beheco.aru105.full.pdf" target="_blank">fish</a>, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2435.12245/full" target="_blank">insects</a>, <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347214002486" target="_blank">prairie dogs</a> to even <a href="http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/677545?journalCode=an&" target="_blank">organisms without ears</a>, is steadily mounting. Increasingly, human noise is being recognized as a form of habitat degradation, while at the same time we're uncovering the acoustic environment’s importance to wildlife — to behavior, communication and ultimately survival.<br />
<br />
The fossil record reveals that animals developed ears before vocal chords. This is basically the paleontological equivalent of your grandmother reminding you that you have two ears and one mouth. Hearing is the universal alerting cue, an essential sense that’s never been seen to disappear in any species. From a zoological, evolutionary perspective, hearing is far more universal than vision, suggesting it's very important to a species' survival.<br />
<br />
And that's where the human-generated cacophony becomes a problem. When animals' acoustic environments are altered, they must respond in order to function in a new sound environment. Animals respond to noise in many different ways, and scientists are just beginning to understand the ramifications. Some responses are behavioral and can be observed in changes in species' communication. Others show up in where animals choose to make their habitats, how successfully they fend off predators (or not), or their ability to hunt (or not) — or in subtler impacts on mating, reproductive success and physiological stress.<br />
<br />
And, of course, as with all changes in an ecosystem, how stress is handled by one species affects all the other species in the system. <a href="http://www.els.net/WileyCDA/ElsArticle/refId-a0003183.html" target="_blank">Cascade affects</a> can impact how and whether <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/03/15/rspb.2012.0230" target="_blank">plant species</a> are pollinated, their seeds dispersed, their populations kept in check by herbivores.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://beheco.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/10/24/beheco.ars169" target="_blank">Birdsong</a> decreases in complexity. And that's sad. That is sad, people.<br />
<br />
Basically, human noise creates environmental stress, and animals either have to adapt, or die.<br />
Which is a problem.<br />
<br />
On the bright side, noise pollution is an easy problem to immediately clean up. Unlike other nasty pollutants with half-lives of millions of years, noise pollution can be made to disappear. Just like that. Really.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, humans are still going to be all over the place, probably doing things that make noise. Noise cloaking technologies, sound-sensitive highway designs, even speed limits for boats (to <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/noise-reduces-ocean-habitat-for-whales/" target="_blank">protect poor whales' ears</a>) can be developed and implemented to address this problem. But like all problems, the first step to recover is acknowledging that the problem exists.<br />
<br />
It's the very ephemeral nature of sound, and the ease with which such a pollutant can be "cleaned up" that keeps it from being a priority when developing policy. Research on the impacts of anthropogenic noise on wildlife has only gained traction in the last 10 years. Until we can admit that the noise humans produce — from road traffic, airplanes, boats, fossil fuel extraction, mining, military activity, home air conditioning and other sources — is a widespread pollutant, we can't begin the process of cleaning it up.<br />
<br />
<i>*author jumps of soapbox and exits stage left*</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image by Chris Gash @ http://www.chrisgash.com/</span></i><br />
<br />pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-64797334081391541582016-06-29T07:53:00.000-04:002016-06-29T07:53:13.927-04:00Soundscapes in America's National ParksRead this wonderful piece on the work of researchers recording the natural sounds of national parks all across the U.S. With more than 70 soundscapes so far, the scientists share that escaping anthropogenic sound is difficult (big surprise), and that, in some cases, the presence of human sound has had impacts on the ecosystem. In fact, certain wild sounds are becoming harder and harder to find, either due to human-made sound pollution itself, or the other impacts human development has had on the natural environment.<br />
