Three Tune Tuesday - Appreciating Sound
Last week I suffered an ear issue that was incredibly painful. Anyone who has had an ear infection knows the pain that goes along with it. It turns out it wasn't an infection, but several days of being unable to hear from my left ear at all was something I hope I never need to go through again.
When I was finally able to hear again I found myself enjoying all the sounds I could on the way home from the clinic; even those noises that I normally would not enjoy I found suddenly enjoyable.
Sounds and the acoustic environment around us play an important part in the forming of a sense-place; sounds are just as important to building a culture, society, and community as the written and spoken language. I grew up very near the train tracks as a child, and sounds of the trains were as common place to me as motorcycles and trucks with no mufflers. When I moved to Windsor, ON, those sounds were replaced by water sounds of the Detroit River and boats, which was quite a culture shock to me. It took me quite awhile to get used to them, though those who I met thought nothing of it.
One of the comments I receive the most when sharing these old songs is that the scratchiness of them gives them a character and evokes fond memories for a lot of people. Certainly the scratches and hisses were not present when the records were first cut, but when we listened to them in our childhood they were present and they became part of our shared memories.
My songs this week are all definitely scratchy, but still rich and clear in sound. All are on the Edison label and are Edison Diamond Disc recordings, which were arguably the best sounding of the time.
All the songs today are medley's, each song featuring a different instrument. The first, Reilly's Reels, if a violin solo played by Harold Veo.
Song number two this week is a medley of Southern Melodies. One of the musical instruments that played really well on the Edison discs are bells and chimes. This particular record, by John Burckhardt, is a Bells with orchestra composition.
The last song of the week is a wonderful xylophone medley named William Tell - Fantasie. The William Tell Overture is one of my favourite overtures, and is one of the first 78's I'll play on a new 78rpm, lateral cut phonograph, to test it out. This, of course, is an Edison, not a lateral cut, but is really a fun xylophone tune.
(c) All images and photographs, unless otherwise specified, are created and owned by me.
(c) Victor Wiebe
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Damn. I've never had an ear infection or lost hearing for anything over minutes. I'd not like that at all. Not to mention that I don't do pain particularly well. I hope yours is done forever.
I love the selections today. All of them.
I'm so behind. Ugh.
Thanks! It is at the point where I am now planning out in advance. I need a larger studio!
Yeah, I'm really hoping to not have ear problems again. As I would tell my kids, it was beyond ear-itating. Ugh. I'm glad to hear again. Ear ear!
Very interesting perspective, and that soundscape is definitely important. I typically work from home and the sound of kids playing outside is my new soundscape rather than the humdrum of the office that used to be the backdrop. It took some getting used to, but I love working from home now and find myself to be more productive too.
A distinct scratchy feel to all of the pieces today as you point out and yes that does give a further feeling of nostaglia of what they would have sounded like on a gramaphone or wireless many moons ago.
I work from home, too, and my background noises are often my neighbours working on their yards. It also took some getting used to, but the odd thing is that when I am at my desk and they sounds aren't there, now it seems odd. An interesting change.