Lisa Rainsong may be of help with your questions. She occasionally posts to this list.

Patty McKelvey
Sheffield Village; Lorain Cty

Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would I fly away and be at rest.



 

> Date: Thu, 14 Apr 2011 16:43:14 -0400
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [Ohio-birds] Pitch: Name that bird note!
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> I really enjoyed the "what's the two-note bird sound" (chickadee) thread on
> the Michigan list! I think it is the first time I saw someone post the
> actual notes.
> 
> 
> 
> What particularly impressed me was the number of people who pulled out
> instruments to hear the notes once the notes were identified. Oh, THAT note!
> Yes it is a .
> 
> 
> 
> (I am always amazed by people who know what a note really is - perfect
> pitch!)
> 
> 
> 
> As one who still cannot get grounded on bird sounds by reading written
> descriptions in books, I finally figured out that the books also need to
> give pitch (the note) and duration (as well as any rising/falling nuances).
> A musical score for birds!
> 
> 
> 
> The clincher came last year when I finally heard the Eastern Towhee's "Drink
> your teeeee". Just reading a phrase in a book did nothing for me. Everyone
> uses the phrase, so I thought I finally heard it. I remember asking the list
> about something I had heard that did this, and learned a Robin was drinking
> tea as part of its repertoire. Finally after hearing the towhee I knew what
> it all meant. So different! I now have my own "score" to go with the words.
> 
> 
> 
> Also I guess we need to add notes about other characteristics. For example,
> "peent" is really a buzzy/buggy or nasal sound ("pzeeent"). Even with pitch
> and duration, you would not be able to play the note without having the
> right instrument (think kazoo here).
> 
> 
> 
> So. does anyone know of any references to bird sounds with actual musical
> notes accompanying the written phrase? I would love a compendium where I
> could look up the written phrase describing a sound and get an idea of the
> pitch, duration, and instrumental factors as well. Hey! If nothing exists,
> it would make a great thesis - and also certainly would be a contender for a
> viral video. ;) I'm kind of kidding, but be sure to send me any royalties
> for my idea and recognize me in the credits!
> 
> 
> 
> Another interesting side note is that last year I corresponded with Ryan
> Steiner (Ohio list) about a note he posted. He had written an interesting
> paper on chickadee sounds. Here is a short quote from his original note:
> 
> "I proceeded to take recordings of the Black-capped Chickadee fee-bee song,
> several of which I recorded here in Ohio. I analyzed these recordings and
> found a statistically significant difference in songs sung from coniferous
> and deciduous trees, with the songs sung in conifers being higher in pitch
> than those sung from deciduous trees. More interestingly, there was a
> clustering pattern in the pitch of the songs when they were graphed. This
> may indicate that chickadees can assess the density of the tree around them
> (taking in factors such as where they are on the branch: the middle as
> opposed to the end of a
> 
> branch) and then pick a song pitch from a set of pitches that will allow
> them to be best heard."
> 
> 
> 
> So ultimately we will possibly need to know the habitat as well. (Oh, it's
> so complex!). But for now, just give me a starting reference with at least
> normal pitch and duration. I can tune up my old guitar to try to play a bird
> tune. Or maybe just find my pitch pipe.
> 
> 
> 
> I also want to acknowledge Macklin Smith's great reply (May 25, 2010: see
> mich-listers archives) to a note I posted last year about single note calls.
> He suggested I try to vocalize the written word while feeling the vocal
> chords. Yes, it works! (Now that would be a great viral video as well!) This
> is what led me to "pzeeent" vs. "peent". He addressed duration and
> "instrument" very well, but not the pitch. I note that this was for calls
> which are harder than songs to discriminate in text.
> 
> 
> 
> Just ramblin' . yet, very interesting!
> 
> 
> 
> PS, Just as I was going to hit enter, I saw the note from Thierry. YES! The
> instrument is important as I indicate here! Bagpipe indeed! J Maybe that is
> the goose secret?
> 
> 
> 
> "Dr. Bob" Setzer
> 
> Streamwood Estates, Rochester Hills (Crooks & Hamlin), Oakland County
> 
> 
> 
> "Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day." Teaching a man to "bird"
> is much harder!
> 
> Blog: <http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/>
> http://drbobsbirdblog.blogspot.com/
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
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