<br />
I'm reminded on John Cage's stance on conservation of natural sounds, and on the sonic opportunities we miss if we fail to save them. One of the researchers who has been recording soundscapes for the project agrees. "If we start to lose sounds of wilderness, we start to lose a piece of us," he said. "And that really hits at a place that we don't fully understand, but which is important."<br />
<br />
Definitely worth the read: <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/06/29/483241647/beyond-sightseeing-youll-love-the-sound-of-americas-best-parks?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=health&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews">http://www.npr.org/2016/06/29/483241647/beyond-sightseeing-youll-love-the-sound-of-americas-best-parks?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=health&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews</a><br />
<br />
Be sure to check out the great model of sound intensity across the US from the National Park Service.pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-26331906895254201422016-06-24T07:38:00.000-04:002016-06-24T07:38:02.212-04:00"Rossby Whistle" in the Caribbean Is So Loud, You Can Hear It From Space<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLbrUMWpP1QjtOPj94eLt-W74hX7ael6yCg4z0hyphenhyphenUabNk9-tEBn-w2XFe7zaTxkG1fGRZzN_D9kj4ztZddbVdhozfACyRFZRpQjPvtW_kV35lLeBz-powd3DpRhQuXl6vtQCKpXdQ_qPd/s1600/download.jpe" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXLbrUMWpP1QjtOPj94eLt-W74hX7ael6yCg4z0hyphenhyphenUabNk9-tEBn-w2XFe7zaTxkG1fGRZzN_D9kj4ztZddbVdhozfACyRFZRpQjPvtW_kV35lLeBz-powd3DpRhQuXl6vtQCKpXdQ_qPd/s1600/download.jpe" /></a></div>
<br />
I live in the Caribbean at the moment. And so, while this <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2016GL069573/full" target="_blank">scientific discovery</a> is pretty cool anyway, it was especially cool to me, because I got to read it in my local news.<br />
<br />
University of Liverpool researchers have discovered a very low, very loud sound coming from the Caribbean Sea. For those wondering, it's an A-flat, but it's too far below the range of human hearing for any of us down here to be bothered by it (thank goodness).<br />
<br />
The researchers who discovered the sound have dubbed it the Rossby whistle after the Rossby waves — a.k.a. “planetary waves” — that push across the ocean and cause the sound when they reach the Caribbean.<br />
<br />
This "whistle" happens, because the Caribbean Sea is partially closed, and party open, so when the water rushes in from the Atlantic Ocean, it's like the air rushing into a whistle and sound being projected out the open end. Apparently, this happens every 120 days, or so, when the Sea exchanges water with the ocean. And yes, it can be "heard" from outer space, being picked up as oscillations in the earth's gravity field.<br />
<br />
Aside from being a super-cool natural phenomenon, the Rossby Whistle could have practical purposes for predicting coastal flooding.<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Top image from www.dreamstime.com</span>pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-59974411641536904432016-05-31T07:52:00.001-04:002016-05-31T07:52:10.940-04:00Sonic Chills<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVqAihJ6fDkH0Eq7ER3jzyLkAyqksVlvUQ2x0zgIHFHfZAxGFlqjBl4IWS1mnQgjRLJBSo5UQYiQcwVkeOY-2rgxxgBz_h6-ZXJn_geh307PQiVhw6yIUihQg_yEUI_MLz7SNI07gyrQw/s1600/160525_SCI_music-goosebumps.jpg.CROP.promo-xlarge2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVqAihJ6fDkH0Eq7ER3jzyLkAyqksVlvUQ2x0zgIHFHfZAxGFlqjBl4IWS1mnQgjRLJBSo5UQYiQcwVkeOY-2rgxxgBz_h6-ZXJn_geh307PQiVhw6yIUihQg_yEUI_MLz7SNI07gyrQw/s400/160525_SCI_music-goosebumps.jpg.CROP.promo-xlarge2.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
When you listen to music- like, <i>really, really good </i>music- do you get the chills?<br />
I do. I definitely do.<br />
I get it when I listen to music, see a breathtaking image- generally whenever I have a really great aesthetic experience.<br />
And, apparently, I'm one of the roughly two-thirds of people who do.<br />
