Experiment on Animal Sounds

made for completing one task I got from a class called Mapping.

The idea of this experiment is to classify the animal sounds into pitches. Just like human, animal also talks in various tones (different frequencies of voice).
We can grumble and produce low pitch sounds or we can clamor and produce high pitch sounds. Animal never talks in one tone only, which is why the sound that an animal produce is already “music” to me. Therefore I cannot classify each animal voice into an exact category of pitches.

But still, just like human, I think animal voice can be put into groups of vocal range too. Some animal talks in its natural low vocal range and some other has a higher vocal range. To compare it with the human voice, let’s say for instance, a lion growls in its bass voice and a rooster crows in its countertenor voice. That is how I classify the voices, based on their vocal range.

I could not find anyone made a research on animal’s vocal range or scientifically put it in voice category, therefore there is no scientific explanation for the classification I made in this experiment. It is just my idea of mapping the animal sounds and form some music from it.

The Notes
Since I'm not a musician nor have the sensitivity to distinguish notes, I will not draw a formula to show which sound is similar to which note. So there is no do-re-mi in this list of notes, just the names of the animals. I try to put them in order from the lower vocal range to the higher, but it will only be based on my own interpretation.
So these are the animal sounds I use in this experiment.



The Music
I didn't take all the "notes" to form the music, just some of them. Honestly, the result is not as good as I've imagined before and it is very short. I tried to make it longer, but I was stuck. I guess I'm just not creative enough to be a composer :)



PS:
The inspiration comes from my childhood memory. I was still in the Kindergarten when we learned how to play one traditional music instrument called angklung. This unique instrument can only perform a melody when it is played together with other angklung(s). Why? Because each angklung only holds one note. So, angklung is usually played by many people in an ensemble, with each person holds one instrument with one note.
Since we (at that time) did not know what musical note is, our teachers put an animal sticker on each instrument. Then they built the musical notation using the animal pictures too.
When the teacher points the picture of a duck, all children who hold the angklung with duck picture has to shake (play) their instrument. When the teacher points the bird, every kid who has the bird angklung takes their turn and shakes their angklung, and so on. That way, even some kindergartners who don't know how to read notation can perform a nice song.
This then bring me to the idea, that animals may represent notes.


Credits
All of the animal sounds are taken from:
http://www.animal-sounds.org/animal-sounds-free-download.html
http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/animal.html
Software used:
GarageBand
Wavepad Trial Edition
Windows Movie Maker

Just Another Ordinary Day

Today:
I lazily get off the bed with heavy eyes. The alarm clock had already given up shouting after the 4th snooze. I only slept for 5 to 6 hours every night in the last two weeks. Sometimes less when I couldn’t shut down my stubborn brain even after 3 o’clock in the morning.

Today:
I had a fight with my best friend. The first frontal fight after we’ve become friends for about a year. Part of it was my fault. I was too harsh and very impatient because I was sure that I was right and I was tired of arguing about simple things that became big. My words had offended her, so I said sorry. Then I went to the bathroom. Obviously I didn’t only release the regular stuff, but also released the tense in my brain. So I felt very light hearted after that and I just wanted to laugh at our stupid fight. But she was still hot, couldn’t even give a bitter smile. Anyway, after some time she cooled down too and we talked like normal again.
Maybe what happened today will bond us stronger.

Today:
My professors told me that the team definitely needs me in the project. I was really good in some tasks and they really gave me some supportive words. I was happy. It went quite well and short.

Today:
I remember, one week left before I fly to home. The luggage is still unpacked. The souvenirs for the relatives still have to be bought. What do they like? What do they need? Why are those stuffs so expensive? Is it enough for everybody? There are still no candies for the kids. Oh no….!

Today:
One of my friend is on his flight, flying back home for good. Maybe we won’t see each other again, maybe we will. Who knows…

Today:
I want to jump into bed earlier. But I still have this damn report to finish. Aaaah….. give me a break!

Today was so different from yesterday. Even though both are just ordinary days, but no day is really that ordinary. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

Good night now.

Why I should met him today?!

I had such a bad mood today and as if there always has to be a climax on each doomed days, I met a very strange guy on my way home after shopping. At first I didn’t notice the guy who sits behind me on the tram (we were the last passengers). I walked in front of him and knew right away that he also lives in my building. Then he sped up his steps to catch up with me and said hello. I answered with a broad smile as I was thinking, oh good, another conversation with someone from the building. You know, people barely know each other in my apartment and they never say a word other than “hallo” and “ciao” when they meet in the elevator (mostly without even looking at the people they speak to). I know I could just break the ice if I want to, but I don’t even care to make friends with them. Yes.... I'm guilty too!

OK, back to this guy (who was his name? I forgot). So, I turned to him with a big smile which slowly faded away as I remembered that I saw him before and then realized who he is: the guy who lives one door to the right in front of me and happen to be the neighbor I hate MOST!!! Well, the only neighbor that I hate, to be precise.
He is the one who always goes to the emergency staircase right in front of my balcony whenever he needs to yell at someone in his cell phone. Can you imagine, I was studying or enjoying my favorite drama show or simply chillaxing in a beautiful Sunday afternoon with the balcony door opened to get some fresh air when suddenly I heard this annoying guy yelling and cracking non-stop for at least 15 minutes each times.
I always wonder why he always has to go to that staircase when he wants to yell, while everybody in this building has their own balcony. Why didn’t he go to his own balcony?

