Natural sound recording in the woodlands

Jun 9 01:43 UTC 1994

I live in Petoskey, at the very core of Michigan's beautiful
north country.  In addition to skiing, biking and flyfishing
hereabouts, I do binaural recording of nature sounds: birdsong,
streams, wave sounds, thunderstorms - anything that can be
labeled "Soundprints of the North Country."  Binaural sound
is not the same as "stereo."  Binaural is meant to be listened
to using headphones.  It is astoundingly realistic; your head
is taken to the very location where the original sounds were
recorded and the sounds are localized, i.e., you can locate
the sound in space.  If a woodpecker is tapping his stacatto
beats on a tree twelve meters at a 36-degree angle from true
north, that is where you will locate him as you listen through
your headset.   I record with a Sennheiser binaural microphone
set and on digital audio tape for max. quality.  Playback can
be enjoyed though with an inexpensive Walkman and ordinary
headphones; the sound will be amazingly realistic.

I usually travel a bit south of here to a two-track  dirt
road through one of our state forests.  It is a 16-mile
trip through a valley where one of our famous trout streams
has its beginnings, eventually running into Lake Charlevoix.
Here, deep in the forest, away from the sounds of civilization
and cars, I can capture birdsong of almost endless variety:
barred owls, thrushes, wild geese, the loon, whip-poor-will,
sawhet owl, ruffed grouse, &c., &c.  The best recordings are
made early in the morning before sunrise and late in the
evening after sunset.  

I think more people should know about this method of capturing 
the elusive and ephemeral sounds of nature.  Even the whisper
of a breeze slipping through a grove of pine or hemlock is
music of the purest kind.  Tapes made this way and listened
to while lying in bed at night is the finest way I know of
"meditating" and clearing the psyche of all the rubbish of
ordinary, everyday happenings amid babble and urban noise
and the endless chatter and clatter of "busylife."

Is anybody interested?

response 2 of 11:

Jun 9 15:15 UTC 1994

Samuel, you've just reminded me of why I've drifted away from caring
for "stereo" from loudspeakers. The sounds/music were recorded by
separated microphones (usually unnaturally separated, further than
a head-width), so as to simulate two ears, but then played back so
that both ears hear each microphone. There is definitely an "effect"
but it isn't "stereo" (a long time ago I likened it to listening to
an orchestra through two holes in a wall, rather than one). However,
with earphones, one can hear what each microphone heard, separately,
so the effect should be closer to physiologically natural. But do
you have a microphone system with the spacing and orientation of human
ears, or do you also "enhance" the effect with unnatural separations?

response 4 of 11:

Jun 12 01:09 UTC 1994

The kind of recording that I do, binaural, is based on the theory
that sound reaches each ear at a different time (phase difference).
Imagine that you are in the woods and a whip-poor-will is singing
somewhere off to your right.  The sound of his singing reaches your
right ear earlier than your left ear.  Now, if you place a sensitive
microphone in each ear canal, or at the entrance to each ear, you can
capture this "localization" of the sounds.  In Germany it is called
"kunstkopf" or "dummy head" recording.  The mikes are placed in the
ear canals of an artificial head for recording,  In my case I use
my own head, my own ears, placing a small condenser mike in each
ear, with the power supply in my pocket and the output of the two
signals connected to the input jack of a portable digital tape
recorder.  My tapes are not for sale yet, but I have been asked
to produce them commercially which I am giving some consideration
to.  There are millions and millions of Walkmen and headphones in
the U.S. but virtually nothing has been recorded expressly for
headphone listening.  Binaural recordings are so natural,, so
outstandingly real, that i'm amazed that so little is available
on the market.  

response 6 of 11:

Jun 13 12:13 UTC 1994

I've read and heard about binaural recording.  I've never listend to a
tape recorded that way though.  A guy, here at work, has several CD's
recorded that way.  Mostly clasical music.  I'll have to ask him if I
can give one a listen.  Too bad my Stax headphones died.  Those things
were *fantastic*!  I should have spent the $'s and had them re-built.
 
I wonder too about hearing your breathing, ect.  I have that problem
when I make family vidio tapes... When I play them back, I hear myself
breathing.  I also wonder about different skull shapes and it's effect
on the sound.  Perhaps, to get the most realistic sound, one should use
one's own head to make the recordings.  I also wonder how conductive 
hearing effects actual hearing, not reproduced in a recording.  How much
of the conductive hearing is responcible for the body sounds Rane mentioned?

response 8 of 11:

Jun 18 22:06 UTC 1994

Some years ago (15? 20?) I was listening to Godley and Creme's "Consequences"
with headphones on.  It was the first time I ever listened to it.  STeve
was present -- I think it was his copy, so he can verify what happened.

There's a section in it where the listener attends a funeral.  You hear the
parson reading "ashes to ashes," and when he gets to "we commit his body
to the ground," a listener with speakers will hear dirt being thrown on
the casket.  A listener with *headphones* will hear him or herself ... being
buried alive!


I'd been listening closely, eyes closed, and at this point jumped up out
of the chair with a scream.  Wow.

On the liner notes, they explained that they placed a binaural microphone
pair, with head, at the bottom of a staircase.  They placed a plywood
sheet over the head, and threw shovels of dirt onto the wood from the
top of the stair.

It was an exceedingly realistic effect.

response 10 of 11:

Sep 18 17:11 UTC 1994

Samuel, these tapes would make a great Christmas present for someone I know,
and I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a few myself. Would thre be any possibl
way I could buy one or more from you? I know you said you weren't selling them,
 but that was back in June, so I thought that by now,they might be available. I
live in Gaylord, so it's not like you'd have to send them very far, and I'd be
willing to even pay for the postage, if you wanted me to. So anyway, if you're
interested, just let me know.  Thanks!