<br />
This sensation, the chill up your spine, the goosebumps on your arms and shoulders and neck, is called "frission" (t's French). And, according to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-only-some-people-get-skin-orgasms-from-listening-to-music-59719" target="_blank">recent article on The Conversation</a>, by Mitchell Colver, it's likely an evolutionary holdover from our ancestors, a physiological response to emotionally moving stimuli.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGoNdHwck6siz4lXpy1F_hRcNalr-T3hYfU5iDSZPJlWrjdU-scuHtSTc9Jw9dQeNXaV7LM3XygsMkdZR8bycD0b3gFj7_f0KrimluReR7kNP0rDhfId-HIJTNyOIVGNxVDscOijqVRT-/s1600/image-20160520-4463-1ed9t61.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGoNdHwck6siz4lXpy1F_hRcNalr-T3hYfU5iDSZPJlWrjdU-scuHtSTc9Jw9dQeNXaV7LM3XygsMkdZR8bycD0b3gFj7_f0KrimluReR7kNP0rDhfId-HIJTNyOIVGNxVDscOijqVRT-/s400/image-20160520-4463-1ed9t61.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
And it's great. It's really great. So great that scientists often refer to it as the, ahem, "skin orgasm." But, if I'm only one of the two-thirds of people who experience it, that means there's a whole third of people out there who don't. Which is unfortunate. Researchers believe that personality may play a role, with individuals who score high on tests to measure "openness to experience" being more likely to experience frission.<a href="http://pom.sagepub.com/content/44/3/413.abstract" target="_blank"> Recently published findings</a> in the Journal of Psychology and Music suggest that those who intellectually immerse themselves in music are more likely to experience the phenomenon.<br />
<br />
All this leads me to question the role these factors play in one's overall enjoyment of the arts. Not to be a physiological determinist, but the notion is compelling.<br />
<br />
And for those who want to learn to enjoy art more... it doesn't seem out of the question to consciously be "intellectually immersed." In other words: try harder, and see what happens.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Top image: Ann Trilling/Thinkstock</span><br />
<br />pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-28947738711356037472015-11-22T09:20:00.001-05:002015-11-22T09:20:51.758-05:00In Pursuit of Silence: the rest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57mqal_mRUxiBNDiVJzMpuvOpx6Q08IKAAdlDrKUw4VQvOk1Um0DA1rJPMtsKJv7h1Gc_vapCoR5zEXVWtTQry7UzDcmtJ1H24qPx6Zh52omSZFrT23i4WcDRMmgRMkTWqP_SHRa-v_8z/s1600/silence-splsh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57mqal_mRUxiBNDiVJzMpuvOpx6Q08IKAAdlDrKUw4VQvOk1Um0DA1rJPMtsKJv7h1Gc_vapCoR5zEXVWtTQry7UzDcmtJ1H24qPx6Zh52omSZFrT23i4WcDRMmgRMkTWqP_SHRa-v_8z/s400/silence-splsh.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The last two hundred pages of George Prochnik's In Pursuite of Silence, proceeded to bounce around to as many places as the first hundred. From shopping malls to boom car clubs, to soundproofing expos, the guy is covering territory. A trip to Copenhagen highlighted his conversations with "soundscapers" and sound mapping as a means to intentionally construct a space for the optimal everyday sound experience. A visit to a college for the deaf introduced Prochnik to the Deaf community's perception of silence and their attempts at a "deaf architecture" to accommodate that experience. He goes back in history to look at the successful campaigns against noise pollution headed by Ms. Julia Rice of New York -and their ultimate demise with the advent of motorized personal transportation. He explores the design of the Japanese garden and it's intended use a a space for quiet, solitary reflection. And finally, he pays a visit to a research laboratory specializing in earthworms and nematodes.<br />
<br />
And what comes of these adventures? After the 200 page schizophrenic ping-pong marathon of ideas Prochnik settles on a conclusion similar to that of John Cage. Sound, certainly is not bad. The sounds we made are an assertion of our physical existence (the Italian futurists really harped on that). Ambient sound is, in fact, a necessary and inescapable part of human life. Of all life. Our frantic (and often expensive) attempts to control our ambient soundscape through headphones, soundproofing technology and community policy are simply an expression of our dissatisfaction with an increasingly lo-fi environment.<br />
