Ecoacoustics

Spring 2021, synchronous on-line

MUSI 3400, 3 Credits Tuesday/Thursday, 2pm-3:15pm
Matthew Burtner, Eleanor Shea Professor of Music
mburtner@virginia.edu
Omar Fraire, Graduate Teaching Assistant
oeg6bp@virginia.edu
Course description
Ecoacoustics is a field closely aligned with the environmental sciences and with music. In this class
we explore the intersection between ecology and music, between human creativity and the natural
world. We examine the acoustic characteristics of the environment and discover human-
environment interaction through listening and creative engagement. Students will create original
field recordings, sonifications, and human/nature interactions, exercises that will culminate in a
final project. We will study seminal pieces of music by composers who responded to natural
phenomena, as well as those practicing ecoacoustic composition. Simultaneously we will study the
physical and biological sciences that inspire and nurture the creative dimension.

Students will take individual field excursions and create recordings, writings and creative projects
about those activities.

Class format
Tuesdays will feature lectures and discussions, and Thursdays will be used primarily for lab work,
technology training, and recording techniques. A detailed description of the day-by-day activities is
included below to help students prepare for each class. Students should come to the class on
Tuesday having completed the readings/listening from the previous week.

Class resources & equipment

Software
Students should download and install Audacity and Reaper which are both compatible with Mac
and Windows computers.
https://www.audacityteam.org/download/
https://www.reaper.fm/download.php
Audacity is a soundfile editor and you will primarily use it to fade in/fade out, cut and normalize
sounds.
Reaper is a multitrack DAW in which you will layer, arrange, mix and filter tracks.
Freesound.org – create your own account or use:
Login: EcoSono
Password: ecoacoustics
Freesound is a place to upload sounds you record and to find sounds recorded by others. To get
started, before we get access to the field recorders, you will use Freesound to learn soundfile
editing and mixing.
Google Earth https://www.google.com/earth/
Google Earth is useful for planning sound walks, and analyzing the terrain of sites.
Hardware
Students will be able to check out recording kits for use this semester. Those in Charlottesville can
pick them up and return them in person. We will mail recording kits to those who are out of town.
The equipment can be returned by mail or dropped off. All the equipment must be returned by the
final exam day on May 14.

Students wishing to use their own equipment must have at the minimum:

• Zoom H1n field recorder

• furry windscreen for H1n
• Over-ear headphones

Specialized equipment such as more advanced recorders, specialized air microphones, cables, mic
stands, hydrophones are available in the Ecoacoustics Lab on reserve for this class.

For the purposes of this class, phones are not adequate field recorders, and earbuds are not
adequate headphones.

Students wishing to purchase their own portable recorder can look at the Zoom H1N
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H1n--zoom-h1n-handy-recorder
or the Zoom H4N https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/H4NPro . These are the recorders we
supply in the checkout kits.

The windscreen is an essential component for field recording:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/WSU1--zoom-wsu-1-universal-windscreen

Any over-ear headphones are fine. The Sennheiser HD 200 Pro is a reasonably priced quality set of
headpones: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HD200Pro--sennheiser-hd-200-pro-
closed-back-monitoring-headphones

Students will also need a flash media card (H1n takes a micro flash card) and AA or AAA batteries
depending on the recorder.

attendance and participation policy
Attendance Attendance of the synchronous on-line class is required and participation will be
factored into the final grade. We will use break-out groups for discussion. Each absence will be
noted and more than 2 unexcused absences during the semester will incur a 2% grade reduction.

Zoom participation policy I like to see you and hear from you! Please engage with the class by
turning on your video if possible and participating as you would if we were in a real classroom. I
understand it isn’t always possible to do that but it makes a big difference for the class if you
engage.

assignments (all assignments submitted to Collab)
Three Individual Assignments: 45% (15% each)

1: 3’ field recording: record, edit/normalize, title, describe
Due March 11
How to describe your assignment:
Write a short narrative description, about 200 words in length addressing the following:
1) describe the acoustic content and quality of the sound, for example is it high/low,
scratchy/smooth, sustained/periodic, bright/dull, pitched/noisy, etc.
2) Describe how the sound changes in time, for example how does it change over the course of a
minute, how does it change in several seconds, how is it changing in less than a second?
3) Describe the sound using analogy -- what does it sound like? Think poetically of evocative
connections between this sound and other sounds.
3) Does the sound reveal anything about the context? What do you learn about the world by
listening to this sound? For example, the types of human sounds may tell you about the suburban or
natural context. (I once recorded at a bird sanctuary across the street from a shooting range for
example, and that recording taught me plenty about the context!)
2) Connect the sound to your own personal past experiences. Does it remind you of something?
Someone? Some other place and time? Some other sound? How does it make you feel?

