Song Swimmer Update

Voice of the Dolphin

© Sirius Institute 1991. Voice of the Dolphin, Update, Jan 3, 1991

Offices: Iao Valley Lodge, Suite 3, R.R.#1 Box 518, Wailuku, Maui, HI 96793

Phone: 808-244-9573 / 213-281-8241 / (213) 315-1022

The Sirius Institute is a non-profit organization funded via the Human-Dolphin Foundation whose broad goal is the dolphinization of the planet. We are exploring ways to create continuing joyful contacts between dolphins and people and develop technologies to improve interspecies communication using music. We are now building musical instruments that dolphins can play called Song Swimmers that will lead to our first interspecies concerts. We will be testing the instrument in Maui starting January 5, 1990. We feel musical interaction of the dolphins with people will attract free dolphins to coastal facilities where we will co-create dolphin/human habitats.

Song Swimmer Project - The Song Swimmer gives dolphins control of musical instruments and computers. Dolphin sounds and body shadow patterns are converted to MIDI data, which, when processed by computer, gives dolphins direct control of synthesizers, samplers, or other devices. People will simultaneously play instruments and synthesizers with the dolphins. The Song Swimmer can work anywhere there are dolphins and whales, even in the Amazon. To our knowledge, this is the first time that humans and dolphins will be interactively linked through music.

Charles Lucy is analyzing dolphin and orca sounds to determine the scales they use, so that instruments can be tuned to the their natural scales and timbres. We have installed A/D and MIDI hardware on our Amiga 2000 and are using an instrument called the Vocalizer to convert the pitch of whale whistles to MIDI pitchbend data precise to 1/64 of a semitone. To our knowledge, this is the first time cetacean sounds have been directly converted to microtuned musical data. We are comparing Vocalizer output with sampled whale sounds. We have found that MIDI representations of Orca and Humpback whistles played as music sound like the original.

We Are seeking DAT recorders, a microtunable synthesizer and samplers to play various timbres matched to the dolphin natural scale. Among the candidate systems are: New England Digital, Fairlight, Korg, Ensoniq and Yamaha. We are exploring places to complete the dolphin work. Suitable locations include: Hawaii, Vancouver Aquarium, Mirage Hotel, Hawaii, Long Marine Lab, Freeport in the Bahamas, Dolphins Plus in Key Largo and Key West, San Diego, and the Amazon.

We feel our research will result in important practical and theoretical results in signal processing, music, communications, biology and human-dolphin relationships.

Siriusly yours, Renee Stanley, Michael Hyson, Charles Lucy

Gifts to the Sirius Institute are tax deductible. Your participation is invited.

Sirius Institute

 

Iao Valley Lodge Suite 3

R.R.#1 Box 518

Wailuku, Maui, HI 96793

Phone: 808-244-9573 / 213-281-8241 / (213) 315-1022