STEREO SOUNDSCAPES: Excerpts from Ambient Field Recordings
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- last updated: 2-9-08
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Sound Portrait for Public Radio: John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon
Here's a sound portrait commissioned by HearingVoices.com and aired nationally on the public radio broadcast Weekend America January 26, 2008.
The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon commemorates the son of a Chippewa chief who delivered mail by dog sled along Lake Superior's rugged North Shore in the late 19th century. The Beargrease race draws world-class sled dog teams from around the world.
Amtrak Running Late on Christmas Eve
This turns out to be the third recording on this page that includes trains -- not by design, but by pure circumstance of where I've happened to be with my recording gear. In this clip, the Empire Builder, a daily passenger train between Seattle and Chicago, pulls into the Amtrak station in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, eastbound, mid-morning on December 24, 2007. The train was carrying a record number of passengers that day, and was running almost three hours late, which an Amtrak employee explains over the loudspeaker system.
Evening Campfire in Silent Woods
This clip borders on being slightly boring, but I enjoy hearing the fire's crackling sounds reverberate into dense young aspen growth that surrounds this remote Minnesota camp site. Mics are standing about 20 feet from the campfire.
Barred Owl Breaks Pre-Dawn Quiet
It's early on October 13, 2007 at a remote camp site in north-central Minnesota. The sky is clear with temperatures in the upper 30s; there is no wind. Calls from a Barred Owl reverberate through the woods while a flock of Blue-winged Teal flies overhead. Notice also the distant engine noise. In such a quiet setting, with recording equipment turned all the way up, every little disturbance and every bit of electronic "hiss" can be clearly heard.
Ten Sleep Creek, Washakie County, WY
Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains were absolutely bare of snow by summer's end 2007, and the Ten Sleep Creek, which flows from Medowlark Lake down the western slope of the Big Horns, was running lower and slower than usual. Here's a six-minute sound clip of this mountain creek, mixed together from three separate recordings made at the Circle J Christian Camp & Retreat Center on US Highway 16 in the beautiful Ten Sleep Canyon.
Freight Train and Evening Thunder in Hinckley, MN
This clip was recorded in August 2007 from my mother-in-law's driveway a hundred yards or so from an active rail line that runs through Hinckley, MN, a small town on Interstate 35, about halfway between the Twin Cities and Duluth. The evening sky was dark with thunderstorms developing, which became severe shortly after this recording was made.
Common Loon
Location: a public water access in Aitkin County, Minnesota, just off a heavily-traveled state highway. I stopped to make some test recordings with various equipment configurations, and was delighted to capture this relatively clean, close recording of a Common Loon.
Ruffed Grouse and White-Throated Sparrow Greet the Dawn
Pre-dawn on the morning of May 8, 2007. My mic rig is on a tripod about 50 feet from my vehicle, facing into a stand of young aspen where I had heard a ruffed grouse drumming (vigorous fluffing of the wings intended to declare the bird's territory and attract females) the previous evening. I missed a direct hit on the grouse, but it's close enough to be interesting, at least to me. This site is about 100 yards from my beaver pond (see clips below), thus the frogs prominent in the background, along with a brief call from a distant Loon and other interesting stuff in there too.
American Woodcock in Spring
While my low-noise recording outfit was busy at the beaver pond (see clips below), I took a walk with some backup gear and encountered a strange sound I had never noticed before. It turns out to be an American Woodcock.
Evening Twilight Over Beaver Pond
In early May 2007, I managed to get a low-noise stereo recording rig through thick brush and hordes of hungry wood ticks to the the edge of a small beaver pond in the Chippewa National Forest of north central Minnesota. I hit the "record" button just before sunset and came back a couple hours later. Leopard Frogs and Spring Peeper Frogs dominated the evening soundscape, along with several species of birds...
- About a half hour past sunset: A grouse takes flight approximately 20 seconds into the clip. A Green Winged Teal flies overhead near the end. :: Listen (2:30) >>>
- About 20 minutes later: It's actually two events that took place about 8 minutes apart. Hopefully you won't be able to hear the transition. :: Listen (2:53) >>>
Zamboni and Ice Hockey Rink
Below is a series of recordings of something most rare: a privately-owned Zamboni ice resurfacing machine. It's not actually a name-brand "Zamboni," but the word usually conjures up a whole category of similar contraptions. This unit is owned by a cousin of mine who lives on a quiet family farmstead in central Minnesota. He and his brother, who also lives on the same farmstead, maintain a full-sized hockey rink during the winter months for the four growing boys they have between them.
These recordings were made on a clear, cold, windy afternoon in February 2007. Temperatures the night before had dropped into double-digits below zero fahrenheit. By the time of the recording, temps had recovered to about five degrees above, with wind chills sometimes approaching 15-20 below zero...
