Sounds Heard
Sounds Heard is the title of a book by Hugh Davies. In the book he writes of 'found' or 'environmental' musical experiences. For example:
"In a wood in the early autumn, listen to the acorns falling around (or even onto) you; especially early in the morning, after a night of heavy rain, with water still dripping from the trees" - Sandford Orcas, Dorset, September 1976
I have come to regard these as an excellent alternative to field recording or so called phonography as they capture the (sometimes) intensely personal flavour of found musical experiences. I resolved to write down my experiences as 'sounds heard' pieces. Even though they are less frequent than I might like, I write each one down in my music journal, each with a simple title completing the "Sounds Heard in....". The essential ingredients being a finely tuned Hemingway-like prose, a haiku-like brevity and an attempt to capture what was magical about the experience in the first place. Noble aims I know. Enjoy.
Sheffield, December 2006 (revised Dec 2007)