Special thanks to Veljo Runnel for leading an excellent workshop on Nature Sound Recording, sharing his experiences from the last 10 years and extensive knowledge on bird species. We enjoyed having Danny, Evelyn, Eve, Taavi, Patrick, John, Ignaz, Maria and Aivo to come out and participate. The group spent one early morning and one full evening out in the field, analyzing and collecting sounds. We then listened to the recordings that were made an identified the animal species that were heard. Comparisons of different recording setups were helpful to in defining both aesthetic and scientific approaches to the sounds that were captured.

Recording nature sounds

This is a list of problems and challenges experienced by the participants during the workshop. Overcoming these issues are key to improving your skills

• the sound of ones self -whispering, rustling clothes and hungry stomachs can easily show up in your recording interfere with your interest to capture natural sounds.
• to plan or not to plan -research is important but sometimes random situations can also bring success. how much planning is needed?
• finding a good location -certain factors like flora and fauna types, distance from inhabited areas, proximity to lakes and rivers all contribute to the wildlife you may find in nature and the sounds they make
• knowledge of equipment -for getting good recordings, everything depends on your technical setup. knowing what types of microphones work best for certain situations, charging batteries and maintaining your equipment is essential in being prepared to capture the right moment.
• consider the whole sonic environment -noises from other creatures like insects and dogs can interfere with what you want to record. birds often change their position, a robin sitting in from of your microphone will mask more distant sounds. learn some tricks on how to deal with these situations.
• patience and persistence is key -finding interesting subjects to record rarely happens easily. sometimes you may need to follow a sound source carefully to get close to it, yet often in the process animals can easily be scared by your presence
• coordinate when recording in a group -make sure agreements are made about when to be quiet, how long you plan to record, and when movements can be made. not considering these details will often cause unwanted noises in your recordings.
• be prepared personally -bring food to feed a hungry stomach. wear the right clothing for recording, sitting still may need extra layers for warmth. get into the right mental state for listening carefully, recording sounds in nature demands your full attention.
• familiarity with the subject -start to learn about animal species and the types of sounds they make. in noisy environments (morning bird chorus) it can be difficult to distinguish one bird call from another
• laziness -its hard to get out in the field. forget the excuses, get off your bum and get out to record

identifying the species heard during the morning chorus

Future goals

What do the participants aim for in their future practices?

• learn about animal identification -some understanding of species differentiation is helpful and needed when you want to search for special sounds. This also helps in understanding the environment you are in and your relation to it.
• learn and consider the geographical aspects of the environments where you plan to record -think about the acoustic properties of natural habitats. not every forest sounds the same, what environments are interesting for capturing a good soundscape
• improve recording technique -invest in some better equipment (mics/recorder) and making regular use of it
• make time to record -preparation and travel add extra time, making the whole process rather lengthy
• be more conscious of surroundings -you can’t hear nature if you’re not listening to it
• find a creative response to nature sounds -can the recorded sounds be used in a dance/movement piece for example.
• edit, clean and archive the recordings -it is easy to forget what and where you recorded
• cooperate with other field recordists -it helps to share knowledge and techniques. plan more regular excursions.
• reach out to the public -look for ways to share your recordings and build a wider audience. see how nature sound recording can be more than a hobby.

listen to mix of four recordings by John Grzinich

1. creaking tree and morning birds by the Ahja river
2. lone Tangmalm’s Owl (Karvasjalg kakk) in the forest
3. Spotted Crake (Täpikhuik)
4. Morning chorus near Ahunapalu with Cranes

My daily excursions into the disused sections of the decaying ex-collective farm did slow as the temperature dropped, and the snow came in. But I would not have switched the weather for a more mild and stable one. I saw many pictures of Mooste in the summer sun, and it almost looked like another place. The chance to see the weather change over the month, and its effect on the landscape and soundscape was wonderful. When I arrived at the beginning of November everything was wet and soggy. Even in the forest the snapping of twigs under foot did not make their usually brittle snaps and cracks. All was muted somehow. Then everything froze. Sounds became crunchy and crackly underfoot again. The last leaves falling on the frozen road where clearly audible from a distance. And then came the snow again placing a sonic mute on the landscape. And finally, as it came closer to my departure, the snow melted creating a constant dripping and running of water. The metal pipes leading from the guttering at MoKS make a particularly wonderful sound. And finally followed by the wet squelchy sounds of the ground returning to mud.

I could have stayed in Mooste and recorded it’s amazing spaces for months. I’m luck to find one such site at home every few month and suddenly I was surrounded by many of them within 10 minutes walk. However the various excursions that John took me on where equally incredible, and still slightly hard to take in even now. The frozen rubble of one of John’s favourite sites at Podra, a recording trip with Felicity Mangan, Maksims Shentelevs and Kaspars Kalnins to a large disused Soviet military base in north Latvia, sitting on the side of the road in the cold and dark listening to the singing of telegraph wires/poles swaying in the wind, and finally four of us by the side of a small lake (I think??), huddled inside a small metal box in the rain, setting the thing resonating. Felicity accidentally startling a flock of ducking, sending them flying directly over us.

The activities Evelyn and John have instigated, facilitated or encouraged at MoKS are extremely impressive. As is the thinking behind it. Rather than trying to “raise” everyday life to the level of Art, it seemed to me to be a matter of simply using art as a way of living and exploring life and your surrounds. And much much more………………………

Thank you very much to Evelyn, John, Siim and Felicty for making my stay at MoKS such at enjoyable and thought provoking one.