- Zamboni - Cold Start :: Listen (1:30) >>>
- Zamboni - Warms Up, Re-starts, Drives Off :: Listen (2:28) >>>
- Zamboni - Works On Ice :: Listen (3:50) >>>
- Zamboni - Dumps Ice Shavings :: Listen (1:19) >>>
- Ice Hockey - Cut 1 :: Listen (1:00) >>>
- Ice Hockey - Cut 2 :: Listen (1:00) >>>
Reality Check: Ice Carving Competition
Talk about naive! For the longest time I had imagined the St. Paul Winter Carnival's Ice Carving Competition to be a quiet, artsy affair punctuated by light tapping of hammers and chisels on crystal clear ice blocks, and tinkling sounds of ice chips falling to the ground. I couldn't have been more wrong, as this short multi-layered composition shows.
October Dawn
Early-morning quiet is broken by distant gunfire from duck hunters. The location is a remote camp site in the Chippewa National Forest in north central Minnesota. Dry aspen leaves shake in a light morning breeze. Chickadees go about their business undisturbed -- mostly.
Train Song
The Empire Builder, a daily passenger train between Chicago and Seattle, approaches the Amtrak station in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, westbound, late on the evening of September 18, 2006. I especially like the interesting mechanical sound about 20 seconds into this clip.
Grandstand Show, Minnesota State Fair
In the street near a cream puff stand on Dan Patch Avenue during a Friday night Grandstand Show at the 2006 Minnesota State Fair. The country group Rascal Flatts performs for 15,000 screaming fans while crowds mill about outside.
Skyride Station, Minnesota State Fair
Cable cars coming and going at the Skyride station situated between the Horticulture Building and the Food Building at the Minnesota State Fair.
Sheep & Poultry Barn, Minnesota State Fair
Three indoor ambiences recorded in the Sheep & Poultry Barn at the Minnesota State Fair, where 4H contestants display their prize sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and geese...
- Ducks & Geese :: Listen (1:00) >>>
- Sheep & Goats - Cut 1 :: Listen (1:00) >>>
- Sheep & Goats - Cut 2 :: Listen (1:00) >>>
Fake Elvis Does Neil Diamond
Inside the "Beer Tent" at Catfish Days in Trempealeau, Wisconsin. A pretend Elvis panders to veterans with an ancient Neil Diamond tune. (Have you left the room yet?) He urges the audience to put "hands together" with him -- on "1" and "3". Try not to get this bad boy stuck in your head for the next 24 hours!
"AMERICA"
Written by Neil Diamond
1980 Stonebridge Music (ASCAP)
Junk Auction
On a short weekend getaway in July 2006, my bride and I came upon an auction in western Wisconsin. The stuff being sold there was mostly absolute junk, as this clip testifies.
Sandlot Volleyball
Summer league volleyball at Mama G's Sports Bar in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
Tower Days Parade
A short composition from sounds recorded at the 2006 Tower Days parade in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota.
Spring Thunder w/ Siren
An evening thunder shower in May 2006 with almost two hours of light rain and gentle rolling thunder. This clip also features an emergency vehicle siren a few blocks away. Recorded outside the front door of my home in suburban Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.
Frog Chorus
A steady background of Western Chorus Frogs punctuated by individual Wood Frog calls. (Thank you, Rich Peet!)
Belching Bubbles
Much of Crex Meadows is highly engineered and managed for waterfowl production, with numerous large holding ponds and water control and diversion structures. By midmorning on April 5, 2006, pond ice was melting fast, forcing large volumes of water through one of these structures. At its underwater outlets a few yards away, huge air bubbles were surfacing, splashing water as much as four feet high. The ground nearby shook with each gigantic belch.
Sandhill Cranes
April 5, 2006. A visit to Crex Meadows Wildlife Area with friend Rich Peet in pursuit of Sharptail Grouse sounds. We missed 'em that day, but got close to some chattering Sandhill Cranes.
Sandstone Ice Festival
In December 2005, a group of folks interested in rock and ice climbing got together at an abandoned rock quarry in Sandstone, Minnesota for a day of ice climbing. Here's a multi-layered composition from sounds I recorded that day.
Evening Crickets, Distant Band
It's about 9:30 on a breezy Friday evening in mid September 2005, directly across the Mississippi river from downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. A local band is playing a short concert in the band shell at Harriet Island Park. I'm returning to my vehicle, parked about a mile away from the action, below the St. Paul High Bridge. Along the way, I noticed the interesting contrast between the crickets nearby and the sound of the band playing in the distance, so I stopped to make this recording.
Thunder Overhead
A sound recording cliche, perhaps, but I like it, and that's what this page is about -- sounds that I find interesting. I was able to capture two clean thunder claps almost directly overhead, with some slap echoes off the back of my home. The two discharges actually occurred about 2 minutes apart, but I pulled them together into this single clip. I recommend listening to it with headphones.
B-24 Bomber
In July 2005, two restored WWII bombers -- a B-17 and a B-24 -- were visiting the Minneapolis/St. Paul area for some exhibition flights when the B-24 suffered a major engine failure. It was grounded for several days while a replacement engine could be brought in from the West coast. I happened to be at the Anoka County airport on the morning of July 25th when the newly repaired B-24 taxied out to the runway and took off. I managed to capture a recording of it. Here it is, in two parts:
- Taxi :: Listen (1:00) >>>
- Takeoff :: Listen (1:00) >>>
Bad Band, Good Children
What's a local community festival without a ridiculous cover band playing set after set of worn out pop tunes? Thankfully, this community's children had the good sense to tune out the adult silliness around them and focus on something much more important: the serious business of play. Ya gotta love the contrast!
