May 2008 Compiled

We posted 16 noises this month. So what could it sound like, put all together?

This is the Linear compile, all the sounds posted this month in chronological order to a beat. This month I twisted it: the second half is the sounds played in reverse chronological order IN REVERSE. You'll see--er, hear.

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Now here is the Mix: selected sounds from this month made into something song-like. Helicopter, car, and train are key. Are you ready to rave?

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Finally, here are the sounds Wall At Once. I think the aggregate noise of this past month is rather pretty, with major sevenths resonating. Ghost Train holds it all together.

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I really wanted to hear Wall At Once with a lot of delay on it, so ta da.

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See you next month!

Drive-Up ATM, Plus "Nucular" Beat

The musical sounds of money being dispensed! My recent visit to the local drive-up ATM machine. The notes are sharp of an E4 (button beeps) and A#5 (prompt beeps).

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Now here it is mixed with a jaunty beat and George W. Bush saying "nucular arms".

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Toy Castle Flag Whapping

I was over at a friend's house recently where his kids are lucky enough to have an original Fisher Price Castle. I was pulling the springy flag pole on it back and letting it go when I noticed it was making a cool sound, so I recorded it. It's less musical than percussive, but knowing I'll probably be glad to have it in the soon-here May mix(es), I'm going to post it anyway and call it a Middle C, which it actually sounds a little bit like to me.

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Eerie Freight Train

On my way to work on Tuesday, my commuter train was standing still for a bit. I heard a high-pitched sound. I looked out my window and saw a freight train start moving in the opposite direction.

What then transpired was an eerie, impromptu song containing a variety of notes, among them G#4, G5, G6, G#5, and C6.

Eerie Freight Train

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Sequence of Sounds By A Roboraptor In Play Mood

Dern, my Roboraptor:
Isn't he cute? Yes, that's a crude mod (the toes).

I recorded some of the sounds he makes in play mood.

His starting roar is a D then a D#--ah heck, I won't even pretend like the rest of them are notes of any kind. I just thought they were some cool sounds and would be fun to play with in the month-end mixes. Do I hear electric guitar in there?

Anyway, the sounds are:


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1) 00-05 seconds
Opening Roar
the Roboraptor emits this roar when it's switched on

2) 05-11
Wagging and Woofing
now in play mood, wagging tail and making woofing noise

3) 11-19
Nuzzling
when you place your hand near Roboraptor's face, Roboraptor nuzzles it and makes this pleasing sound

4) 19-25
Biting and Tug-of-War
when you place your finger in Roboraptor's mouth, a sensor senses it and Roboraptor bites your finger and plays tug-of-war with it

5) 25-29
Laughing
my favorite sound, Roboraptor laughs and sort of dance/waddles

Roboraptor videos on YouTube...
Roboraptor videos on Google...

What's That Doorbell Song? Plus, Sync Up With Churchbells

This is the doorbell that came with my house when I bought it. It's not the most pleasant tune of tones you'll ever hear, but I have yet to get around to replacing it.


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My question is: does the song have a name?

Wait--it's the same song as the Immaculate Conception Cathedral bells! Or at least part of it--the last two measures--C4, G#3, A#3, D#3 ... D#3, A#3, C4, G#3.

In fact, let's play that part of the cathedral bells song and the doorbell at the same time. In your speakers/headphones, the cathedral will be on the left and the doorbell on the right. Aaaaannd go!


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How neat. They're in the same key and nearly the same tempo. What a world. But what's that song?? Anyone know?

Air Conditioner Conditioning With A Hum

This giant, industrial strength air conditioner sits atop a building on the campus of Sacred Heart-Griffin high school near my house. The other day I was walking by and noticed it emitting a loud musical hum. It's a note just sharp of a D4.

Helicopter In The Mix

I liked Helicopter In The Sky so much I mixed it with a few other sounds and some drum tracks. It's nothing special, really. Just a short experiment, it clocks in at 1 minute 29 seconds; Emerson Lake & Palmer music this isn't!

Helicopter In The Sky

I recently scored this recording of a passing helicopter. The pitch drops with the Doppler Effect, but if there's a note in the first few seconds it's somewhere between an F3 and F#3.

Wind Chimes Chiming

My mom flies these wind chimes off the front porch awning of my parents' house. They (the wind chimes) are in the key of E major starting with an E5. In the recording, wind gusts blow through the trees and a neighbor's wind chimes in the distance--plus the requisite birds--to create a nice mixture of sounds.

Weird Electric Drill Tones

This Black & Decker "Fire Storm" electric drill has a trigger that when pressed slowly, gradually cycles through its various speeds. The odd thing is each speed with this drill is accompanied by a particular tone. The tones don't correspond to any notes exactly, but they're all in the 6th octave, starting with, approximately, E6 and working up and bouncing around from there. The noise of the whole drill at top speed is about a D#4, in case you wanted to know.

Freight Train Horn

Recorded at a distance of about 100 yards, this freight train horn is near a D#4.

Singing Wine Glass

The term "glass harmonica", or "armonica" as Ben Franklin called it, refers to any musical instrument played by rubbing glass.

This armonica, a single wine glass half-filled with water, is playing a G5. Cheers!

Goose Honking

Recorded at the Washington Park pond in Springfield, IL.

That Canadian Goose is honking an F4.

I ♥ My Casio

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Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-eight million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue-green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.

--Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy"

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Count me among one of the above-mentioned ape-descended life forms.

My Casio is playing a happily chirpy B4.

Ice Cream Truck Song

I was out walking one day when an ice cream truck came my way.

The song is based around a B4.

Car Honking

Honk honk! This is the horn of my Volvo 850, aka Big Red.

It's a G#4.

Wood Chipper

To start out the month, here is the sound of a wood chipper. Thank goodness, they were just feeding sticks into it.

Notice the A# caused by the 60 Hertz again.