Bernie Krause

This is a book about natural soundscapes and their beauty, wisdom, and importance.

Krause started out as a musician in LA, but quickly shifted over to recording natural soundscapes (jungles, seashores, tundra, etc.). This book is a summary of his life's work, and is accompanied by excerpts of some of his various recordings.

Krause was a pioneer in the field of recording natural soundscapes. Before him, there were people recording individual animals (birds, for example)—but the presence and quality of an individual animal tells you little about the state of the overall ecosystem. This is in contrast to an immersive and holistic soundscape—which may be the fastest and most comprehensive way of assessing the overall health of an ecosystem. Healthy ecosystems are saturated across the entire sonic spectrum, with each sonic niche filled by a different organism. They also are structured; for example, with some species, an alpha frog sets the tempo, and each other frog places his vocalizations in rhythm, as opposed to everyone crocking out of sync.

To record a soundscape like humans hear them is a technical challenge; the human ear, as well as our attention, works differently than a microphone. A lot of Krause's early work involved various mic placement, and syncing and integrating these tracks. It can also be challenging to find a spot away from human noise, as well as to record in a way not overly disrupted by wind.

The overarching themes of the book are reverence, for the power and significance of natural soundscapes, and grief, because half of the ecosystems that Krause recorded during his career are no longer there (due to habitat loss, extinction, etc.).

I happen to also be reading the work of Iain McGilchrist at the moment, who is focused on the different paradigms associated with each brain hemisphere. I can't help but notice than soundscapes, potentially more than just about any other facet of an ecosystem, must be heavily engaged via the right brain. The right brain engages depth (the left brain is unable to do so, rather seeing the world as a series of flat snapshots). What is a soundscape, if not deep, both temporally and tonally? The right brain also perceives the whole of something (in an instant), where as the left brain picks through the pieces.

The latter part of the book is focused on the human and ecological impacts of noise pollution. Did you know that the Environmental Protection Agency, starting in 1972, housed the Office of Noise Abatement and Control? Did you know that this government body was dissolved a decade later, and the legislation mandating these protections remains in force today, but has been unfunded for the past four decades? I've always been very sensitive to what many would call "background noise." Krause cites data showing that everyone is; many people just aren't conscious of the ways that it is raising their anxiety levels and decreasing their concentration. Unfortunately, it is an even larger issue for animals. I've been out on a few vision fasts in remote areas. Despite the fact that I might be a five-hour drive from the nearest city, I can still hear the sound of airplanes flying overhead a few times an hour (for maybe five minutes each time). It is chilling how difficult it is to get away from human-produced sound. I'm not a sea creature, but the situation is even worse there, as water conducts sound even better than air.

As the title implies, this book looks at the sounds of animals. I would be interested to learn more about the way in which other kingdoms of life engage with and are affected by soundscapes.

Overall, this book is an inspiring and humbling window into the world of natural soundscapes.… (plus d'informations)

Has ordenado tu espacio personal, ahora es el momento de ordenar tu espacio acústico. En una época en el que el ruido y el caos compiten por cada instante de nuestra atención, el prominente autor, músico y naturalista, Dr. Bernie Krause, nos presenta métodos para reducir el barullo de nuestra vida, restaurando así la sensación de satisfacción y recobrando la calma. En la misma manera en la que algunos influencers nos inspiran a ordenar nuestros hogares, El poder de la tranquilidad lleva la organización personal a un nuevo nivel: al ámbito acústico. El bioacústico Bernie Krause comparte consejos saludables que nos ayudan a identificar y reducir los ataques auditivos dañinos que nos asedian constantemente, una disonancia incoherente que impacta nuestra salud más de lo que podemos llegar a imaginar. De la mano de la guía tranquilizadora del autor serás capaz de afinar tu entorno, incrementar tu bienestar, reducir la ansiedad, y restaurar la sensación de paz interior, así como incrementar la productividad en tu propio espacio auditivo. El poder de la tranquilidad es un libro poderoso y revelador. Minuciosamente investigado y diseñado de manera accesible, es la mejor guía silenciosa de la actualidad, dirigiéndote desde un campo de escombros auditivos hacia una vida más tranquila, conectada y armoniosa.… (plus d'informations)