An Omnivorous Ear: The Creative Practice of Field Recording
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Authors
Lyonblum, Ely Zachary Small
Advisors
Cook, Nicholas
Date
2017-07-01Awarding Institution
University of Cambridge
Author Affiliation
Faculty of Music
Qualification
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Language
English
Type
Thesis
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Lyonblum, E. Z. S. (2017). An Omnivorous Ear: The Creative Practice of Field Recording (Doctoral thesis). https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.12135
Abstract
“An Omnivorous Ear - The Creative Practice of Field Recording” offers new insights into the
history of recording outside of the studio in North America, challenging the various working
definitions of field recording in music studies, anthropology, and communications. I examine
recording methodologies through the late 19th and 20th centuries as a documentary technique,
a tool for composition, and an art object in the United States of America and Canada from the
late 19th century to the present day. Within this geographical region, I focus on the invention
of acoustic recording, the proliferation of the technology amongst the public, folkloric
recording supported by governmental and academic institutions, as well a experimental artistic
practices. Throughout the dissertation, I argue that ‘the field’ is a social construction mediated
by the recordist and recorder. Chapter 2 focuses on how cultures translate collective and
phenomenological experiences into histories through sound media. These include orality,
writing, the inscription of sound waves onto media, acoustic recording, and radio as forms of
sound media that each embodies distinct forms of social and political knowledge. Chapter 3
details the development of recording machines and their effect on listening practices. Chapter
4 locates practitioners of phonography within the development of portable recording
equipment on the one hand and the ‘hi-fi’ cultural movement in North America on the other.
Practitioners included folklorists Alan Lomax from the Library of Congress, Moses Asch of
Folkways Records, and Harry Smith, creator of the Anthology of American Folk Music;
Stefan Kudelski, creator of the NAGRA recorder; and media maker Tony Schwartz, among
the first to create the sound documentary by editing field recordings. Chapter 5 explores the
relationship between sound, music and the environment within the paradigm of the
soundscape as theorized by the World Soundscape Project (WSP). I critique the research and
compositional practices developed by WSP members, and the influence it has on
ecomusicology and sound art. Chapter 6 outlines sonic ethnography, a methodology that borrows
from the best practices of many of the individuals mentioned throughout the dissertation, and
employs new compositional techniques to condense and manipulate social, political and
historical narratives through sonic works. The dissertation concludes by arguing that field
recording, can be used to critique aesthetic and cultural dilemmas of representation.
Keywords
sound studies, field recording, ethnomusicology, documentary, sound art, media studies
Sponsorship
Cambridge Overseas Trust
Identifiers
This record's DOI: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.12135
Rights
CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivs)
Licence URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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