<br />
Our perception of sound is often relative and highly dependent upon who you are, where you're from, how old you are, your past sound exposure, your current sound exposure, and association of ideas you create around the sound you experience. We can fight over policies all at once deemed "too unreasonable" and "not stringent enough," or, as Prochnik suggests, we should shift our focus. Rather than impose upon ourselves and others the sonic environment one person deems best, we should instead attempt to intentionally cultivate opportunities for silence. This isn't to say we should obsessively seek quiet in the sense of "anechoic chamber-type-silence," but to quiet the sounds of our self-assertion, and allow for the sounds of life to show through.<br />
<br />
Humans aren't made for complete silence, as evidenced by our own ears' hallucination of sound in the absence of stimulation. Humans are not made for constant sonic stimulation, as evidenced by the -sometimes violent- complaints made by neighbors and communities, and the detrimental physical affects to human health. We should instead, Prochnik suggests, create opportunities for hi-fi environments to exist. It's what we crave. It's what enable the monk to seek enlightenment It's what allows you to develop spacial intelligence. It's what gives you a reprieve from your own ego, and the egos of others, and become aware of everything else.<br />
<br />
Overall, a nice, well-researched, and thoughtful read. An excellent exploration of John Cage's later attitudes toward the value of sound and silence. Prochnik's clumsy attempts at literary flair were mostly laughable, but his research of the question from all different angles was admirable.<br />
<br />
And to be honest, who would have thought you'd get boom cars and earthworms into the same book?pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-15957968145053597342015-11-18T11:45:00.001-05:002015-11-18T11:45:13.829-05:00"Ultrachomatic" Compositions and Rainbow Wheels<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0ok9eQTCXCLUBoLgPxPwujJhC0ld_-QWdPjASuwSSrYZLvIsSN0FTSVL91M5P3_MtQ7bhyphenhyphenydTHry1034aL4DrvvW3MmOLwCTvSydHMRKkC8VfrTMFfSjDjuZ8frtKccz5CJEgIEHaB5N/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0ok9eQTCXCLUBoLgPxPwujJhC0ld_-QWdPjASuwSSrYZLvIsSN0FTSVL91M5P3_MtQ7bhyphenhyphenydTHry1034aL4DrvvW3MmOLwCTvSydHMRKkC8VfrTMFfSjDjuZ8frtKccz5CJEgIEHaB5N/s400/Picture1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Ivan Wyshnegradsky was a Russian composer with lofty goals. The 20th century avant-garde pianist was devoted to creating works "capable of awakening in every man the slumbering forces of cosmic consciousness." To do this, he sought out sounds to create music like no one had ever heard before. Sounds like a tall order, if you ask me. <br />
<br />
His music was microtonal, meaning that it transcended the 12-scale tuning system in traditional Western music. Microtones are basically the notes between the notes- the Zeno's paradox of music, if you will. I know what you're wondering, and no, you <em>can't</em> play these notes on a regular piano. He spent some time trying to build a special piano that one could play these things on. In the late 1920s, he finished work on a quarter tone piano and began composing some interesting things.<br />
<br />
But it was in the 1940s that things started to get really fun. This was when he began translating his "ultrachromatic" compositions into elaborate color wheels. By applying the concepts of synesthesia, be blurred the lines between sound and color, assigning each cell of the wheel a semitone in the musical sequence. What's cool is that you're supposed to be able to follow the spirals and visually "listen" to the melodies they represent. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y5U3LisklD69uPpUHoOLsdVQ6v_EidNzQPwSJz8NjHzohIcPXuXrwT7TU_JZmx34gSZEoMXO6d2VYc1sdgiR4aL6PdJ5Pgf-hRXJE_HGmBmMRNCAXD1Eduo6D_DRDtFzhOkrL8ZuuoDn/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3y5U3LisklD69uPpUHoOLsdVQ6v_EidNzQPwSJz8NjHzohIcPXuXrwT7TU_JZmx34gSZEoMXO6d2VYc1sdgiR4aL6PdJ5Pgf-hRXJE_HGmBmMRNCAXD1Eduo6D_DRDtFzhOkrL8ZuuoDn/s320/untitled.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Pretty cool, if you ask me. <br />
pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-4686114890530069692015-11-16T12:28:00.003-05:002015-11-16T12:28:38.096-05:00Sea Organ: The Water Harmonica<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSToTgw7C6XQuw7i7GcamaDfrVl9qA2KTNShQYopSgMw9hqbkXpRxoMZoVv_TzDmmyWloOFxHhqLdV0rKtX-BF9J4CaXDeqroPsDY15wnum6E-UTQ3ntdkL3DwpxfCuyu_mT_HaSJOq8Wx/s1600/Sea2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSToTgw7C6XQuw7i7GcamaDfrVl9qA2KTNShQYopSgMw9hqbkXpRxoMZoVv_TzDmmyWloOFxHhqLdV0rKtX-BF9J4CaXDeqroPsDY15wnum6E-UTQ3ntdkL3DwpxfCuyu_mT_HaSJOq8Wx/s400/Sea2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Croatian artist, Nicola Basic, created a giant instrument back in 2005. The "sea organ" may look like a set of concrete steps, but it's actually an elaborate arrangement of chambers, connecting to 35 organ pipes. Who plays such a large instrument?<br />
<br />
The Adriatic sea, of course. <br />
<br />
While I'm partial to all of the sounds the sea is making on its own, I am curious as to how nature plays this new instrument- and in particular, how it changes the soundscape of the area. What do the seagulls think?<br />
<br />
Read more about this "harmonious alliance between man and nature" <a href="http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/nikola-basic-adriatiac-sea-organ" target="_blank">here</a>.pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-29176678775709801252015-11-14T12:29:00.001-05:002015-11-14T12:29:36.191-05:00In Pursuit of Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR4emUzlZz8qRpxwM_GMQ0FaofXMd2BwO3zabcCS4MQzi2UmfjJvVd45mhK6i-YXIp2d6p6dBU_02vovfG7hQXqlLD7xp8oI7s-NKTuSVF-Z6oM1gJhHgLqY1bY5OHWvcAjn37nuLKZup/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPR4emUzlZz8qRpxwM_GMQ0FaofXMd2BwO3zabcCS4MQzi2UmfjJvVd45mhK6i-YXIp2d6p6dBU_02vovfG7hQXqlLD7xp8oI7s-NKTuSVF-Z6oM1gJhHgLqY1bY5OHWvcAjn37nuLKZup/s320/download.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I was waiting for Dan in the public library (which seems to be a perennial situation) and looking for a book that seemed interesting enough to fill the time. Just while I was (perhaps wrongfully) lamenting the selection available, I chanced upon a spine that caught my eye. I spent the next 15 minutes engrossed in George Prochnik's <i>In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise</i>.<br />
<br />
Needless to say, the book came home with me, and I promised to never doubt the library system again.<br />
<br />
The inside cover sets the stage perfectly: "More than money, power, and even happiness, silence has become the most precious- and dwindling- commodity of our modern world." While that's a pretty bold, and perhaps melodramatic, statement to make, I was intrigued from the first page. I'm only about 100 pages in, but Prochnik has charmed me with his vacillation between philosophical musings on the very existence and pursuit of silence and his search for explanations in the biological sciences. Thus far I've been treated to the exploration of silence as a means of connecting with the divine reality of the universe (thanks to interviews with various monastic sects), conjectures from evolutionary psychology on the origins and reasons for hearing in the first place, and speculation on the adaptive purposes for animals' vocalizations. At page 97, I began a foiree into the strategic use of sound environments by the corporate world.<br />
<br />
Prochnik's variety perhaps compensates for his lack of depth, but I'm intrigued, nonetheless. Cage's evolving ideas about the significance of silence, and the significance of all sounds are recurrent. though Prochnik has yet to concede to the value of "noise," and has instead focused on the negative physiological and psychological impacts of some sounds in contrast to others.<br />
<br />
I'm excited to see where he goes.<br />
<br />
Here's a favorite passage of mine from Chapter 1- Listening For the Unknown:<br />
<br />
