I recall the sounds of my long-dead uncle working in his smithy. Though noisy,
the banging and clanging is a memory I'll always cherish.
Ed
________________________________
From: Mike Spencer <mspen...@tallships.ca>
To: futurework@lists.uwaterloo.ca
Sent: Thursday, July 18, 2013 12:11:07 AM
Subject: [Futurework] Re: FW: [NetBehaviour] 2013 World Listening Day.
Mike G. wrote:
> July 18 was chosen as the date because it is the birthday of the
> Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, who is celebrating his 80th
> birthday this year. Schafer is one of the founders of the Acoustic
> Ecology movement; the World Soundscape Project, which Schafer
> founded in 1971, is an important organization which has inspired a
> lot of activity in this field. The culmination of the World
> Soundscape Project's pioneering research into the sound environment
> is described in his seminal book, The Tuning of the World. Published
> in 1977...
It's been decades since I read the book so I forget the details. At
the time I though he gave short shrift to blacksmiths.
The sound of a crew striking four-handed [1] on a big piece (such as
an anchor), of a smith and striker working together or of just one
smith working on an intricate piece has all kinds of musical
sensations. As I recall, Schafer brushed it off in a line or two.
(Don't own the book or I'd look it up.)
At the time I read it (late 70s?) I had recently been to a
blacksmithing conference with half a dozen forges & anvils scattered
around a university campus and also had seen an art movie consisting
chiefly of 4-handed striking. I arrived at the conference a few hours
late and after dark. The sounds were thrilling.
- Mike
[1] You may never have seen this but you may well have seen a movie
scene in which 4 guys hammer in a circus tent stake with
sledges. Same action, same coordination, very different
soundscape.
--
Michael Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada .~.
/V\
mspen...@tallships.ca /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/ ^^-^^
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