5 places in the world to hear
In modern culture, one of the main means of obtaining information and impressions is visual images. The Instagram feed and Facebook travel photos are a big part of our visual experience. “We used to travel in search of beautiful views and amazing architecture, but we usually don’t think about sound,” says Trevor Cox, a professor and researcher in acoustic engineering.
However, not only a beautiful picture, but unusual sounds can cause a trip to the fjords in Norway or the dunes in Morocco. In this column, we made a selection of places reminiscent of the acoustic abilities of architecture and wildlife.
Photo daveynin CC
On the north-west coast of Norway there is a small gentle island of Giske (Giske) . It is surrounded by fjords and mountains on the one hand and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. On the shore of the island’s former harbor, there is Ocean Sound Recordings, a well-known musical studio . Externally, it looks like an old boat house, inside there are rooms for housing, so visiting musicians can live and play under one roof. The studio was built from scratch and with one aspiration - to be an ideal place for creativity and recording music.
The creators of the studio, it was important that it fit into the surrounding space, reflecting the landscape and architecture of the island. “Being in our recording studio is like boating. All you see is the sea, the waves and the sky around, ”says musician and creator of the studio Ante Giskeødegård. Despite the fact that most recording studios do not have windows, they are in Ocean Sound Recordings, and they (taking into account sound insulation requirements) were made very thick. If there is a storm or rain outside the window, you can still record even quiet sounds in the room. "We could not hide this view - this is one of the most important components of the entire studio."
In Yiske, not only foreign performers, such as Arcade Fire, Sampha, A-ha, Andrea Schröder , but also Russian musicians worked on the recording, the U-Peter group recorded their album Gudgora there, and the song “ Take me with you "They dedicated to the island itself.
In the Book of Wonders of the World, Marco Polo describes his encounter with the sounding sand dunes in the Gobi Desert, saying that these desert spirits "sometimes fill the air with the sounds of various instruments, as well as blows and the clash of a weapon." Sand dunes in Mojave , USA, make similar strange low-frequency droning sounds resembling the distant rumble of aircraft engines.
The sound can be surprisingly loud: sometimes it can be heard for several kilometers.
The sound is rather unusual and creepy, reminiscent of a bass musical instrument. It is caused by the movement of sand grains, and the height of the produced note depends on their size, shape and humidity, therefore each singing sand dune has its own distinctive voice.
Scientist Natalie Vraend (Dr. Nathalie Vriend) describes this effect: “The avalanche, regardless of whether it is made of sand or snow, is an example of a granular medium. Solid particles “flow” like liquids, collide, bounce off, interact, separate, and join together again. Examples of grain movements can be found everywhere: from the highest mountains to the morning plate with cereal. ”
Trevor Cox, along with a group of researchers, specially traveled to Mojave in the summer, when the already arid place was in its driest state, which increased the chances of hearing the sound. On the first night in the desert, they heard nothing, but the next morning the scientist and his colleagues were able to create a sound by pushing sand from the dunes.
On his website, Cox posted a list of 14 sounding dunes around the world - from China to the United States.
You can't take an echo picture, but you can hear it. The Gol Gumbaz Mausoleum is located in Bijapur in southern India - built in the 17th century, it is not only visually striking, but also interesting in its acoustics . The building is covered by a hemispherical dome with an outside diameter of 44 meters, below it is a gallery that allows you to hear the echoes of words and phrases said by visitors already gone - any sound is repeated inside the mausoleum about 10 times.
Ashwin Kumar CC Photos
The sound “embraces” the inside of the dome, so even a whisper can be heard almost 40 meters away on the other side of the gallery - it seems that the speaker is whispering behind your shoulder. You can get to the gallery by going up a hundred steep small steps, and it is better to do this in the morning so that the interesting whispering effect is not lost in the sounds of the endless cries of other visitors checking the echo's “work”.
Ali Kapu Palace, located in the city of Isfahan in Iran, is an example of a non-standard solution of architectural and musical tasks. The palace has six floors, the most remarkable of them is the last; there is a music room with unusual acoustics. The room was used by the shah for receptions with the participation of musicians who played traditional Persian instruments, such as setar, kamancha, daf, and entertained guests.
The vaulted ceiling of the palace creates an umbrella of niches above the head, each of them with a unique pattern in the shape of vases and other vessels. Niches are not only beautiful in appearance, they serve acoustic tasks - they reduce the reverberation of sound and act as a sound diffuser. A hollow areas in the walls allow you to make the sounds of singing and musical instruments can be heard clearly in all parts of the room.
Photo by Mohsen Ghasemee CC
You can read more about the acoustic phenomenon of the music room from the point of view of physics in the study of the scientist Hassan Azad from Tehran University. It analyzes the acoustic qualities of a room using 3D models.
German artist Tilo Frank ( Thilo Frank ) created an unusual installation in the north of Denmark.
Ekko consists of 200 rotating wooden frames, in beams there are built-in microphones that catch the sounds made by visitors. The computer system filters and remixes each recorded step and sends it to the built-in electromechanical resonators.
The structure, therefore, itself becomes an instrument and plays an ever-changing soundtrack. The visitor, moving along a winding and endless loop , listens to the sounds of his voice and footsteps.
“The installation works as an archive of sounds, and at the same time enhances the visitor’s perception of the space and presence in it,” says Tilo Frank.
At the end of the compilation we share the longest echo in the world, discovered in Scotland by a group of scientists led by Trevor Cox, in an underground network of storage tanks for oil from the Second World War. A pistol shot inside the tunnel resonates for 112 seconds.
Even more materials about sound - in our "World Hi-Fi":
However, not only a beautiful picture, but unusual sounds can cause a trip to the fjords in Norway or the dunes in Morocco. In this column, we made a selection of places reminiscent of the acoustic abilities of architecture and wildlife.
