Nature Preserve Collaborative Sound Composition by Jonathan, Anna, Sophia, and Michael (6:55 run time)

Part 1. Jonathan Shah

For a composition regarding the changing of seasons, it was clear that different recordings of animals, changing weather conditions and more would be a great way to demonstrate this passage of time.  In my particular section of the composition, I focused on the first few weeks of the semester, which was the end of Summer and the transition to Fall.  One of the elements that I wanted to highlight in this section of the piece was the dramatic weather changes that can happen during this time of year.  It is very common during the Summer months to have a very fast moving thunderstorm move through an area without much warning.  This idea was the motivation for having the end of the section being a rainstorm that suddenly cuts in and takes over the soundscape.  The recording that I chose at the end with the rumble of thunder was from one of the first few weeks of recording.  When I was on the Vernal Pond Trail, I was recording some bird sounds and some various other noises that could be heard at the time when all of the sudden the wind started kicking up.  I then realized that a thunderstorm was moving through the area, so I kept the recording going.  It was interesting to listen to the start of this recording compared to the end, as the start was full of life and activity while the second half is dominated by this thunderstorm.  I wanted to emulate this scenario within the piece, with the beginning of this section showcasing the different animals and sounds that could be heard during this time period, which transitions abruptly into this thunderstorm.

A section area that I used to highlight the passage of time was the use of the clock tower chimes.  I used one sample of the clock chiming that I found resonated and reflected well in the space that I was in at the time.  The chimes serve as a symbol throughout the piece as a passage of time and a transition to different seasons/different parts of the year.  As part of the representation of the late Summer season, I wanted to use a variety of bird sounds that were recorded throughout the Nature Preserve.  As part of this idea, I used a recording of a woodpecker from when my partner and I went to the Vernal Pond Trail on the first week of recording.  Despite having very little experience with recording, this woodpecker sound bite sounded and fit very nicely with the surrounding soundscape.  I was able to extract this woodpecker noise and utilized it in my particular section to demonstrate the life and activity associated with a forest in the summer months.  With the inclusion of these sounds from recordings taken during the semester, as a group we were able to convey the passage of time from season to season.

Part 2. Anna Darling 

One sound included in my section for the group edit was a sound that I recorded on Nov. 17th near stair park. It was snowing lightly when I first went outside but then the snow started picking up and turned into a hailstorm. I used the hydrophone to capture the sound of the hail hitting the microphone on the ground. I used this sound for the edit because it is a great winter sound and I wanted to do a transition between the light snow and the hail, like I experienced the day I recorded it. I also started the hail clip at a time where the hail was a bit slower and then it became quicker throughout the clip. I then had the hail fade out and the footsteps in the snow fade in to symbolize the end of the storm and then someone walking around outside in the snow that was left on the ground. Another sound I included in my section was the sound of the clocktower. My group liked the idea of having the chimes as a motif so we started the piece with the clocktower chimes and also ended it that way, as well as had one section in the middle with the chimes. In order to show time passing throughout the piece, I decided to include 12 chimes at the end of the piece in order to symbolize midnight or the end of a day. I didn’t want all these chimes to be super noticeable and loud so I started the chimes out very quiet and made each one louder. I wanted the end of the piece to be one of the loudest parts in order to make the ending dramatic. I added some creaking noises to add suspense throughout the chimes and then made sure the last few chimes were not overlapped with any other sounds in order to have the dramatic ending. 

Photo to represent one aspect of the group composition:

I took this picture toward the beginning of the semester of the bridge in the nature preserve. This picture represents the footsteps from the bridge that we used throughout our group project. 

Part 3. Sofia Stirpe 

There is a very unique bird call in the beginning of my section of the recording, which represents early fall sounds. I had been recording in the Nature Preserve for 30 minutes prior, but had not heard too much variety of sounds. Suddenly, I heard a very mysterious bird call, which only encompassed two pitches. The bird kept repeating these two pitches over and over again. I reflected this in my piece in the beginning of my section in the final recording, in which the bird call crescendos. I just remember sitting in the woods in the middle of the day, hearing this bird replay the same noise continuously. Perhaps, she was alerting other birds to my presence? It was a very peaceful, haunting moment and I am happy that I was able to catch it on the recording. I have not heard a bird call quite like it since. 

I loved the sounds of walking that others have done in their recordings, and decided to incorporate them into my own recording. Specifically, I focused on the crunchy sounds of leaves as I walked over them. I also appreciate the sounds of sticks breaking and cracking as someone walks over them, especially in the fall when so many leaves are on the ground. I would wait for the wind to come, so that I could record the sound of the  leaves hitting the ground from the trees. I think these are underlooked, but very valuable fall sounds. Although I didn’t use my own recording of me walking over the wood planks in this recording piece, I have recorded the sounds of walking over the wood planks. Again, it is another valuable textured sound, particularly when it’s raining and the water is hitting the planks or they are muddy.