dId you hear the sound of birds?
For one week, beginning on November 11th 2019, bird sounds found their way into the Reid Building at The Glasgow School of Art.
Fleeting, with the familiarity of the everyday, but the dissonance of the displaced, these #Birdscapes are designed to play with and examine the existing soundscape of this working building, highlighting the complex and unexpected movements of sound around the space.
The other sounds of the Reid may drown them out, or a shrill tweet might cut through the ambient sound to catch your attention.
Native bird sounds are captured, programmed and amplified to bring a new chorus to the day, changing over the course of week. The sounds might provide intrigue, offer a moment of calm, they may confuse, or delight.
Why? - you ask
A flock of coincidences.
After a chance use of recorded birdsong as a sound test on the top floor was heard in unexpected locations throughout the Reid Building, BirdScapes seeks to deliberately and positively engage with the complex acoustics of the building, using the often unexpected flow of sound to playfully link spaces.
Woodland sounds, including birdsong, are proven to have benefits to wellbeing, including in recovery from everyday psychological stress, having ‘perceived restorative potential’.
This work builds on Digger’s previous collaborative work SoundScrapers (with Hector McInnes and Whitewave), which sampled the sounds of nature, capturing the resulting noises within bespoke, portable, waterproof objects, able to be transported into alternative bringing together the sounds of a variety of location into a new collective soundscape.
When Did I hear the birds?
Monday, 11th November 2019, bookending core hours.
Tuesday, 12th November 2019, bookending core hours, lunchtime, and before the building closes.
Wednesday, 13th November 2019, it will be a surprise (never longer than 60 seconds at a time).
Thursday, 14th November 2019r, every hour on the hour.
Friday, 15th November 2019, a repeat of Tuesday.
How was this achived
What ARe you hearing?
Blackbird, Mistlethursh, Robin, Lesser Spotted Wood Pecker, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Siskin.
When might i hear the birds?
Monday 11th November, bookending core hours.
Tuesday 12th November, bookending core hours, lunchtime, and just before closing time.
Wednesday 13th November, it will be a surprise ( never longer than 60seconds at a time).
Thursday 14th November, every hour on the hour.
Friday 15th November, repeat of Thursday.
How can i share?
Use the hashtag #birdscapes on Twitter or Instagram.
What technology is being used?
Sounds are scheduled and played back from as raspberry pi, using crontab.
Real time clock.
Powered speaker behringer B122W.
Audio edited on iPad Pro using Hokosuia 2.
Raspian + Nano
feedback welcome
using the hashtag #birdscapes
or
email at contact@exactplace.org
Who is doing this
Digger Nutter, Lecturer Interior Design Glasgow School of Art
Supported by Interior design Department, School of Design, and GSA Media Studio.
Working alongside 3rd Year Interior Design Students who are concurrently working on the Tech-Aug Project, the brief of which asks for exploration, documentation and enhancement of an interior space through the use of a temporary technological intervention.
Further reading and listening
Bird song
Cheek out Twenty Thousand Hertz - episode #64 Birdsong.
Birds, sound recorders, performers, mimic, collaborators.
https://www.20k.org/episodes/birdsong
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Sound & Health
In this, the first of two episodes, 99% Invisible asks if modern soundscapes are damaging our health.
https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/sound-and-health-cities/
•••
Rspb Birdsong radio
Listen to non stop bird song radio at:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/campaigning/let-nature-sing/birdsong-radio/
•••
Predicting the Perceived Restorative Potential of Bird Sounds Through Acoustics and Aesthetics
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0013916518806952#articleShareContainer
Dr Eleanor Ratcliffe explores the Perceived Restorative Potential of Bird Sound
•••
Nation’s Favourite Woodland Sounds
1. Birdsong
2. A running stream
3. Wind rustling tree leaves
4. Silence
5. Twigs snapping underfoot
6. Animal noises
7. Wind whistling through trees
8. Rain falling on leaves
9. Conkers hitting the ground
10. Squelching of mud