Photo daveynin CC
Recording studio on the island of Giske
On the north-west coast of Norway there is a small gentle island of Giske (Giske) . It is surrounded by fjords and mountains on the one hand and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. On the shore of the island’s former harbor, there is Ocean Sound Recordings, a well-known musical studio . Externally, it looks like an old boat house, inside there are rooms for housing, so visiting musicians can live and play under one roof. The studio was built from scratch and with one aspiration - to be an ideal place for creativity and recording music.
The creators of the studio, it was important that it fit into the surrounding space, reflecting the landscape and architecture of the island. “Being in our recording studio is like boating. All you see is the sea, the waves and the sky around, ”says musician and creator of the studio Ante Giskeødegård. Despite the fact that most recording studios do not have windows, they are in Ocean Sound Recordings, and they (taking into account sound insulation requirements) were made very thick. If there is a storm or rain outside the window, you can still record even quiet sounds in the room. "We could not hide this view - this is one of the most important components of the entire studio."
In Yiske, not only foreign performers, such as Arcade Fire, Sampha, A-ha, Andrea Schröder , but also Russian musicians worked on the recording, the U-Peter group recorded their album Gudgora there, and the song “ Take me with you "They dedicated to the island itself.
Humming sand dunes in the Mojave Desert
In the Book of Wonders of the World, Marco Polo describes his encounter with the sounding sand dunes in the Gobi Desert, saying that these desert spirits "sometimes fill the air with the sounds of various instruments, as well as blows and the clash of a weapon." Sand dunes in Mojave , USA, make similar strange low-frequency droning sounds resembling the distant rumble of aircraft engines.
The sound can be surprisingly loud: sometimes it can be heard for several kilometers.
The sound is rather unusual and creepy, reminiscent of a bass musical instrument. It is caused by the movement of sand grains, and the height of the produced note depends on their size, shape and humidity, therefore each singing sand dune has its own distinctive voice.
Scientist Natalie Vraend (Dr. Nathalie Vriend) describes this effect: “The avalanche, regardless of whether it is made of sand or snow, is an example of a granular medium. Solid particles “flow” like liquids, collide, bounce off, interact, separate, and join together again. Examples of grain movements can be found everywhere: from the highest mountains to the morning plate with cereal. ”
Trevor Cox, along with a group of researchers, specially traveled to Mojave in the summer, when the already arid place was in its driest state, which increased the chances of hearing the sound. On the first night in the desert, they heard nothing, but the next morning the scientist and his colleagues were able to create a sound by pushing sand from the dunes.
On his website, Cox posted a list of 14 sounding dunes around the world - from China to the United States.
The whispering gallery in the Mausoleum Gol Gumbaz in Bijapur
You can't take an echo picture, but you can hear it. The Gol Gumbaz Mausoleum is located in Bijapur in southern India - built in the 17th century, it is not only visually striking, but also interesting in its acoustics . The building is covered by a hemispherical dome with an outside diameter of 44 meters, below it is a gallery that allows you to hear the echoes of words and phrases said by visitors already gone - any sound is repeated inside the mausoleum about 10 times.
Ashwin Kumar CC Photos
The sound “embraces” the inside of the dome, so even a whisper can be heard almost 40 meters away on the other side of the gallery - it seems that the speaker is whispering behind your shoulder. You can get to the gallery by going up a hundred steep small steps, and it is better to do this in the morning so that the interesting whispering effect is not lost in the sounds of the endless cries of other visitors checking the echo's “work”.
Music Room at Ali Kapu Palace in Iran
Ali Kapu Palace, located in the city of Isfahan in Iran, is an example of a non-standard solution of architectural and musical tasks. The palace has six floors, the most remarkable of them is the last; there is a music room with unusual acoustics. The room was used by the shah for receptions with the participation of musicians who played traditional Persian instruments, such as setar, kamancha, daf, and entertained guests.
The vaulted ceiling of the palace creates an umbrella of niches above the head, each of them with a unique pattern in the shape of vases and other vessels. Niches are not only beautiful in appearance, they serve acoustic tasks - they reduce the reverberation of sound and act as a sound diffuser. A hollow areas in the walls allow you to make the sounds of singing and musical instruments can be heard clearly in all parts of the room.
Photo by Mohsen Ghasemee CC
You can read more about the acoustic phenomenon of the music room from the point of view of physics in the study of the scientist Hassan Azad from Tehran University. It analyzes the acoustic qualities of a room using 3D models.
Ekko sound installation in Denmark
German artist Tilo Frank ( Thilo Frank ) created an unusual installation in the north of Denmark.
Ekko consists of 200 rotating wooden frames, in beams there are built-in microphones that catch the sounds made by visitors. The computer system filters and remixes each recorded step and sends it to the built-in electromechanical resonators.
The structure, therefore, itself becomes an instrument and plays an ever-changing soundtrack. The visitor, moving along a winding and endless loop , listens to the sounds of his voice and footsteps.
“The installation works as an archive of sounds, and at the same time enhances the visitor’s perception of the space and presence in it,” says Tilo Frank.
At the end of the compilation we share the longest echo in the world, discovered in Scotland by a group of scientists led by Trevor Cox, in an underground network of storage tanks for oil from the Second World War. A pistol shot inside the tunnel resonates for 112 seconds.
Even more materials about sound - in our "World Hi-Fi":
- “Enjoying the silence”: what are the pros and cons of the quietest places on the planet
- “Sound in the Museum” - contemporary art and creative experiments
- What are some unusual musical instruments used in the dub of horror
- Wheel lira and musical saw - tools that did not become mainstream
- Sounds that annoy us: why it happens
- Audio triggers: how the human psyche reacts to different sounds
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