Sound, Sound, All Around
Sounds have existed long before us humans were around and will likely continue to be present long after we are no longer in the picture. So, where do we, and our study of sound, come into play then? We can only try to learn as much as possible about acoustics with the time we’re given. We can continue to capture and discover new sounds, as well as keep old sounds alive through recordings. Through our vast exploration of this planet and beyond, we continue to find amazing sounds that come from the most unexpected things, we have learned how to manipulate stone to control the sound of a space, and we have used these discoveries to help the human race, several animal species, and the world as a whole interconnected system. One of these discoveries most notable in my eyes is that of Leland W. Sprinkle. He created “the largest natural musical instrument in the world” (Cox 66). This instrument is an “organ” that stretches over “1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) of the cavern” (Cox 66). Sprinkle created this natural organ by finding “stalactites that produced a beautiful ringing tone and also had a natural resonant frequency close to a note in a musical scale” (Cox 67). Another concept I found quite interesting in these readings was that of natural radio as presented in Earth Sound Earth Listening written by Douglas Kahn. I can tell you, even after reading two whole chapters on the subject, I’m still not exactly sure what it is. To my understanding, it is the natural signals put off by things. This means that one should not be so intensely focused on the sounds emitted by something that they lose sight of what the sounds are saying. Finally, I was intrigued by a third topic in R. Murray Schafer’s novel, The Soundscape. The quote that particularly caught my attention was “the double miracle of speech and music occurred” (Schafer 40). This quote implies that song has been around just as long as language itself. This means humans were using it as a mechanism of emotion as well as survival skills.