Dawn Woodpeckers, Loon and more...
The Chippewa National Forest in north central Minnesota is alive with birds in early spring -- especially woodpeckers. In this fairly long clip, I appreciate the spaciousness, the busyness, and the sense of being surrounded by all kinds of interesting critters, near and far.
Jet Duck
A duck flies right-to-lef over my stereo microphone array -- close enough that it picked up the jet-like sound of air flowing around and through the bird's flight feathers. Other sounds on this clip include winnowing snipe and a grouse drumming. The duck finally touches down in a pond to the mic's left.
Flight Feathers
This clip features the sounds of wings beating the air as an unknown large bird flies low and slow past my microphone, on the left. A few seconds later, two ducks fly by from right to left. I like the movement and the rich background, which includes the faint sound of a ruffed grouse drumming.
Late Spring Sleet Shower Ending
At the end of April 2005, I escaped to a quiet hiding spot in the Chippewa National Forest in north central Minnesota. A late spring sleet shower suddenly came up and prompted me to make this recording. Then, just as quickly as it had started, the sleet tapered off and stopped. Listen for the rapid "tapering off" about half way through this clip.
Sled Dog Team Launches
The last of four clips from the 2005 Beargrease race. It's a cold afternoon under clear blue skies at a remote race. checkpoint where many mushers and dogs are catching a few hours' rest. One by one, the teams gather their strength for yet another leg in this grueling 390-mile marathon race. The dogs are specifically bred and trained for this, so getting ready to run excites them even when they're tired. I'm positioned about 50 yards down the trail from the spot where the teams leave the checkpoint. Notice the dogs barking wildly until they start down the trail.
Sled Dog Teams Pass By
This is actually two clips, cross-faded together. The sun is setting and it's getting cold. Mushers participating in the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon approach their first major checkpoint near Two Harbors, Minnesota sat the end of a 57-mile run that began a few hours earlier in Duluth. The first pass-by includes the sound of harnesses jangling. In the second, the musher is happy to see someone... anyone... on the trail, and greets me. I waved back silently.
Distant Train and Snowmobiles
Consider this setting: a quiet snowmobile trail 10 miles north of Two Harbors, Minnesota, approximately 150 yards off a paved county highway. Snow in the woods is hip deep. The sun is setting; the temperature is about 20 degrees fahrenheit and falling; winds are light and subsiding. As I wait for sled dog teams to pass my location (see next clip, above), an empty iron-ore train can be heard leaving Two Harbors, pulling hard on a long uphill grade from shipping docks on Lake Superior to iron ore mines deep in the interior of northern Minnesota. Snowmobiles can also be heard running on nearby trails.
Some might call it noise pollution of a pristine environment, and they'd probably be right. But I enjoyed these distant sounds, made all the more interesting by natural reverberation off hundreds of thousands of frozen trees in the surrounding boreal forest.
John Beargrease Race Start
This is a heavily-layered composition made from dozens of sounds recorded at the 2005 John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. It also includes brief comments from phone interviews with race directors.
State Trooper Pass-By
Vehicle pass-bys are nothing special in themselves, but how often does a field recordist capture a state trooper screaming past with lights and sirens going? It's even better when the setting is a quiet stretch of highway in a remote location, such as this one in far northeast Minnesota.
Lake Ice Booming
In December 2004, I asked the Nature Recordists e-mail group if any of its participants could offer advice about capturing sounds made by lake ice. List member Rich Peet, who also lives in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, responded with specifics about a rare ice-booming phenomenon he'd been chasing for a couple years. A few days later, the ideal weather conditions he outlined came together, so the two of us went out after it. Gingerly stepping out onto the thin ice of a suburban St. Paul lake, this is what we heard.
Deep Woods Disturbance
In early May 2004, I took a Saturday afternoon drive to Nemadji State Forest in East Central Minnesota, about two hours north of the Twin Cities. Much of this area is heavily used by ATV enthusiasts. One red squirrel seemed to be more upset by my quiet presence than all the ATV noise.
Espresso Cafe
This clip is from 1999, recorded in a small coffee shop in suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. There's nothing all that special about it, but I like the voices and general atmosphere against the mellow background music.
United 727 Take-Off
When the flight attendant said to turn off all electronic devices, I did the opposite aboard a United Airlines 727 flight from Minneapolis to Chicago in August 1995. (Amazingly, my deadly gear didn't bring the plane down!) Here are highlights of the first six minutes or so of that flight.
Kiddie Roller Coaster
Another clip from the early 1990s -- A small kiddie-sized roller coaster at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory in St. Paul, MN.
"Camp Snoopy Is Now Closed"
From the early 1990s -- The last ride of the day at Knotts Camp Snoopy, the original name for the indoor amusement park at Mall of America, Bloomington, MN.