"All the time I'd been in the monastery, I'd been searching for some kinds of clear, encapsulated lesson in silence- something that I could take home with me. But what I'd received instead was a powerful reminder of the good that can come from not knowing, from lingering where the mind keeps reaching outward. I remembered speaking earlier to Vinod Menon, a neuroscientist who has done fMRI studies of people listening to music. Menon discovered that the peak of positive brain activity actually occurs in the silent pauses between sounds, when the brain is striving to anticipate what the next note will be. The burst of neural firing that takes place in the absence of sound stimulus enables the mind to perform some of its most vital work of maintaining attention and encoding memories."pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-5754523103700996002015-11-13T12:09:00.001-05:002015-11-13T12:11:00.302-05:00The Movement of Air: Dance and Digital Projection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLzjbe2TUd7SrSUKmOu8KygAenjJFeBime0frSf7pUFhEHEMio35AsUZmopyXB6uP4OxOO9xD3nd8FkzdlgHw1-TnmBNg2PGgZ_1duJlQ5KStunFwVBA8Fg2N5F6R_NS9pLP7HEAd9wEP/s1600/dance-1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrLzjbe2TUd7SrSUKmOu8KygAenjJFeBime0frSf7pUFhEHEMio35AsUZmopyXB6uP4OxOO9xD3nd8FkzdlgHw1-TnmBNg2PGgZ_1duJlQ5KStunFwVBA8Fg2N5F6R_NS9pLP7HEAd9wEP/s400/dance-1.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
If you happened to be in the country of France last month, well, lucky you. Aside from visiting historical and cultural sites, drinking wine and eating the best bread on Earth, you might have had the chance to see a magical dance performance orchestrated by <a href="http://www.am-cb.net/" target="_blank">Adrian M and Claire B</a>. The hour-long piece, performed by a trio of dancers, was unique in that it combined choreography with digital projection imaging- and did so in a novel way.<br />
<br />
Unlike more common uses of digital projection, rather than projecting prerecorded scenes in which the dancers performed, Adrian and Claire utilized fully-interactive scenes that responded to the dancers movement. That is to say, nothing was animated beforehand and the final visual performance was rather spontaneous, or, one could say... indeterminate.<br />
<br />
As a dancer myself, I'm skeptical of many visual gimmicks that aim to enhance what is already an excellent (and stand-alone) dance performance. But I appreciate that, in this work, the digital imagery isn't added as an afterthought, and is actively responding to the dancers' movements. In a way, it creates a more complex dialogue between the dancer and the space: the projection responding to the dancer, the dancer responding to the unplanned projection.<br />
<br />
Watch a montage of the performance highlights <a href="https://vimeo.com/145201272" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
Then curse yourself for not being able to see it performed live.<br />
<br />
<br />pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-84694612965340927812015-05-19T10:00:00.002-04:002015-05-19T10:00:38.679-04:00A Music-Friendly Implant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JCjWlVzCUWDEe6cZCd3DTNx641KNBx8LQZiFVFjJBj73Mj-ThKbYKMR9n45KmHhZTC-jrRxEJqS0JvoFjri_suCPSz6xJOxBrHpFS8DPd0K2SA9nvjJWrGzRP5J0mcnXnmA_jwOxtuQM/s1600/cochlear-implant-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JCjWlVzCUWDEe6cZCd3DTNx641KNBx8LQZiFVFjJBj73Mj-ThKbYKMR9n45KmHhZTC-jrRxEJqS0JvoFjri_suCPSz6xJOxBrHpFS8DPd0K2SA9nvjJWrGzRP5J0mcnXnmA_jwOxtuQM/s320/cochlear-implant-image.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Read this captivating article on the experience of music via <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/05/18/406838781/deaf-jam-experiencing-music-through-a-cochlear-implant" target="_blank">cochlear implant</a>:<br />
<br />
What I found most interesting is the difference in music preferences associated with a hearing aid versus a cochlear implant. Sam Swiller, who is featured in the article, preferred lots of drums and bass when he had a hearing aid, but these sounds proved too intense when he switched to the implant. Instead, he says became drawn to folk and alternative music. <br />
<br />
I've always wondered if the difference in the musical preferences of my brother (death metal, hard rock, gangster rap) and myself (folk, Celtic, Classical Indian) had less to do with ascribed culture and more with how we hear things. My brother is a bit hard of hearing, and I seem to have a better ear for higher pitches. When my cousin became an interpreter for the deaf, I further wondered about the preferences in music among her friends in the deaf community (they are as particular as anyone else about what music they like to experience). <br />
<br />
