The marvelous sonic world of whales, from the perspective of music and science.Whale song is an astonishing world of sound whose existence no one suspected before the 1960s. Its discovery has forced us to confront the possibility of alien intelligence―not in outer space but right here on earth. Thoughtful, richly detailed, and deeply entertaining, Whale Music uses the enigma of whale sounds to open up whales' underwater world of sonic mystery. In observing and talking with leading researchers from around the globe as they attempt to decipher undersea music, Rothenberg tells the story of scientists and musicians confronting an unknown as vast as the ocean itself. His search culminates in a grand attempt to make interspecies music by playing his clarinet with whales in their native habitats, from Russia to Canada to Hawaii. This is a revised edition of Thousand Mile Song, originally published in 2008. The latest advances in cetacean science and interspecies communication have been incorp
An indispensable guide to a deeper understanding of the nature of the human voice and its harmonic possibilities from East to West.Overtone Singing is the most comprehensive book ever written on the hidden harmonies of the human voice. Ethnomusicologist and vocalist Mark van Tongeren offers fascinating insights into the timeless and universal aspects of sound and vibration. Grounded in the author’s decade-long study of Asian music, the book draws upon field work, interviews with Eastern and Western musicians, and copious scholarship to present a multidisciplinary vision of sound that runs from global music to the science of acoustics and perception, onward to the philosophical and spiritual dimensions of music. Written in a nontechnical style, this generously illustrated book is an indispensable guide for musicians, listeners, and performers seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of the human voice and its harmonic possibilities from East to West.
Dialogues between student and master about music, learning, teaching, the healing power of art, and the art of life itself. Knut Hamre has devoted his life to playing the Hardanger fiddle-a unique f
A chronicle of re-remembering: an artist reflects on art, technology, consumption, near-death experiences, encounters with the wild, psychedelics, time travel, failure and courage. Beginning in 2014,
John Hoyte was a student at Cambridge University who realized one day that a grant he might get could provide an interesting and unusual summer vacation. And thus was born the idea of leading an eleph
This book began with Paul Steinberg’s realization that although religions are struggling to meet the needs and trends of our modern age, spirituality is not. Its contemporary manifestations continue t
A lyric novel about the play of grief, empathy, new and old love, and the quest to overcome blindness in human relations. Caught in the cross-currents of a fraught divorce and a new love, the death of her mother, and a global pandemic, a writer plunges into an obsession with the work of 1960s French philosopher Roland Barthes. Her struggles to make sense of his work and life―and of what can happen to a woman's settled life in a single harrowing year―result in an engrossing, funny, earthy, and innovative lyric work. The quest for authenticity in motherhood, sexuality, and tenancy on the earth and in the home, as well as the unusual lyric form, make the novel unified in spirit yet transdisciplinary in approach.
