#loudloudlow

[loudl-oudl-ow-in-progress]

bird loop library

in memory of Lou Ottens (* 21 June 1926 ✝ 6 March 2021). thank you for inventing the cassette tape! ♥︎

[loudl-oudl-ow-in-progress]

the song of the bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) by F. Schuyler Mathews „The Bobolink is indeed a great singer, but the latter part of his song is a species of musical fireworks. He begins bravely enough with a number of well-sustained tones, but presently he accelerates his time, loses track of his motive, and goes to pieces in a burst of musical scintillations. It is a mad, reckless song-fantasia, an outbreak of pent-up, irrepressible glee. The difficulty in either describing or putting upon paper such music is insurmountable. One can follow the singer through the first few whistled bars, and then, figuratively speaking, he lets down the bars and stampedes. I have never been able to "sort out" the tones as they passed at this break-neck speed. Others who desired to record the song have found the thing impracticable. Mr. Cheney writes: We must wait for some interpreter with the sound-catching skill of a Blind Tom and the phonograph combined, before we may hope to fasten the kinks and twists of this live music-box." (F. Schuyler Mathews - Field Book of Wild Birds & their Music)

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multiple layers of birdsong transcriptions

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One of the commonest ways to convert bird sounds into visual code is to use transcriptions into what seem the nearest equivalent human sounds in our own spoken language, e.g. quack, caw, tu-whit to-whoo... Most field guides offer careful transcriptions of the commonest calls & sometimes songs (pictures 1&2 Collins Bird Guide). John Bevis collected such transcriptions in his book „aaaaw to zzzzzd“ (pictures 3-6).

-> see also post above

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details of my „bird sound diagram“ (-> see posts below)

key: arrows pointing to the center: elements I use and work with blue: examples of bird species in brackets: examples of relevant persons

[loudl-oudl-ow-in-progress]

In the second picture I went one step further and connected all related items (equivalent to my current brain status).

[loudl-oudl-ow-in-progress]

To connect the dots of the material I have gathered over the past few years, I created this „bird sound diagram“. Here you can see all of the birdsong-related elements I work with and it outlines all kinds of human uses of bird calls and sounds.

In upcoming posts I will show you some of these elements in detail and why and how I work with them, as well as some work results and musical experiments.

The diagram is not perfect and makes no claims of being complete, but it is a better and more presentable and much clearer version than my „private“ one, which is totally chaotic and of course in German. Anyway, I hope you can get a feel for the dimensions of this project.

key: arrows pointing to the center: elements I use and work with blue: examples of bird species in brackets: examples of relevant persons

[loudl-oudl-ow-in-progress]

I will finally finish my project loudl-oudl-ow this year & my album + bird compilation will be released. I want to share some insights into the project with you here. Let‘s start with a selection of things that have been my constant companions over the past few years.