“It is actually a very serious matter for finch lovers.”
One more finch tweeting post before I go - thanks for having me, Ed!
Belgian Meritocracy
Ladies and gentlemen, the storied sport of finch tweeting. (via the avian dialectologists and comparative Belgianists at Language Log)
Audio Illusions
Musicians and podcasters might find these links of interest (and I certainly plan to employ some of these tricks, now that I’ve discovered some open source toys):
- Three audio paradoxes: Shepard’s ascending tones, falling bells, and a “quickening” beat.
- Shepard’s pitch circularity in detail. (It’s worth noting that you can hear Shepard’s illusion at the beginning of Queen’s A Day at the Races album.)
- More audio illusions.
- The tritone paradox.
- The tritone paradox’s effect on linguistics.
- A list of demonstration CDs.
Presbycusis or Presbyterian?
Can you hear it? “The principle behind it is a biological reality that hearing experts refer to as presbycusis, or aging ear. While Miss Musorofiti is not likely to have it, most adults over 40 or 50 seem to have some symptoms, scientists say. While most human communication takes place in a frequency range between 200 and 8,000 hertz (a hertz being the scientific unit of frequency equal to one cycle per second), most adults’ ability to hear frequencies higher than that begins to deteriorate in early middle age.” (via Metafilter)
There is an MP3 attached to the article. I can hear the tone but it’s playing at a constant low volume.
The Mikes Will Stay On When the Energy Runs Out
The first solar-powered recording studio.
He Blinded Me With Sonics
This will only be of solace to you if you’re as much of an audio geek as I am, but Peter Kirn has the scoop on Thomas Dolby’s custom setup, which is an interesting and quite unusual combination of MIDI controllers and vintage signal testing equipment.
