Hearing sounds of the natural world can become everyday and something I take for granted. Wind rustling through tree leaves, a blackbird singing, bees buzzing, water trickling over stones. There are apps now to identify pretty well any natural sound. In some ways they make us listen out more, then learn what’s in our midst. In another way I think they can take the fun out of discovering nature for yourself. But however you listen or learn, biophony (nature’s soundscape) is so important as a background to our lives and wellbeing. When – as today, with the General Election underway – the world’s chatter seems deafening, biophony can be a refreshing moment away.
One folk musician, Miranda Rutter, has recently celebrated birdsong by composing a new album, Bird Tunes, inspired by snatches of birdsong she recorded on her phone during walks in the woods. She has now also performed pieces from the album on a concert tour together with a concertina player, Rob Harbron.
Fiddle and viola are Miranda’s instruments, and she performs, composes and teaches. Learning that she tutors the National Youth Folk Ensemble and undergraduates on Newcastle University’s folk music degree course showed me just how thriving folk music is these days – I’d no idea there were degrees in folk. Miranda also performs with a string quartet called Methera – a string quartet playing folk, rather than the more usual classical for this form of ensemble.
Hearing music like Miranda Rutter’s album, which builds on natural sounds, adds new layers to how we experience the natural world, enriching our listening. It also got me to think about other, less celebrated natural sounds. Birdsong is widely recognised as calming, mindful and restful. And there are so many other creatures out there making their own soundscape, as well as plants and trees that create sound as the wind blows over their foliage or seedheads (think rushes, conifers, willows or honesty). Music drawing on more of these different sounds would help focus our listening. Ralph Vaughan Williams composed the famous piece The Wasps, and other insects could also inspire music – think bees buzzing, crickets in the grass, a moth’s wings beating on glass.
Silence can be the most mindful and calming “sound” of all, but it can be too intense, inviting too many lurking fears, thoughts or sadnesses to creep in. Instead, a perfect counterbalance can be listening to quiet natural sounds, in person or online now that there’s a lot of choice out there to add to your playlist. Sounds in nature aren’t usually constant or overwhelming, but diverse and ever-changing. Listening to them can help your mind drift but stay focused too – the essence of mindfulness.
To learn more about Miranda Rutter go to https://mirandarutter.com . And search online for natural sound recordings, experiment with what you listen to and how it impacts your mood.