The Sound Book: The Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World (38 page)

40 R. Newmarch,
The Concert Goer's Library of Descriptive Notes
(Manchester, NH: Ayer, 1991), 72.

41 This measurement is featured in “Western Isles and Shetland,” which was the fourth episode of the sixth series of the BBC television program
Coast
, first broadcast July 3, 2011.

42 B. Blesser and L.-R. Salter,
Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?: Experiencing Aural Architecture
(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007), 180.

43 Quotes from
Resonant Spaces
, “What's It All About?” http://arika.org.uk/resonant-spaces/what/?, accessed July 23, 2012; and from a poster advertising the tour in the offices of James Pask.

44 Mike Caviezel, personal communication, May 13, 2011.

45 These dimensions are very rough estimates from my visit.

46 This contrasts starkly with the American reservoir and how it was described to me by Mike Caviezel. Wormit is a cuboid, whereas the American reservoir is a huge cylinder, which might cause focusing and explain the different perceived qualities.

47 The exact reason for this difference is unclear, but the impulse responses I measured with a balloon suggest that there are a lot of early beneficial reflections in the reservoir.

48 W. Montgomery, “WIRE Review of Resonant Spaces,”
Wire
299 (January 2009).

49 Ibid.

50 Over the trombone frequency range, the time taken to drop 10 decibels is 3 seconds, based on a more accurate estimation of reverberation time given later in the chapter.

51 “Album Reviews,”
Billboard
, September 16, 1995.

52 D. Craine, “Strangeness in the Night,”
Times
(London), November 16, 2001.

53 “Stuart Dempster Speaks about His Life in Music: Reflections on His Fifty Year Career as a Trombonist, in Conversation with Abbie Conant,” http://www.osborne-conant.org/Stu_Dempster.htm, accessed July 19, 2012.

54 This is for a strange frequency range of 125–2,500 hertz, dictated by the instruments on the recording. The extraction method is described in P. Kendrick, T. J. Cox, F. F. Li, Y. Zhang, and J. A. Chambers, “Monaural Room Acoustic Parameters from Music and Speech,”
Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
124 (2008): 278–87. The 27-second value is an overestimation because in such a reverberant space, with multiple players layering sound, it is hard to tell when the musicians stop playing notes.

55 W. D. Howells,
Italian Journeys
(publisher unknown, 1867), 233.

1 A number of papers exploring the acoustics of ancient sites have been met with skepticism. The one I have in mind is R. G. Jahn, P. Devereux, and M. Ibison, “Acoustical Resonances of Assorted Ancient Structures,”
Journal of the Acoustical Soc
iety of America
99 (1996): 649–58.

2 J. L. Stephens,
Incidents of Travel in Greece, Turkey, Russia and Poland
(Edinburgh: William and Robert Chambers, 1839), 21.

3 M. Barron,
Auditorium Acoustics and Architectural Design
, 2nd ed. (London: Spon Press/Taylor & Francis, 2010), 276.

4 B. Thayer, “Marcus Vitruvius Pollio: de Architectura, Book V” [translation], http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Vitruvius/5*.html, accessed October 18, 2011.

5 This is why schoolteachers keep reminding their pupils to turn and talk to the audience when performing for their parents at assemblies.

6 Barron,
Auditorium Acoustics
, 277.

7 E. Rocconi, “Theatres and Theatre Design in the Graeco-Roman World: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches,” in
Archaeoacoustics
, ed. C. Scarre and G. Lawson (Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, 2006), 72.

8 A number of academics have tried to decode the development of theaters to look for acoustic understanding, including J. Kang and K. Chourmouziadou in “Acoustic Evolution of Ancient Greek and Roman Theatres,”
Applied Acoustics
69 (2008): 514–29.

9 B. Blesser and L.-R. Salter,
Spaces Speak, Are You Listening?: Experiencing Aural Architecture
(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2007). A great book setting out how architectural acoustics affects us.

10 Vitruvius also advocated the use of resonating vases to detect assailants digging tunnels under the walls of Apollonia. The bronze vessels were hung from the ceiling, and the blows of the excavators' tools excited the resonance, according to F. V. Hunt,
Origins in Acoustics
(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1978), 36.

