A Quest to Find the “Sonic Wonders of the World”
This is a fascinating interview with Trevor Cox, an acoustic engineer who is searching for the coolest sounds in the world. From NPR:
Ever wonder why your voice sounds so much better when you sing in the shower? It has to do with an acoustic “blur” called reverberation. From classical to pop music, reverberation “makes music sound nicer,” acoustic engineer Trevor Cox tells Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross. It helps blend the sound, “but you don’t want too much,” he warns.Cox is the author of The Sound Book: The Science of the Sonic Wonders of the World. He has developed new ways of improving the sound in theaters and recording studios. He’s also studied what he describes as the sonic wonders of the world — like whispering arches and singing sand dunes. His sonic travels have taken him many places, including the North Sea, where he recorded the sound of bottlenose dolphins underwater, and down into a revolting Victorian era sewer, where he discovered a curving sound effect he’d not heard before.
Listen to the interview and read more here. (Thanks to John for the link.)