2: 3’ Performance with natural materials recording: explore, discover, perform, record, edit,
title, describe
Due March 30

Discover a natural material (such as a plant, rocks or snow) and develop a way to play it as a
musical instrument. Learn about the material and explore it with your hands or in another method
(perhaps bow it or play it with percussion mallets?). Record and edit a performance, layering
multiple sound files in Reaper or Logic. Feel free to add field recordings or other sounds, and to
process your sound.

This assignment explores human/nature interaction and natural materials as musical instruments.
It also will teach you mixing techniques.

The recording will be graded on the following criteria:
- timely and complete submission
- digital audio technique (normalized, 1” fade in and 1” fade out, smooth, proper format). -
imaginative and creative approach
- written description of the piece.
How to describe your assignment:
Write a short narrative description, about 200 words in length addressing the following:
1) the acoustic content and quality of the sound
2) the expressive dimension of the sound (how it is played and the range of sounds it can produce)
3) what does the instrument and its performance reveal about human-nature interaction?
4) What does the instrument symbolize? Does the design of the instrument and the way it is played
suggest a concept or meaning? What do you learn about the world by playing the instrument?
5) Connect the instrument to your personal past experience. Does it remind you of something,
someone, or a place you remember?

3: Sonification: research, gather data, edit data, sonify, edit sound, title, describe
Due April 15
Sonification and audification involves converting data into sound. This data can be interpreted into
sound in many different ways and it depends on the data set. If the data is a list of numbers, such as
a CSV spreadheet file, those data points can be used to describe sound, for example assigning values
to different qualities of sound or different notes. If the data is a graph, the contour of the graph can
be turned into some parameter of sound such as pitch or dynamics. This can be done with sound
synthesis software or through performance using an instrument or the voice. Students in the past
have used their instruments to interpret graphs, or they have created musical scores out of excel
spreadsheets. Other students have used software such as Photosounder, Audition, Typeatone,
Max/MSP, Sonification Sandbox, Spear, Sonify and others to turn data into frequency curves,
melodies, filtered noise, rhythms, etc.

Write a short narrative description, about 200 words in length addressing the following:
1) the data set you chose. Why did you decided to work with this subject?
2) the science behind the data (such as the method of collection)
3) your method of sonification
4) What strikes you about the sonification? How does it describe the phenomena differently than a
visualization?

Personal field excursions: 20%
Due April 21
Go into a nature area and spend significant time exploring the sonic landscape. This may happen
over several trips to the same or different places. Consider various scales of space and time, and
how sound features into it. Examine the tiny biological and earth features and observe how they
interact with the water, atmosphere, ecosystem. Also study the large scale factors of the landscape
such as elevation, erosion, growth of forests, water, etc. and observe how they interact with and
shape the soundscape. Record and edit sounds of your excursion and upload the file or files to the
assignments folder along with a short journal-style writing about the experience. The writing
should refer to the recording with file names and times so that I can understand how the recording
reflects what you learned.

Final project: 35% combine techniques into a composition or sound-based research project
Due May 6
The final project may build upon your previous work but it should be a complete form, either a
composition or a slideshow presentation or paper showing your research.

- Each project should have:
- a concept/idea and a title that points to that idea.
- a clear form and should be at least 2 minutes in duration if it is a musical composition or a two
minute presentation if it is a slideshow or paper.
- be accompanied by a short written description (like a program note if it’s a composition) that tells
about the concept and form and the sounds you used.
- use at least one of the techniques we studied in the class.



Schedule:
____________________
February 2/4
Introductions and course overview
Discussion on natural sounds: What is a beautiful natural sound you can remember? Describe the
acoustic quality (analysis) What does it sound like? (analogy) Does it remind you of a time in your life or
a person (memory)?

