David Rothenberg - Animal Sounds - Belief Beats Accuracy

 

David Rothenberg, as an interspecies musician, has a longtime interest in understanding other species by making music with them. Accompanied by his clarinet, as a former jazz-musician, he improvises while listening to the sounds animals produce in order to learn more about the natural world. The three main animals he interacts with are insects, whales, and nightingales.

All of the videos I have watched about David Rothenberg highlighted his sincere enthusiasm and fascination towards his project. According to him, music is much more common in the animal world than language. For me, most animals produce noises for a specific reason, for instance as a way of communication, to transmit messages, or to protect themselves from possible danger by sending out warning signals to possible predators. However, David Rothenberg is convinced that music is much more common in the animal world than language. Animals are not trying to communicate, but they are making music.

Rothenberg does not try to understand the animal’s lyrics, but instead he aims for a cross-cultural, musical connection, and attempts to cross the limits of one’s own species by using sounds and music. He values the connection between humanity and nature, and claims that having technology improves our connection to the natural world, because sounds like whale sounds can only be heard through technology. Because sounds without any specific pattern are the origin of music, Rothenberg’s approach definitely has a justification in my opinion.

When I watched the video of decoded whale sounds, I was fascinated that their rearrangement in fact produces a melody that humans are able to recognize. The overall approach of inter-species interactions is definitely interesting, and with regards to whales and nightingales, it seems to be scientifically proven that they sing to each other. Rothenberg creates unique music by improvising on rare, unexpected situations. What I found really interesting was his thought of the nightingales’ territorial behavior. He believes that nightingales move to Berlin because they love the sounds there, not for obvious reasons like climate or food. Whether this is right or wrong, his true passion for animals and their singing is remarkable. He cherishes being connected to something around him, and perceives every night out as an adventure.

Although many people might consider his work strange or crazy, especially when seeing him in person, his aim is the exact opposite: Not end up being strange, but familiar. He wants to learn from birds, whales, insects, any species alive. In the video, this is also referred to Darwin, who once ran out of words to describe the passion he experienced in a rainforest. According to him, people lost sensitivity for all the beauty around, and he attempts to sensitize people to that effect. Humans need music, and hence Rothenberg tries to expand what music is via inter-species interactions. At the beginning, I thought of his arguments as ambiguous, and questioned the scientific accuracy of his claims. However, having seen his true passion towards animals and their singing, I stopped questioning him. In my opinion, his overall approach is truly passionate and unique. What I personally really like about Rothenberg is his firm conviction. He does not care whether other people view him as crazy or whether his claims are correctly to the slightest detail. No matter the number, his ultimate goal is to bring out other people to perform, and he appreciates each and every one.