• Nicholas Vaughn (37)
  • Archive for the ‘Found Sounds’ Category

    Documentation of field recordings not generated by a synthesizer or musical instrument.

    Frog Sound Samples and Tree Frog Macro Photography

    Posted on April 10th, 2006

    Here is a small tribute of electronic media to our little green friends. First, we have some sound samples packs. The first is of a plethora of frogs going through random rhythms. This was sampled in the late summer of 2005. The second sample pack is processed one hits from the first pack.

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    The Lightsaber Sound Effect

    Posted on September 17th, 2005

    We came across an interesting found sound that resembles the tone and harmonics of the Lightsaber, every geek’s favorite weapon. The Lightsaber sound was one of the first Ben Burtt (sound designer of Star Wars) made for the famous sci-fi series. The original sound effect was created using a mix of an old projector’s hum and the warm feedback from a microphone passing an old television set.

    Today, we are going to teach you how to recreate a different version of this sound using common household items. Well, more common than the old projector and television set. The items you will need for this sound experiment is an electric shaver and a water jug (the big ones used in water coolers).

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    Microrecordings, Sampling with David Dunn

    Posted on August 17th, 2005

    I was listening to Living on Earth, which is a podcast focused on Sound Journalism, and thought this was awesome. David Dunn does microrecordings and had a segment on Living On Earth which documented the sounds of a beetle infestation in a piñon tree.

    David Dunn, stands nearby at the edge of a grove of needleless, dead gray piñon that look like the backdrop for a Halloween play. Like me, he wears headphones and has a recording machine slung on his shoulder. But the device connected to his recorder is a microphone like none I’ve ever seen.

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