Equipment distribution planning and orientation

Lab: Introduction to Freesound.org and Audacity

For next week read Barry Truax’s, Soundscape, Acoustic Communication and Environmental Sound
Composition
Listen to Barry Truax’s Island
____________________
February 9/11
Discussion on reading and listening for today
Reading: Barry Truax, Soundscape, Acoustic Communication and Environmental Sound Composition
Listening: Barry Truax, Island

Lecture: Introduction to Ecoacoustics in Music

In-class listening:
Nukariik
Aeolian Harp
Tuvan singing
Bedrich Smetana, Die Moldau (1878)
Felix Mendelssohn Overture: The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) (1830) Claude Debussy La Mer (1905)

Lab: soundfile editing and multitracking in Audacity and Reaper

For next week read David Dunn’s introduction to “Why do whales and children sing”
Listen to Hildegarde Westerkamp Kit’s Beach Soundwalk

____________________
February 16/18
Discussion on reading and listening
Reading: David Dunn, introduction to “Why do whales and children sing” Listening: Hildegarde
Westerkamp “Kitt’s Beach SoundWalk”

Lecture: Traditions of Ecoacoustic Music (continued) + Vibrations in the Atmosphere/Microphones:

acoustics in atmosphere; transducing vibrations. greenhouse gas emissions and sound. electro-acoustics
in the “aerial ocean”

In-class Listening: Matthew Burtner, Profiled from Atmospheres

Lab: Stereo recording with the portable field recorders.

For next week read: Hildegard Westercamp on soundwalking
Listen to Hildegard Westerkamp Beneath the Forest Floor
____________________
February 23/25
Discussion reading: Hildegard Westercamp on soundwalking and Beneath the Forest Floor

Lecture:
Atmosphere/Microphones (continued if needed)
Ecoacoustics of Forests, and deforestation.
"Lift Up Over Sounding" -- symbiosis in complex ecosystems such as the Brazilian Rainforest.
listening:
Kaluli music From Morning Night to Real Morning
David Tudor, Rainforest
David Monachi Fragments of Extinction
field recording of the Rivanna River dawn bird chorus.
Matthew Burtner Song for Low Tree;
Bella Reyes, Tree Breath;
Sibelius, Op 75, Granen

Lab on assignment 1 outdoors using built in stereo microphones and portable recorders
field recording: record, edit/normalize, title, describe (due Feb 11)
Assign groups for final projects and multi-part labs.

Reading for next week:

Krause, Bernie. “Wild Soundscapes: Biophony: Soundscapes in the Natural World”
Listen to Annea Lockwood Sound Map of the Hudson River
____________________
March 2/4
Discussion on Krause “Wild Soundscapes: Biophony: Soundscapes in the Natural World”
and Annea Lockwood Sound Map of the Hudson River

Lecture:
Ecoacoustics of Forests, and deforestation (continued as needed)

Lab on completing Assignment 1. Students should be prepared to discuss their plan and progress and
ask questions needed to successfully complete the assignment.

____________________
March 9/11
No class on March 9

March 11 No synchronous class: outdoor excursion time

Assignment 1 due in Collab on March 11

____________________
March 16/18

Lecture: Sound in Water, Melting ice, sea level rise

Discussion: Assignment 1 discussion and demonstrations

For next week read Matthew Burtner :The Syntax of Snow: Ecoacoustics of a Changing Arctic”
Listen to “Auksalaq” by Matthew Burtner and Scott Deal

____________________
March 23/25

Discussion: on The Syntax of Snow: Ecoacoustics of a Changing Arctic”

Listen to “Auksalaq” by Matthew Burtner and Scott Deal

Lecture: Syntax of Snow for snow and bells

Lab: Performance with natural materials

____________________
March 30/ April 1
Assignment 2 due March 30

Lecture on Sonification

Lab: discussion of Assignment 2

Listening for next week:

Maggi Payne: Resonant Places (1992)
____________________
April 6/8

Discussion of Maggi Payne Resonant Places

Lecture: Resonant Places: Earth art and Earth sound art

Lab: sonification (prep for assignment 3) using Google Earth and other techniques Assignment 3 is due
March 17
For next week read Matthew Burtner “EcoSono: Interactive Ecoacoustics in the World” March 25
Assignment 2 due

In preparation for next week excursion watch: Andy Goldsworthy “Rivers and Tides”
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x15e83f also available for rent on Amazon and perhaps elsewhere
on line.

____________________
April 13/ 15

April 13 use for field excursion

April 15 no class
April 15 assignment 3 due

____________________
April 20/22 Earth Day

Field Excursion assignments due April 21

Attend the Art4Activism Music and Environment Festival

Personal Field Excursion assignment due. These events will take the place of our class.
____________________
April 27/29
Discussion of Art4Activism

Lecture: Animal hearing and vocalization

Einojuhani Rautavaara, Cantus Arcticus, Op. 61 (1972)
Olivier Messiaen: Catalogue d'oiseaux (1958)
Matthew Burtner : Avian Telemetry

Final lab on projects

____________________
May 2/6
Final projects work and presentation

____________________
May 14: 12 noon
all revisions to final projects and work is due. Field recording equipment must be returned by this date.