Personally, I'm easily overwhelmed by sounds. For instance, I can't eat and listen to music at the same time. I even have trouble eating during a particularly enthusiastic thunderstorm. As my interest in improvisational jazz and experimental music grew, I continually had to find ways to experience it without needing to stop after just a few minutes. I've discovered that coffee-house style performances, I can handle. Rock concerts, I cannot. Even with ear plugs. The lights and the vibrations and the sounds are just too much stimulus to take all at once. <br />
<br />
Given my personal experience with being overwhelmed by sounds, I can only imagine the adjustment required when switching from hearing aid to implant. As the article states, a cochlear implant is designed to do one thing really well — allow users to understand speech. What it lacks is nuance in relating information about pitch and timbre. Current implants simply leave out much of the information needed to tell the difference between notes that are close together on a keyboard or instruments that sound similar. And while it may not be at the forefront of doctors' and manufacturer's minds, I have to agree that the creation of a "music friendly" implant is certainly worth consideration. pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-71542367888892911662015-01-08T11:30:00.001-05:002015-01-08T11:30:14.989-05:00Cage at the Movies: Sound of Noise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UWNNy0P7z5EDhkqyIxZs0888UJT26otjv_osvgQFSZ9fs70cZxe6dIjaDyzDxCUptjZE568aRYDmeqKrTq88INYemZJeDwYBCKJp2HsFJnTQuWF114A-dl2dTIl634fgawIQItqG_9Ff/s1600/Sound_of_Noise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7UWNNy0P7z5EDhkqyIxZs0888UJT26otjv_osvgQFSZ9fs70cZxe6dIjaDyzDxCUptjZE568aRYDmeqKrTq88INYemZJeDwYBCKJp2HsFJnTQuWF114A-dl2dTIl634fgawIQItqG_9Ff/s1600/Sound_of_Noise.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
<br />
Saw a great film last night with such a whimsical, Cage-inspired premise, that I thought it would be worth mentioning here.<br />
<br />
<i>Sound of Noise</i> is a 2010 Swedish-French film about a police officer from a family of prestigious musicians. The black sheep of the family, the officer is tone-deaf, has no musical talent and does not enjoy listening to music. Meanwhile, a group of "anarchist musicians" begin staging some less-than-legal performances around the city. During the officer's investigation and pursuit of the guerrilla musicians, the everyday objects they use to create their music are rendered soundless, and the audience also experiences his literal tone-deafness.<br />
<br />
In the spirit of Cage's all-sound music, the film is an entertaining introduction into the musical sounds of non-musical instruments. The story is a follow-up to the 2001 short film <i>Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers. </i>The title of the film purportedly comes from Italian futurist Luigi Russolo's 1913 manifesto <i>The Art of Noises</i>.<br />
<br />
You can watch the trailer <a href="http://www.magpictures.com/soundofnoise/" target="_blank">here</a><br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">image credit: Nordisk Film</span></i>pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-84355268925521059482014-12-27T15:41:00.001-05:002014-12-27T15:41:12.823-05:00Sonic Dining<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9s1ew28Z-kuieCyMuGwFgFzGLadNGYIRuN7svYr5FYHDl4ALxQQzKCGqvAuLiu7lYS9mWi5VJGMEI_i_u-6g05UegXN56VjlAafHkd5YupATU29xQBJFFdjzHR7o5esX3cCTPbDNqnsV/s1600/6a00d83451b93369e2013486414fe3970c-320wi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9s1ew28Z-kuieCyMuGwFgFzGLadNGYIRuN7svYr5FYHDl4ALxQQzKCGqvAuLiu7lYS9mWi5VJGMEI_i_u-6g05UegXN56VjlAafHkd5YupATU29xQBJFFdjzHR7o5esX3cCTPbDNqnsV/s1600/6a00d83451b93369e2013486414fe3970c-320wi.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
I knew it!<br />
With the right music, you can influence the taste of your food.<br />
<br />
Heavy Metal Macaroni.<br />
Monk Monkfish.<br />
Edith Piaf Pilaf.<br />
The possibilities are endless...<br />
<br />
Read the story <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/12/20/372142738/want-to-enhance-the-flavor-of-your-food-put-on-the-right-music" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
