Category Archives: Animals

The complexities of underwater acoustics

The ecological importance of natural soundscapes is increasingly recognized, as their degradation may lead to biodiversity loss and disruptions in ecosystem functioning. The disappearance of these soundscapes poses a serious concern, underscoring the need for their preservation. Soundscape studies offer valuable insights into ecological change, enabling researchers to identify affected ecosystems and attribute shifts to factors such as anthropogenic noise. A wide array of methodologies supports this research–from auditory observation and spectrographic visualization to the computation of acoustic indices and sophisticated statistical modeling. Passive acoustic monitoring has emerged as a vital ecological tool, facilitating research, environmental surveillance, and conservation management across both terrestrial and aquatic soundscapes.

A geoacoustic imaging project studying underwater acoustic networks for services in support of the discovery of new underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites.

In the context of aquatic environments, acoustic recording presents distinct challenges due to the complex nature of sound propagation. Unlike in air, sound does not travel in straight-line paths underwater; instead, it undergoes reflection, refraction, and diffraction. Acoustic energy interacts with uneven surfaces such as the sea surface and seafloor, as well as with suspended objects in bodies of water–including gas bubbles, fish swim bladders, and particulate matter–leading to scattering. Furthermore, some sound waves may penetrate the seafloor and eventually dissipate as heat. Misunderstandings about underwater acoustics are common, including the beliefs that (1) low-frequency sound cannot propagate in shallow water, (2) hard seafloors cause complete reflection with cylindrical spreading, and (3) soft seafloors produce spherical spreading. These oversimplifications overlook the nuanced physics of underwater sound transmission.

Water-column analysis in the Bay of Biscay using broadband acoustic technology.

Understanding sound propagation across diverse environments requires a critical evaluation of commonly used acoustic models and their limitations. Dispelling prevalent misconceptions involves recognizing the nuanced behavior of sound and the assumptions underlying sound propagation equations. To address this, sonar equations have been created for various scenarios, ranging from animal acoustic communication and noise-induced communication masking to the acoustic surveying of marine fauna. Central to these analyses is the “layered ocean” concept, which examines how variations in temperature, salinity, and depth influence sound speed, ultimately affecting propagation pathways and signal fidelity.

This according to “Introduction to sound propagation under water” by Christine Erbe, Alec Duncan, and Kathleen Vigness-Raposa, Exploring animal behavior through sound. I: Methods, ed. by Christine Erbe and Jeanette A. Thomas (Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2022, 185–216; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2022-27424).

July 18 is World Listening Day.

Photo credit for the first image: Douglas Klug.

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Filed under Acoustics, Animals, Geography, Sound, Space

From life-giving symbol to instrument of worship

The sistrum, an ancient percussion instrument, was commonly shaken during religious ceremonies to signify the presence of a deity. In Egypt, it is believed to have mimicked the sound of rustling papyrus stalks. Unlike enclosed rattles, the sistrum features rings or discs on one or more rods, which produce sound externally. When these rods are set within a frame, they are referred to as frame or sliding rattles. In some sliding rattles, the rods themselves are movable, serving as the rattles. The sistrum discovered in Tutankhamun’s tomb uniquely combines snake-shaped rods with square discs as rattles. Similar design elements can also be seen in silver instruments used in Armenian and Syrian worship rituals.

Sistras on a wall relief from the Temple of Edfu.
Sistrum players in a relief from the tomb of Nunuter, 6th dynasty, Giza, Egypt.
A sound sample of an Anatolian sistrum.

Originally a sacred instrument dedicated to the goddess Hathor, the sistrum became a symbol of life-giving energies, rooted in ancient water and fertility rituals, as well as a tool in spiritual practices honoring various deities. In ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece, it was widely adopted as a priestly instrument in the Isis cult (Apuleius). To this day, the sistrum holds significance in Coptic worship and is still used by Ethiopian Christians alongside the drum, albeit stripped of its pagan embellishments. Ancient Egyptian sistrums were often adorned with depictions of Hathor, Isis, the jester Bes, the sphinx, falcons, and other animal or plant motifs. Fired clay sistrums decorated with papyrus umbels point to the instrument’s mythological origins in a cult ceremony where young women honored the goddess by plucking aquatic plants from the Nile River and shaking them to produce a rustling sound. This act, known as “making a seshesh” inspired the instrument’s name, and in later practices, the sistrum was often shaken alongside bundles of plants.

This according to this month’s featured article on the sistrum in MGG Online.

Above, a short instructional video on the Egyptian sistrum.

