This chapter of the book is based on multiple subjects that explore how sound is presented in nature. The topics that I will be talking about are bionics, shamanism and Pauline Oliveros.
In this section of this chapter, Toop explores “this uneasy relationship between nature and technology”, bringing in references from pop culture movies such as The Terminator and THX 1138. A short explanation of Schwarzenegger’s final battle with the Predator portrays the Terminator’s internal conflict between his ‘human’ side and his robotic side. Toop suggests that “humans are equally frightened of nature and machines, despite being part of one and symbiotically entwined with the other”. “Steele defined bionics as the science of systems whose function is based on living systems, or which have characteristics of living systems” (Toop, 2001). This idea of bionic engineering may be found in contemporary developments of smart technologies and biomimetic products. Sir H.S. Maxim suggested that the echo-locating ability of bats could indicate ways of avoiding future disasters. A professor, Lazzaro Spallanzani investigated this idea and came to the conclusion that bats produce sounds that would bounce back off objects and would proceed to follow the reflections of the sound.
The next section of this chapter introduces the idea of shamanism. Shamanism is described to be the practice of a shaman interacting with a spiritual universe through an altered state. The main purpose of this is to heal human beings in the physical world by bringing spirits into real life. A technique used by shamans to heal humans is called sound healing. This “utilises various techniques, including repetitive drumming and singing, to access information from the human unconscious” (Winn et al., 1989) “Shamans were, as Mircea Eliade put it, “technicians of ecstasy”. Music is also considered to be a gateway to ecstatic states of consciousness. Hence, this may suggest the reasons for shamanistic themes in many forms of music. Eliade has interpreted the idea of shamanism to be in reference to the time period where animals and humans lived in harmony.
Deep Listening was a subject that was heavily significant within the likes of nature. Coined by the musician Pauline Oliveros, Deep Listening explores the difference between involuntary nature of hearing and the voluntary, selective nature of listening. The act of Deep Listening was founded in the practice of recording the sounds of an underground resonating space of the Fort Worden Cistern in Port Townsend, Washington. These musical exploitations of resonance in space dates far back as any other form of sonic experiment. Toop researched a book, and found an archaeologist who claimed that prehistoric animistic cave paintings appeared at sites where echoes corresponded with the animals depicted.
References:
- Toop, D. (2001) “altered states vi: nature,” in Ocean of sound: Aether talk, ambient sound and imaginary worlds. London, London: Serpent’s Tail, pp. 217–252.
- Winn, T., Crowe, B.J. and Moreno, J.J. (1989) “Shamanism and music therapy: Ancient healing techniques in modern practice,” Music Therapy Perspectives, 7(1), pp. 67–71. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/7.1.67.