11 Thayer, “Marcus Vitruvius Pollio.”

12 M. Kayili,
Acoustic Solutions in Classic Ottoman Architecture
(Manchester, UK: FSTC Limited, 2005).

13 A. P. O. Carvalho, V. Desarnaulds, and Y. Loerincik, “Acoustic Behavior of Ceramic Pots Used in Middle Age Worship Spaces—A Laboratory Analysis” (paper presented at the 9th International Congress on Sound and Vibration, Orlando, FL, July 8–11, 2002).

14 P. V. Bruel, “Models of Ancient Sound Vases,”
Journal of the Acoustical Soc
iety of America
112 (2002): 2333. Quite a few academics have made measurements on vases and reached similar conclusions.

15 L. L. Beranek,
Music, Acoustics and A
rchitecture
(New York: Wiley, 1962), 5.

16 D. Richter, J. Waiblinger, W. J. Rink, and G. A. Wagner, “Thermoluminescence, Electron Spin Resonance and 14C-Dating of the Late Middle and Early Upper Palaeolithic Site of Geissenklösterle Cave in Southern Germany,”
Journal of Archaeological Science
27 (2000): 71–89. This work made headlines around the world, so information can also be found on news websites—for example, P. Ghosh, “‘Oldest Musical Instrument' Found,”
BBC News
, June 25, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8117915.stm.

17 F. d'Errico and G. Lawson, “The Sound Paradox,” in
Archaeoacoustics
, ed. C. Scarre and G. Lawson (Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, 2006), 50.

18 I. Morley,
The Evolutionary Origins and Archaeology of Music
, Darwin College Research Report DCRR-002 (Cambridge: Darwin College, Cambridge University, 2006).

19 N. Boivin, “Rock Art and Rock Music: Petroglyphs of the South Indian Neolithic,”
Antiquity
78 (2004): 38–53.

20 L. Dams, “Palaeolithic Lithophones: Descriptions and Comparisons,”
Oxford Journal of Archaeology
4 (1985): 31–46.

21 Luray Caverns, “Discovery,” http://luraycaverns.com/History/Discovery/tabid/529/Default.aspx, accessed June 17, 2012.

22 H. H. Windsor, “The Organ That Plays Stalactite,”
Popular Mechanics
, September 1957.

23 An early press report suggested, “When four-year old Robert Sprinkle bumped his head on a stalactite while visiting the Caverns in June 1954, the deep resonant tone of the rock fascinated him and his father.” “Stalactite Organ Makes Debut,”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
, June 9, 1957. A great story, but according to the press office at Luray Caverns, it is sadly incorrect.

24 “The Rock Hamonicon,”
Journal of Civilization
(1841).

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid.

27 J. Blades,
Percussion Instruments and Their History
(London: Kahn & Averill, 2005), 90.

28 Allerdale Borough Council, “The Musical Stones of Skiddaw: The Richardson Family and the Famous Musical Stones of Skiddaw,” http://www.allerdale.gov.uk/leisure-and-culture/museums-and-galleries/keswick-museum/the-musical-stones-of-skiddaw.aspx, accessed March 15, 2011.

29 Blades,
Percussion Instruments
, 90.

30 M. Wainwright, “Evelyn Glennie's Stone Xylophone,”
Guardian
(London), August 19, 2010.

31 “Online Special: Ruskin Rocks!”
Geoscientist Online
, October 4, 2010, http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/ruskinrocks, accessed May 16, 2011.

32 Hunt,
Origins in Acoustics
, 152.

33 Strictly speaking, this description fits only when you are in the middle of the stairwell, equidistant from the walls.

34 The quote comes from the Tatton Park Biennial 2012 exhibition catalogue: http://www.tattonparkbiennial.org/detail/3070, accessed March 17, 2011.

35 I. Reznikoff, “On Primitive Elements of Musical Meaning,”
Journal of Music and Meaning
3 (Fall 2004/Winter 2005).

36 S. J. Waller, “Sound and Rock Art,”
Nature
363 (1993): 501.

37 David Lubman, personal communication, June 25, 2012.

38 S. J. Waller, speaking on the BBC Radio 4 program
Acoustic Shadows
, broadcast September 14, 2004. I also appeared on this program, talking about acoustic test chambers, such as the anechoic chamber described in Chapter 7.

39 L. Dayton, “Rock Art Evokes Beastly Echoes of the Past,”
New Scientist
, no. 1849 (November 28, 1992), 14.

40 Waller,
Acoustic Shadows
radio broadcast.

41 Dayton, “Rock Art.”

42 This was the second trip that failed acoustically. When I tried to visit the Rouffignac Cave in France, I found that the floor had been excavated to fit an electric train into the cavern, which altered the acoustics and rendered any sonic investigation pointless.

