Title:
A book of noises : notes on the auraculous
Author:
Publication Date:
2023
Publication Information:
Chicago, IL : The University of Chicago Press, 2023.
©2023
Physical Description:
352 pages ; 23 cm
ISBN:
9780226823232
Abstract:
"A Little Book of Noises gathers together sounds from the cosmos, the natural world, the human world, and the invented world, as well as containing pockets of silence. From the vast sound of sand in the desert to the tuneful warble of a songbird, from the meditative resonance of a temple bell to the improvisational melodies of jazz, this is a celebration of all things "auraculous," or "ear marvelous." Sound shapes our world in invisible but significant ways, and writer Caspar Henderson brings his characteristic curiosity and knowledge to the subject to take us on an exhilarating journey to examine noise related to humans (anthropophony), other life (biophony), our planet (geophony), and space (cosmophony)"-- Provided by publisher.
General Note:
"Originally published in English by Granta Books ..."--Title page verso.
Contents:
Cosmophony : sounds of space. First sounds -- Resonance (1) -- Sound in space -- Music of the spheres (1) -- Music of the spheres (2) -- The golden record -- Geophony : sounds of Earth. Rhythm (1) : planet waves -- The loudest sound -- The northern lights -- Volcano -- Thunder -- Listening to a rainbow -- Biophony : sounds of life. Rhythm (2) : body -- Hearing -- Ancient animals noises -- Plant -- Insect -- Bee -- Frog -- Bat -- Elephant -- The thousand-mile song of the whale -- Leviathan, or the sperm whale -- Blackbird -- Owl -- Nightingale -- Anthropophony : sounds of humanity. Rhythm (3) : music and dance -- Onomatopoeia -- How language began -- The magic flute -- The nature of music -- Harmony -- Strange musical instruments -- Sad songs -- Bashō -- Visible sound -- Plato's cave -- Earworms -- Noise pollution -- The sounds of climate change -- Hell -- Healing with music -- Healing with sound -- Bells -- Resonance (2) -- Frontiers -- Silence -- Some good sounds.
Genre:
Language:
English
