Swamp in June Peter Kilham & Alfred Hawkes 1964 Field Recording New England

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Peter Kilham and Alfred L. Hawkes – The Swamp In June Peter Kilham - The Swamp In June album cover More images
Label: Droll Yankees Inc. – DY-17 Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono Country: US Released: 1964 Genre: Non-Music Style: Field Recording A Narration On This Side Narrator – Alfred L. Hawkes B Sounds On This Side Recorded By, Liner Notes, Edited By, Artwork – Peter Kilham MONOPHONIC LP
Notes from back cover:
DY: 17, 3313 RPM MONOPHONIC LP DY 1 RECORDING BY PETER KILHAM • NARRATION BY ALFRED L.HAWKES RECORDED ON JOE RANGER'S SWAMP • NORTH POMFRET • VERMONT © 1964 DROLL YANKEES INC. PROVIDENCE • RHODE ISLAND • 02906
On this recording you will hear the sounds of swamp citizens ranging from the buzzing of flies through the pained groaning of pickeret frogs to the mewing of baby beavers in their todge, and the startling splashes of their parents. Birds provide the metody in the background, while insects add rythm and continuity. The narrator identifies the sounds, and comments on swamp life on one side of the record. The bizarre swamp chorus is heard alone on the reverse side.
RECORDING OUTDOORS By Peter Kilham. I am sure that many of you would like to make your own tape recordings of bird songs, sea sounds, steam engines and other such interesting things. Like taking a photograph or painting a picture, it takes as much artistic ability as knowledge, and mastering the art requires patience and hard work, but there are things I can tell you that will save you much time, money and disappointment, and this I will try to do.
The tape recorder comes first. A battery operated machine is preferable, and one that operates on flash light batteries is best. Keep away from 110 volts AC, and converters that provide it from your car battery. Alternating current introduces a 60 cycle hum or buzz that nothing can eliminate.
The microphone comes next. If possible use a "Low Impedance" mike (which may mean adding a low impedance transformer to your recorder). The more usual High Impedance mike picks up more stray noises, and cannot be used on a long cable. The very best are Condensor Microphones with hearing aid batteries to power them, and transistorized circuitry. Such a mike is the SENNHEISER, made in Germany. It is not necessary to have such an expensive mike for anything but distant birds. You can get good results from an Electro-Voice at a reasonable price.
A parabolic reflector is of the greatest importance. The one shown is a junked radar reflector from a bomber. The spots on it are tape covered holes that came with it. Some mail-order houses sell small reflectors, while larger ones can be purchased from AINSLIE CORPORATION, 531 Pond St., Braintree, Mass. A 30" one with 10" focal length costs about $50.00. The larger the reflector the better the tone quality. Fasten the microphone with rubber bands to a rubber covered bracket on the reflector, pointing the mike at the reflector at the distance giving the best response. This is the focal length. With PLIO-BOND cement as a binder, cover the back of the reflector with 1" foam rubber or plastic. This will deaden undesired noise, and take out tinny sounds.
The reflector can be mounted, or held by hand. The simplest mount is a strong camera tripod. The model PT "SAFE-LOCK" is good. Discard the small bracket that holds the camera, drill a hole in the reflector to fit screw that held it, and mount the reflector with a leather or rubber washer outside, and a reenforcing plate inside. If you wish to hold the reflector by hand, slita length of automobile hose long enough to go around the rim, snap it over the rim, tape it on in several places, and you are in business. A loop of seat-belt material, big enough for your arm to go through, should be fastened to the reflector halfway between the center and the rim. You can carry it by this, and also use it to hold the reflector when recording. Remember, the noise you make, moving the reflector, bumping it, or talking will be the greatest problem you have (unless a chain saw or outboard motor is in range).
In recording birds, find a comfortable and likely spot under an old apple tree or on the edge of a pond or under the shelter of a ledge and day dream until a bird comes along. If you know the area, you can choose a spot that the bird will come to too, and if you are quiet (not nervous or jumpy), he will sing for you just as if he was in a studio. Most birds and animals seem to like to be recorded, and one Song Sparrow insisted on following me singing at every stop. A few, like the Beaver, become so interested they stop their noi se, and swim right up to kibitz. Always have your equipment ready for instant action. The most valuble sounds, such as the hawk's cry, the owl's hoot, the red squirrel's chatter, or that of the raccoon or deer come totally by surprise.
In recording sea sounds, boat whistles or steam engines first find a spot out of the wind. Wind, in any outdoor recording, makes a blubbing noise on the tape which does not sound like wind at all. A wind screen, available with many mikes, helps, and if you are using a reflector you can often use it to keep the wind off the mike. With woodland birds it is not too hard to find wind-free spots, but on the sea there is no protection, and steam trains generate a wind of their own. Fortunately there are stations or shacks along railroads that one can use as wind breaks, and at times a rocky coast will provide a pocket to take cover in. The very best thing is the four-wheel drive "Scout" shown in the photograph. This is lined inside – floor, walls and roof -- with one inch foam plastic, and if the wind is too strong the reflector and mike can be drawn back inside. The reflector is hung from hooks on the roof. When inside, the mike is shielded from most of the unwanted sounds. Our record THE SEA AT CASTLE HILL was largely done from this car at the spot shown, and a Great Horned Owl was recorded from it in deep snow in January.
As a last suggestion, try to make a continuing story from your tapes. Follow one subject, be it bird or steam engine, through an hour, a day, or a year so that your audience re-lives the section of time that you did. A thread that follows through, such as a lighthouse bell, the sounds of a brook, of a cricket or of a rooster crowing will bind the parts together, and give a third dimension to the whole. Much cutting and splicing has to be done after all the recording is finished. This is called 'Editing', and it is a time consuming, difficult job. But the idea has to be kept in mind while recording so that you will have the necessary parts to make a complete composition. You can combine two different tapes into one through a stereo preamplifier. Play one tape into the left side, the other on another recorder into the right side, and through a "Y" connection run both outputs into a third recorder. On my preamp, an ACOUSTECH SOLID STATE STEREO DECADE CONTROL CENTER, I use the AUX 1 inputs, and the EXTRA outputs, and there is full control over each tape. This by the way, is a magnificent piece of equipment, and was supplied to me along with other top quality components by AUDIO LAB INC., 16 Eliot St., Cambridge 39, Mass..
The photographs of the author by Michael J.B.Kelly are from the PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-BULLETIN.