43 D. Wilson,
Hiking Ruins Seldom Seen: A Guide to 36 Sites across the Southwest
, 2nd ed. (Guilford, CT: Falcon Guides, 2011), 16–17. The book reports on a study by archaeologist Donald E. Weaver, who dates the petroglyphs to somewhere between AD 900 and 1100.

44 Ibid.

45 P. Schaafsma, “Excerpts from
Indian Rock Art of the Southwest
,” in
The Archeology of Horseshoe Canyon
(Moab, UT: Canyonland National Park, date unknown), 15.

46 Waller, “Sound and Rock Art.”

47 Lubman, personal communication, June 25, 2012.

48 The pyramid is 24 meters (80 feet) high, and the square base is 56 meters (185 feet) wide.

49 A colleague of mine has suggested that the corrugated roof might also chirp.

50 Lubman, personal communication, June 25, 2012.

51 C. Scarre, “Sound, Place and Space: Towards an Archaeology of Acoustics,” in
Archaeoacoustics
, ed. C. Scarre and G. Lawson (Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, 2006), 6.

52 T. Hardy,
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
(Rockville, MD: Serenity Publishers, 2008), 326.

53 D. Barrett, “Review: Collected Works,”
New Scientist
, no. 2118 (January 24, 1998), 45.

54 It is not known whether Stonehenge was used for sacrifices. The real purpose of the site is still open to debate.

55 Bruno Fazenda, personal communication, October 2011.

56 Ibid.

57 P. Devereux,
Stone Age Soundtracks: The Acoustic Archaeology of Ancient Sites
(London: Vega, 2001), 103.

58 It is possible to get echoes from rings of columns. The Court of 3 Stars at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville, Tennessee, has fifty 7.6-meter-high (25-foot) limestone columns arranged in two C shapes facing each other. The columns contain bells to play the “Tennessee Waltz” every fifteen minutes. I have been told these columns produce a distinctive echo if you stand in the middle of the circle, and videos on the Internet seem to confirm this claim.

59 Jahn, Devereux, and Ibison, “Acoustical Resonances.”

60 Devereux,
Stone Age Soundtracks
, 86–89.

61 I became aware of this paper from discussions with Matthew. A lay-language version of his paper is available at http://www.acoustics.org/press/153rd/wright.html, accessed October 25, 2011.

62 Matthew Wright could also have asked whether a burial mound is like a car. Some years ago I was solicited to produce pseudoscience for an advertising campaign proclaiming which model of car was best for singing in. I declined the offer.

1 Loss of food and habitats caused by intensive farming is probably more likely to blame for the loss of songbirds. A study by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) found that songbird numbers were no different in places where there were many magpies and places where there were few. S. E. Newson, E. A. Rexstad, S. R. Baillie, S. T. Buckland, and N. J. Aebischer, “Population Changes of Avian Predators and Grey Squirrels in England: Is There Evidence for an Impact on Avian Prey Populations?”
J
ournal of Applied Ecology
47 (2010): 244–52.

2 Chris Watson, personal communication, September 15, 2011.

3 R. S. Ulrich, “View through a Window May Influence Recovery from Surgery,”
Science
224 (1984): 420–21. Other studies have shown that nature reduces stress for office workers and prisoners; see G. N. Bratman, J. P. Hamilton, and G. C. Daily, “The Impacts of Nature Experience on Human Cognitive Function and Mental Health,”
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
1249 (2012): 118–36.

4 The beneficial effect of nature even happens when people are just shown photos rather than experiencing nature firsthand; see “A Walk in the Park a Day Keeps Mental Fatigue Away,”
Science News
, December 23, 2008, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081218122242.htm.

5 R. S. Ulrich, R. F. Simons, B. D. Losito, E. Fiorito, M. A. Miles, and M. Zelson, “Stress Recovery during Exposure to Natural and Urban Environments,”
Journal of Environmental Psychology
11 (1991): 201–30.

6 J. J. Alvarsson, S. Wiens, and M. E. Nilsson, “Stress Recovery during Exposure to Nature Sound and Environmental Noise,”
International Journal of
Environmental
Research and Public Health
7 (2010): 1036–46. The study found no effect for heart rate.