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Filed under Africa, Animals, Antiquity, Asia, Dance, Instruments, Religion, Religious music, Visual art, World music

Courtship dance step sounds of the blue-capped cordon-bleu

While vocalizations have been elucidated in various songbird studies, non-vocal sounds have received less attention. In the blue-capped cordon-bleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus), both sexes perform courtship displays that are accompanied by singing and distinct body movements (i.e., dance). A previous study revealed that cordon-bleu courtship bobbing includes multiple rapid steps. This behavior is quite similar to human tap dancing, because it can function simultaneously as a visual and acoustic signal.

In many cases, the acoustic signal value of such steps (along with the high-speed step movements) produce non-vocal sounds that have amplitudes similar to vocal sounds. In this sense, step behavior strongly affects step sound amplitude. Additionally, the dancing step sounds were substantially louder than feet movement sounds in a non-courtship context, and the amplitude range overlapped with that of song notes. These observations support the notion that, in addition to song, cordon-bleus produce acoustic signals with their feet.

Read more in “Songbird tap dancing produces non-vocal sounds” by Nao Ota, Manfred Gahr, and Masayo Soma (Bioacoustics: The international journal of animal sound and its recording 26.2 [2017], 161–168). Find it in RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.

Below is the step-dancing performed by male and female Uraeginthus cyanocephalus (blue-capped cordon-bleu) captured on a research video by the authors.

Related Bibliolore posts:

https://bibliolore.org/2018/05/21/angelic-bird-musicians/
https://bibliolore.org/2014/11/13/afghan-perceptions-of-birdsong/

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Filed under Animals, Curiosities, Dance, Nature, Science

Kulning and cows

In some Scandinavian regions, cows, sheep, and goats are taken up to mountain and forest pastures for summer grazing. Since the Middle Ages, such seasonal settlements have been vitally important in these barren regions, where the cultivated land around the villages is far too limited to feed even the human population.

The herding is women’s work. The music associated with herding is multifunctional, serving to call, lead, or keep the livestock together, as well as driving away predators and communicating with other herders; it may involve playing traditional horns or singing.

The grazing areas are vast, so the music must travel long distances—up to three or four kilometers, sometimes through deep forests. The singing style, known as kulning, has an instrumental timbre, a sharp attack, and a piercing, almost vibrato-free sound, often very loud and at unusually high pitches—an unconventional use of the voice that contradicts what is recommended in traditional Western voice training.

The structure of the vocal music is very flexible, combining parlando-like speech-song with improvised words, sharp calls, and real song phrases, all in free rhythm and richly decorated with melismas. While it is efficient, it is much more elaborate than its practical functions require, and aesthetic qualities are deemed important to both the singers and their distant listeners.

This according to “Voice physiology and ethnomusicology: Physiological and acoustical studies of the Swedish herding song” by Anna Johnson (Yearbook for traditional music XVI [1984] 42–66); RILM Abstrcts of Music Literature 1984-4375).

Below, recordings made in Sweden in 1963.

More articles about music and animals are here.

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Filed under Animals, Curiosities, Europe

Luiz Gonzaga and traditional ecological knowledge

The Brazilian recording star Luiz Gonzaga made a career of singing about the drought-plagued northeastern Brazil countryside, where he is still revered as emblematic of the region.

For individuals who predict the weather based on natural patterns in the northeastern backlands, Gonzaga’s music continues to lend credibility, clarity, and local significance to the practice known as rain prophecy.

For example, his Acauã clearly conveys the meaning of the laughing falcon’s cry for the region’s inhabitants: it augurs and “invites” drought. “In the joy of the rainy season/sing the river frog, the tree frog, the toad/but in the sorrow of drought/you hear only the acauã.” The song ends with Gonzaga mimicking the bird’s call, evoking a sound that arouses powerful emotions in the region’s inhabitants.

When northeastern rain prophets cite Gonzaga’s songs, they add credibility to their own expertise, framing it in a context that most Brazilians can comprehend. Enhanced by his national fame and legendary status, Gonzaga’s voice continues to play a significant role in the maintenance of traditional ecological knowledge.

This according to “Birdsong and a song about a bird: Popular music and the mediation of traditional ecological knowledge in northeastern Brazil” by Michael B. Silvers (Ethnomusicology LIX/3 [fall 2015] 380–97).

Today is Gonzaga’s 110th birthday! Above, Gonzaga performing in the traditional costume of the northeastern rancheiros, in 1957 (Arquivo Nacional, public domain); below, his 1952 recording of Acauã.

BONUS: Gonzaga performs Acauã in a film intended for television broadcast. In his introduction he compares the local significance of the laughing falcon’s call with that of the purple-throated euphonia, which heralds rain.

