Being in open spaces like Point Reyes National Seashore allows an always-welcome opportunity to relax the senses and be more aware of the periphery, shifting from just what’s in front to include what’s to the left and right, what’s behind, above, and below—to engage in open awareness. |
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Listening With
Listening is well-suited to supporting this kind of spatial, peripheral awareness. Allowing for gentle attention through any individual sense allows one’s entire sensory field to broaden. Listening does not require an object—there need not be “something” one is “listening to.” Attentiveness can be activated and sustained regardless of any object. This is one reason I find it very pleasant to think of “listening with” rather than “listening to” one’s surroundings, which constitute an ever-emerging field of relations.
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Being involved with recording projects in the Seashore, such as the sound mapping project with PRNSA, helps me to be out listening, not only with a wide range of ecosystems but also with different recording strategies. For me, the peculiar form of listening which is mediated by carefully situated microphones and audio recorders supports a kind of heightened awareness. The resulting audio file somehow reflects a moment, but does not contain it. In this way, audio offers a very partial representation, and so it invites a sense of freedom to listen with whatever form of engagement one wants to bring, whether that’s a relational listening that cultivates a deeper engagement with place, and/or a kind of listening that is more about aesthetics or musicality, and/or a listening that calms the body and mind.
Listen with Local Locations, tomorrow and every other Friday morning at 9:00am PST on KWMR Community Radio.
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Local Locations is a radio program for extended listening to recordings of sonic environments in Point Reyes and watersheds of West Marin. Ernst has hosted each of the recordists involved in the PRNSA sound mapping initiative on the show. Check out these episodes, found on Ernst's website.
→ Explore Kristina Dutton's binaural recording of Bear Valley's oak woodland
→ Listen in on the sounds of underwater invertebrates stridulating with Cheryl Leonard
→ Tune into the biodiverse Muddy Hollow ecosystem with Mark Lipman
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Guess These Point Reyes Sounds? |
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Can you guess the source of these sounds? This year, Cheryl Leonard—a field recorder, composer, and performer—ventured out with highly sensitive microphones to record the Seashore's acoustic curiosities. Scroll to the very bottom of this newsletter to discover the answers. (Clue: Sound #2 is not a bird!)
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National Park Artist in Residence: David Boye |
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David Boye is a musician, composer and National Park Artist in Residence who creates instrumental guitar music inspired by the infinite vistas and wonders of the natural world. His music incorporates recordings of found sounds from National Parks sampled on his travels throughout the United States. On his annual tour of National Parks, he will be visiting Point Reyes! Below are his upcoming events at the Seashore in August:
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Friday, August 2nd | 6pm | Free
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Enjoy a peaceful summer evening underneath the bay trees, listening to acoustic music inspired by the National Parks! Point Reyes National Seashore and PRNSA are excited to welcome David Boye to the Bear Valley Picnic area, where he will treat visitors to a free performance. No tickets necessary.
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Saturday, August 3rd | 9am-3pm | $64 (non-member), $54 (member)
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Do you play an instrument and love spending time outside? Join the Music of Point Reyes led to tune into the sounds of nature and channel it into music. This class is for ALL experience levels, ages, and types of acoustic instruments. |
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Upcoming Events: Art, Hikes, & More Music |
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Sea Chantey Sing-Along
Sat, Jul. 20, 5pm
Avast, ye saucy sailors! Come brave the perilous waters of Point Reyes and join us for a rollicking good time. This free event is for chantey singers of all levels.
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Sat, Aug. 3, 10am-3pm
Learn together as we walk the trail, stop to sketch, and move again making quick paintings or drawings using your favorite materials!
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August Full Moon Hike for Members
Sat, Aug. 17, 6:30pm-9:00pm
Welcome to summer, where the sun hangs high in the sky waiting to welcome the moon. Join us for a full moon hike at Drakes Estero. Become a member!
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Become a California Naturalist |
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The California Naturalist Program, provided in partnership between UC Environmental Stewards and PRNSA, will prepare you to take an active role in natural resource conservation, education, and restoration alongside some of California's most knowledgeable naturalists.
The five-session Fall 2024 program will begin on September 28th. Scholarships are available!
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Beware! You're about to see the answers to the sound quiz (see above). How many did you get right?
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Image credit - Plain midshipman: Björn S (CC-BY-SA-2.0); Bat: Jason Ondreicka / Getty Images; Swainson's thrush: Neil Bowman / Getty Images; Otter: MaZiKab / Getty Images
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Point Reyes National Seashore | (415) 663-1200 x 310
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