Monday, October 25, 2010

Music Mondays with Birdsong

Happy Monday Greetings, dear Reader!

From last Monday’s Music Magic:

How I love Shell’s musical notes and their joyful pattern, and hearing about Amanda and Rachel doing chores accompanied by < loud! > music, Zanna’s windsong and Bela Fleck tunes, Zanna and Kate’s mention of bird song clocks, L.J.’s rain and other Nature music, and Nichole’s field trip songs featuring pumpkins and skeletons!! Plus the variety of other magic that surfaces and gets posted here each day—-all joyful notes that give meaning and value to us all.

And now, more about Birdsong, Part III, the final installment! Birds use both songs and calls. ” Song is a loud, complex and often musical utterance used mostly by male birds.” (I didn’t know that!) “Calls, in contrast, are simpler and usually softer sounds used by both sexes to communicate alarm, hunger, aggression, and a variety of other motivational states.”

The songs of birds have been categorized as countersinging, song-matching, song duetting, and song-dueling. Fascinating! I’m sure these techniques have been the origin and inspiration for rap, techno, opera, ballads, and definitely love songs!

Thanks to a guitar student, I’ve been learning all this from her little field book, Common Birds and their Songs, with accompanying 65-min. CD.

Have you noticed anything new about the birds in your neighborhood? Birds, birdsong, bird magic, or anything that sweetens your day—-please share it with us by posting in comments below. Then we’ll all experience a little more magic in our lives!

Music kisses,
Lisa

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