Wild Soundscapes: Discovering the Voice of the Natural World, Revised Edition

God asks nothing of the highest soul but attention. —Henry David Thoreau

Then speak into it in a conversational voice with the microphone pointing at your mouth from arm’s length. Set the input level control so that the meter peaks at about –12dB on its scale.

Part of the discovery of wild soundscapes is discovering what specific types of habitats resonate with you.

Roger and Katy Payne, were the first marine examples most people had ever heard.1 The

I can’t imagine a life without the nourishment of the wild soundscape’s divine music enveloping me.

As our understanding and connection to the natural world increase, it is my hope that we will be moved to learn about, preserve, and protect the divine voices of these vulnerable habitats.

In the clearing, where the mind flowers and the world sprouts up at every side, listen for the sound in the bushes behind the grass. —Marcia Falk, “Listen”

Once on a Windy Night.

Whether you’re listening mindfully or recording, you may need fifteen minutes or more to determine the collective signature sounds that sufficiently define a site.

You’ll hear more because the surface of your ears that collects sound just got bigger.4