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Filed under Animals, Curiosities, Popular music, South America

Frogs and film scores

frogs

Spontaneously recorded music and natural noise, once they are chosen and ordered in a film’s soundtrack, acquire a dignity that was at first unexpected, entering into harmony, rivalry, and sometimes even conflict with the score composed for the film.

Between fake bad music created by a competent composer and real bad music appropriated in its raw state from the popular muse, between an impressionist nocturne for large orchestra and the authentic concerto of crickets and frogs, artificial music does not necessarily win out over the natural kind.

This according to “La musique prise dans le sujet, élement materiel du film et la musique composée pour le film, élément formel de l’œuvre d’art” by Roland Alexis Manuel Lévy, an essay included in Atti del secondo Congresso internazionale di musica (Firenze: Le Monniere, 1940, pp. 253–256; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 1940-1).

Below, two short films present an opportunity to test Lévy’s hypothesis.

Related article: Cowshed soundscaping

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Filed under Animals, Film music, Nature

Prokof’ev’s bad dog

In 1917 Sergej Sergeevič Prokof’ev briefly returned to one of his childhood interests: writing fiction.

He considered what this pursuit entailed. “My style caused me concern,” he wrote. “Did it have individuality or was it awkward?”

Ultimately he concluded, “If there’s an idea, then the style will be subservient to the idea. If I have an idea, that means I’m an author.”

One of his short stories, Пудель: Мерзкая собака (The poodle: A bad dog) was published in an English translation by Three oranges (3 [May 2002] pp. 6–9; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 2002-9136. The full text is here). A surprise twist at the end is a wry nod to the composer’s interest in the writings of Arthur Schopenhauer.

Below, Prokof’ev’s good dog.

Related articles:

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Filed under 20th- and 21st-century music, Animals, Humor, Literature

Music for cats

David Teie has composed music for cats, and he has published, along with two colleagues, a report on a scientific study demonstrating this music’s efficacy.

The report presents two examples of Teie’s cat music in counter-balanced order with two examples of human music, and evaluates the behavior and response latencies of cats to each piece.

The cats showed a significant preference for, and interest in, species-appropriate music compared with human music (Median (IQR) 1.5 (0.5-2.0) acts for cat music, 0.25 (0.0-0.5) acts for human music (P<0.002) and responded with significantly shorter latencies (Median (IQR) 110.0 (54-138.75) s for cat music, 171.75 (151-180) s for human music (P<0.001). Younger and older cats were more responsive to cat music than middle-aged acts (cubic trend, r2 = 0.477, P<0.001).

This according to “Cats prefer species-appropriate music” by Teie, Charles T. Snowdon, and Megan Savage (Applied animal behavior science 20 February 2015; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 2015-1206).

Today is International Cat Day! Below, Teie sketches the background of his music for cats, followed by brief samples.

BONUS: One of our favorite scientific studies of cat behavior is here.

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Filed under Animals, Curiosities, Science

Avian music culture

The vocalizations of the pied butcherbird (Cracticus nigrogularis) include calls (e.g., food begging [above], alarms, cat scolding), calls incorporated into songs, and pure songs. The latter category may include melismas, ostinatos, transpositions, inversions, variations, and rhythmic effects such as additive and divisive patterns.

Cultural manifestations include duets, antiphonal and canonic effects, and unisons. They also mimic other birds and unexpected sources such as dogs, cats, humans, and machines.

This according to “Decoding the song of the pied butcherbird: An initial survey” by Hollis Taylor (TRANS: Revista transcultural de música/Transcultural music review XII [July 2008]; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 2008-12677).

Below, a pied butcherbird duet followed by a solo.

More articles about birds are here.

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Filed under Animals, Curiosities, Nature

Old MacDonald’s ancestors

The earliest known ancestor of Old MacDonald had a farm is A charming country life in Thomas D’Urfey’s Pills to purge melancholy (1719–20); while the verses have no resemblance to the later song, the chorus of “Here a ___, there a ___, everywhere a ___” is structurally identical.

Further eighteenth-century versions appear in other collections; in the nineteenth century others, always with the same stock chorus but differing in other particulars, emerged in blackface minstrelsy. A version from a 1917 book of soldiers’ songs produced in London gives the first direct predecessor of the modern version, with a similar tune for the chorus and an identification of the farmer as “Old MacDougal”; it also explains the nonsensical “ee-i-ee-i-o”: Old MacDougal’s farm was “in O-hi-o-hi-o.”

This according to “Farmyard cacaphonies: Three centuries of a popular song” by Vic Gammon (Folk music journal XI/1, 42-72; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature 2011-2628).

Above, D’Urfey, who claimed—perhaps unreliably—to have written the original song. Below, Sesame Street’s justly neglected Old MacDonald cantata.

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Filed under Animals, Europe, Humor, Nature