Maybe I was being really patient, that I waited until the third time he did that again, I went outside and told him to go away. Without even care to stop yelling at his poor enemy on the other end of the phone, or take a single breath, he made a very offensive body language to shut me up. So, instead of regaining my peaceful day back, I became even more boiled. Unable to think clearly to strike him back, I closed the door with a loud bang and tried to calm myself down.

Today he said he was surprised that I’ve already become his neighbor for about a year. He never saw me all this time. I silently said to myself, "Aha…! Maybe I put such an evil face that day when I confronted him, so he couldn’t recognize my original angel face today."
Further he asked about my age and gave me the – REALLY? You look so young – crap and suddenly pinched my cheek. I was stunned, couldn’t find a word to say and only managed to rub my cheek clean in front of him.
Why does my brain always work so slowly whenever I need to fight with someone?

Finally he said we should meet again. Oh yeah…! Dare to knock on my door, you are soooo gonna die.
--- Well, maybe not. I don’t have enough guts to punch him. My two excuses: he is almost two heads taller than me and……. I just have no guts!

PS: annoying neighbors could be the next interesting topic. My sister always has some bad luck with the neighbors. Or maybe another interesting topic: Have you ever met a “psycho”?

Orange Afternoon

the sunflowers are facing to the west
saying goodbye to the fading sun
that's slowly creeping into the evening's hug

I rush after the sun
I run, I run and lose my breath
still I cannot stop it from leaving

the stars glitter in the sky
cheering the dark and silent night
too beautiful to ignore

still I cannot forget
the sparks of the orange afternoon
keeps me warm and alive

that's how you are to me
irreplaceable, indispensable
I'll be waiting no matter how long
until the day comes back in shine

Behind "Liam and Fluffy"

The story bellow, “Liam and Fluffy”, was originally created on Thursday, April 10, 2008, but then edited and published last night, August 1, 2009. Oh…. almost 1.5 year after it was first written.

I asked a friend who happened to be online that day and was chatting with me, for an inspiration regarding the characters’ names, because I was not satisfied with my own ideas. They were Helly the dog and Bombi the lioness. I then finally took the name Liam for the dog after searching in internet. It means a determined guardian. And I took the name Fluffy for the lioness after my friend’s suggestion.

This short story is actually part of a “novel” that I wanted to write two years ago, but I never finish it. I then started with another story and didn’t finish it either. For those two fictions, I’ve already known the beginning and the end of the stories, but I got stuck in the middle part because lack of ideas. Other than that, my writing skill sucks….

Oooh… since I mentioned that “Liam and Fluffy” was part of my prior novel-on-work, I want to make it clear though, that it wasn’t about children story at all. It was about a young teenage girl, full of hatred, contented to take revenge on her own father and drew a plan to get rid of her step mother. The draft was ended tragically with her soul mate’s death and her own suicide. My sister and brother-in-law laughed so hard at me when I told them about this novel where all the characters die.

After I reread the whole pages all over again until the day changes, I decided that I hate the general idea of the story, even though I like how it ends. No, I’m not depressed and I wasn’t depressed when I wrote it. I don’t know why, I ’m just so into a sad ending story, either it is in a film or in a book. But who knows, it might just my way to escape from the blues.
OK, maybe this is the two sides of me who loves to laugh and to be sentimental at times.

Hmm… I think I’ll just abandon my first novel. Perhaps I’ll continue with the other one. I like the story better. It was about friendship, but again, of course it was also ended in tragedy. Let’s see… maybe it would change. Hope I have time and inspiration to write again.

Liam and Fluffy

One day, Liam a shepherd dog was taking a stroll when he started to hear a heartbreaking groan from somewhere in the woods near to the barn where he lives with an old farmer. Fluffy, a lioness, got enmeshed in a trap built by the farmer and Liam just happened to be there and became the first one to find Fluffy.

Fluffy pleaded Liam to help her get out of the trap. She convinced Liam that she was a trustful kindhearted lioness, she wasn’t the one who ate the farmer’s chickens and she had never harmed nor annoyed the farmer’s family.

Liam looked deep into Fluffy’s clear big eyes to see if she was being genuine with all she had said but suddenly got enchanted by her beautiful glance. He instantly believed in Fluffy’s words, and then for 2 days long he struggled, biting the net that trapped Fluffy inside. He guarded Fluffy at night and never rested from biting even though his jaw was already worn out. His only wish and intention was to send Fluffy to freedom as soon as possible.

When the hole was big enough, Fluffy stepped out of the trap. Liam tried to take Fluffy to his home and asked if she would live together with the farmer’s family. He was so sure he could convince the old farmer that Fluffy was a good lioness.

Fluffy replied that there was no chance the old farmer would believe nor accept her and Liam should never believe her either. To Liam’s horror she added, “It was true that I never ate your old man’s chickens, they are too tiny for me. But I’ve been starving for two days and I will eat you now.”

The old farmer caught the lioness red-handed as she was devouring the poor dog, and immediately shot her to death.

***

A tragic end for a naive dog and a fair karma for the unthankful lioness.

Is this too harsh for a children story?

** thanks to Adeel for helping me with the Lion's name :) **