I recently came across a tweet that left me with a very interesting thought.
“Do you know why birds sing just before dawn? Scientists believe it’s to tell their mates that they made it through the night, as a way of saying, “I’m still here.” Maybe that’s why we sing, too, why we create art-as a way of saying, “I made it. I’m still here.” Posted by Jeff Goins
Now this is obliviously a baseless tweet with no scientific backing and sources. Even with further research, little to nothing could be found about it, only with just the acknowledgement that the birdsong may be for marking territory, or for mating reasons (https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/ask-an-expert/previous/morningsong.aspx). That being said, it is a very romantic notion that does lead into interesting threads.
It made me think about how many different artists use birds and their call as inspiration. The first that came to mind for me was James Webb’s project that I had first seen at the Talbot Rice Gallery. There’s No Place Called Home, is a project dating all the way back to 2004 and involves a hidden speaker being placed in a garden that plays a bird call so often. A bird call that is not native to that specific region. In Edinburgh, this project was set up in the Royal Botanic Garden. Webb selected the Jamaican Becard as it originated from a hot climate, through this, he wanted to evoke global warming and the ever-changing migratory patterns and the idea of climate refugees. While still being open to interpretation, it could also symbolise the idea of colonization and even invasive species as a result of globalisation. The photo below shows the location of the speaker in Edinburgh.
https://www.trg.ed.ac.uk/event/theres-no-place-called-home-edinburgh-2021
Relating it back to the soundscape and the city
This piece has a lot to say about the soundscape and the city, in fact, this work demonstrates the interconnectedness between the two. It looks at how a curated green space, within an urban space can have an unrequited song be played. And unless the listener knows the call of the Jamaican Becard, they would be utterly oblivious to the bird’s call. I think this element really ensures that the listener is really listening to their surroundings, which is one of the main elements of soundscaping.
Personal Connection
I think I’m also very intrigued by bird songs for many different reasons. It was something I only started to realise and recognise as I moved to Edinburgh. As I was spending more time outside (and later in general as well), I started paying more attention to when birds were calling. This sudden recognition and appreciation might just be from coming from Singapore and changing my scenery. I’m sure when I travel back to S’pore, I would see it and hear it from a different light. Going back to bird calls, here I would most often recall them late into the night. This means I would probably be walking home late at night (sometimes sober and sometimes not). I had this romantic notion that as I was stumbling back home late at night, the birds were singing along with my return. This coupled with the fact of me being uncomfortable walking home, something I never experienced before coming from Singapore. Singapore’s crime rate is so low, that the government had to make a whole campaign called “Low Crime Doesn’t Mean No Crime” because the city was so safe. In comparison to most of the world, where women don’t walk alone when it’s dark, it was quite a shock to me. This was also the first time in my life where people started saying to me “Message me when you’re home” and getting follow up messages from people asking if I made it home (even if we had never met before that night. I see a similarity between this behaviour and the tweet made about bird calls. As if our own texting is mimicking a natural way of communicating. Thus birds and their song, was kind of a comforting thing to hear and see as I was making my way through the city. This romantic notion might explain why I was so drawn to the baseless tweet. It is entirely hopeful and naive, but that’s what makes it so fun and comforting.
this has led me to the idea of using birdsong for the soundscaping project, in relation to women’s safety in the city.
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