It’s a sad irony that one of our most important senses, hearing, is so taken for granted. So much information about the world around us comes in through our ears, but we place such precedence on what comes through our eyes. We are very visual creatures, granted, with an ability to see color and detail, in stereo no less. The first cameras with the ability to preserve images were developed in the early 1800’s, with mass-marketed cameras developed in the late 1800’s by Kodak. The first audio recorder, the phonautograph, was developed in 1857, which was refined into the phonograph by Thomas Edison in 1878. It would be the 1940’s, with the development of magnetic tape, before high fidelity recordings could be produced, and another couple of decades before cassette recorders brought audio recording to the masses. So the technology to make soundscape recordings has been around awhile, even if it lags considerably behind cameras.
But audio recording has not yet caught on the way photography has. Nearly everyone has at least one camera now (including the one on your cell phone), but few people have audio recorders – that they are aware of. Cell phones and some mp3 players can also record sounds (see Audio recording with a smartphone), although the quality tends to be less than a dedicated recorder. The idea of recording sounds, be it a concert in the park or the bird singing in your backyard, is so foreign to people that I still get asked the question when I’m recording natural soundscapes, “What are you going to do with those recordings?” This usually puzzles me, as it’s a question usually not asked of someone with a camera around their neck. I’ve never asked the question back, “What do you think I’m going to do with my recordings?”, which might provide some interesting answers. Audio recording seems to have a nefarious intent, like everyone carrying a recorder is some kind of spy.
Nature sound recordings capture sounds in time and space, much the way a camera does. And recordings can be used in much the same way; for educational, commercial or scientific purposes, or for one’s own pleasure .
1. Scientific record of the soundscape.
Nature sound recording provides a less invasive way to inventory and monitor what animals might be present in an area. Some animals are very hard to see, but can be readily heard and recorded. Other animals are quiet but visible, which means recording may not be the only method to use, depending on what you want to monitor. Recordings can be used to detect or document:
- Species presence and numbers;
- Animal community structure;
- Animal communication;
- Comparison among populations in calling behavior and/or call structure;
- Temporal patterns of calling, both time of day and time of year; and
- Impacts of anthropogenic noise and/or habitat changes on species presence or calling behavior.
Sound libraries are being established in a number of locations, providing permanent archives of sounds for research. The Macauley Library at Cornell University and the California Library of Sounds are good examples. It’s not hard to imagine that someday these sounds may be all that we have left of some species. And Bernie Krause says that many of the soundscapes that he’s recorded over the years are gone for good, and only exist in his archives.
2. Education value of nature sound recordings.
Recordings are useful for teaching about nature, ecology, and acoustics. A few things that can be learned from recordings:
- Introduce people to the sounds around them and in distant parts of the world (which is much of the point of this blog);
- Teaching about how the physical environment (water, rocks, temperature, wind) affects sound propagation;
- Animal identification, such as identifying birds by their songs;
- Allows us, using special microphones like hydrophones and bat detectors, to hear things beyond the capability or our own ears (see Ultrasonic predators and prey); and
- Sharing techniques among recordists provides information about equipment and setup to improve recordings.
3. Listening pleasure.
Nature sound recordings provide personal listening enjoyment and may contribute to physical and mental health. Some benefits of listening to recorded nature sounds:
- Listening to birds singing and other natural sounds reduces blood pressure and increases focus (see The importance of bird song);
- Sounds may allow us to travel vicariously to distant lands or revive memories of places we’ve already been.
4. Commercial purposes
Some recordists sell their recordings through a variety of markets. Sound effects specialists find a large market in the film and movie industry. Nature recordings are also used in audio field guides, like many of guide to bird songs. Nature sound recordings are often used in museum exhibits to provide a more in-depth experience. And some recordists compile collections of their recordings for sale, to provide listening pleasure. Some of my recordings are available in the Albums section of my website.
5. Fun
Nature sound recording is fun. I find it as least as pleasurable and challenging as photography; capturing a good recording is a balance of technique, equipment, and luck. And since you’re dealing with wild, natural systems, anything can happen and you never know who will show up (see Nighttime visitors).
The following recording from the beaver pond at Apache Creek, NM, includes insects, birds, and an amphibian, and documents the transition from day to night. The presence of the bullfrogs is also an indicator that not all is well in the beaver pond. Bullfrogs are an introduced species in the western US, and have reeked havoc on many riparian ecosystems by preying on and competing with native frogs and toads.
Recording notes: Recorded with a Sony PCM-M10 and Audio Technica AT2022 mic with Felmicamps pre-amp.