The above image is the cover of author Kara Zuaro's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Like-Food-Tastes-Good-Favorite/dp/1401308740" target="_blank">book</a>, <i>I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In The Kitchen With Your Favorite Bands</i>.pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-18118566232558480252014-04-17T16:28:00.000-04:002014-04-17T16:29:27.181-04:00Cage the Mycologist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifovXurMccGtYZpMDaCOwUfTBpFoAPA7uTC5e3qa7d3JKH-vAKgtyYzCV-hh6f2MgONcis9wGQyfSnC0tAU4d5W29OmocUvkVFVjnQh6f_cMwAjrvjvlupcAIdYgrxnjBP96ogdkLM8nrF/s1600/john+cage+collecting+mushrooms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifovXurMccGtYZpMDaCOwUfTBpFoAPA7uTC5e3qa7d3JKH-vAKgtyYzCV-hh6f2MgONcis9wGQyfSnC0tAU4d5W29OmocUvkVFVjnQh6f_cMwAjrvjvlupcAIdYgrxnjBP96ogdkLM8nrF/s1600/john+cage+collecting+mushrooms.jpg" height="320" width="223" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br /><br />A new exhibition opened last week at the Horticultural Society of New York to celebrate John Cage the Mycologist. It's called, “By Leaves or Play of Light- John Cage: Artist and Naturalist." (I always knew he was a naturalist at heart). His fungal legacy, I've learned, consists of his revival of the New York Mycological Society in the 1960s and his extensive fungi collection, now at the University of California, Santa Cruz (and, of course, his phenomenal success in game show history). I've also recently learned that Cage did some visual art projects that will be on display at this exhibition. Most notably some of his 1990 "Edible Drawings" made from snow peas, bitter melon, hijiki, and black beans — ingredients in his macrobiotic diet at the time. <br /><br /><br /> He also collaborated on a project with mycologist Alexander H. Smith called The Mushroom Book (1972), a collection of disjointed poems alongside beautifully mushroom illustrations by Lois Long, as well as fields of seemingly random text with sporadic mushroom drawings and details scrawled by Cage all over the page. As he described it in a 1991 interview with John Retallack, this writing was meant to show ”that ideas are to be found in the same way that you find wild mushrooms in the forest, by just looking”; you can’t just come upon them directly, they “come to you as things hidden.”<br /><br /><br /> Learn more about the exhibition here: <a href="http://thehort.org/programs_exhibitions.html">http://thehort.org/programs_exhibitions.html</a><br /><br />Then, buy me a ticket to New York so that I can see it. <br /><br /><br /> <br /> pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-7324937006979119572014-03-08T09:38:00.001-05:002014-03-08T09:38:12.716-05:00Moo-d Music: The musical preferences of the working bovine mother<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7poyQjBPtjpPH6ecUlN24ZH1E2_XhmR42NR3j-rq8JTjT4jC04PDZIp_7ZT8ABAdpYR9GdVvGbIT1YP326jyj3h-nJMXDgIWclkvW3z8EaJ23TStyRc-vj4soRZKAZm60NkSSukfZhrK/s1600/cow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7poyQjBPtjpPH6ecUlN24ZH1E2_XhmR42NR3j-rq8JTjT4jC04PDZIp_7ZT8ABAdpYR9GdVvGbIT1YP326jyj3h-nJMXDgIWclkvW3z8EaJ23TStyRc-vj4soRZKAZm60NkSSukfZhrK/s1600/cow.jpg" height="356" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Some dairy farmers have long suspected that playing a bit of mood music can boost milk production in dairy cows. It's not unheard of for farmers to play relaxing jams for their herds, and the picture above shows a vaudeville act serenading the cows in the University of Wisconsin, Madison's dairy barn in 1930. The show was apparently part of an experiment to see whether the soothing strains of music boosted the cows' milk production.<br />
<br />
Read more at:<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/06/285314648/secret-life-of-cows-part-deux-milking-mood-music" target="_blank">http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/03/06/285314648/secret-life-of-cows-part-deux-milking-mood-music</a>pennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00163514253607550989noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-39589006599480208822014-02-18T13:21:00.002-05:002014-02-18T13:21:09.497-05:00John Luther Adams- The Drums of Winter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7BBGJv72EjU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Jerome Langguthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232771961596244247noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-912355518131391387.post-49710041161750495752014-02-14T10:27:00.002-05:002014-02-14T10:27:12.072-05:00A Valentine Out of Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/X7nGBTu92lg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Jerome Langguthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11232771961596244247noreply@blogger.com0