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Recording made on 6th November 2012 with a Sony PCM-M10 on a Hama mini-tripod, using the built-in microphones covered with a Rycote Mini Windjammer. I have used a graphic EQ profile in WavePad to compensate for the slight muffling of the sound caused by the Windjammer.
My three wind chimes recordings made on this particular day mark the beginning of a new project of mine, which I provisionally call Wind Chimes In the Wild, to produce a collection of truly authentic recordings of a range of quality wind chimes out in Nature, where 'the elements' are an important aspect of each recording. I was moved to point myself towards this project because of the sheer awfulness of all the commercial wind chimes recordings that I'd bought or otherwise heard.
The problem was usually not the chimes themselves, but the sheer laziness and contempt for the listener of whoever recorded / produced those recordings, which turned out ALL to be faked in various ways - either being just repeating loops of a very short recording, or jiggled mechanically and not by any wind, as shown by regularly repeating patterns in the waveform (and far too consistent a sound level), and any wind or other natural sounds clearly just dubbed on, with no relationship between wind strength variations and the chimes activity.
The only decent wind chimes recordings that I'd found were a small number on Freesound, and they include some really beautiful ones. So, I decided to help fill the gap left by the lazy and profiteering commercial producers of wind chimes recordings, and make real 'in the wild' wind chimes recordings, with full authenticity, including even wind noise in the microphones at times.
The latter, although for many purposes regarded as undesirable, actually enhances my recordings - at least provided it doesn't get really disruptively loud. After all, if you're out in the wind you do get the wind rumbling, booming and drumming in your ears, and really it's a nuisance only when it gets really strong and gets drowning out what you actually mean to be listening to out there.
On 6th November 2012 I took out with me three sets of Woodstock wind chimes, with the intent to record some 10 minutes of each solo, and a full half-hour of each of the four possible combinations of these. In the event conditions enabled me to get only three recordings. I hung the chimes on small low branches of stunted trees by the Hunter's Path overlooking the over-steepened valley (popularly known as the Teign Gorge, though it is not actually a gorge) in the vicinity of Sharp Tor, very near Drogo Castle.
This recording is of the tenor-pitched Chimes of Olympus together with the smaller and thus higher-pitched Chimes of Pluto. The Olympos chimes are tuned to a very melancholic sounding ancient Greek pentatonic scale, while the Pluto chimes are tuned to a very sweet sounding pentatonic scale (actually a bit sweeter than I prefer!), and thus there is an intriguing interaction between the two sound worlds, resulting in an overall balancing out of the emotional effects. I hung the chimes on low branches of a stunted tree very slightly off the track, where a rock crag jutted out over the very steep slope to the valley bottom.
However, I could not workably put the chimes actually on top of the crag because of lack of trees just there, so the situation of this recording is a bit odd, for the recorder is actually pointing more or less back towards the track, facing away from the valley slope, and placed on a small prominence on that hunk of rock, which latter, thus, is behind the recorder and blocking direct sound from the River Teign far below in the bottom of the valley. However, you still hear the sound indirectly, as a distinct continuous rushing, which is neither wind nor traffic.
To my ears the wind noise in the microphones adds considerably to the positive effect, very much augmenting the feel of wildness. However, for some people the wind in the microphones would be more or less troublesome, simply because it works well only with listening equipment that has a reasonably flat and well extended bass response. Any tendency to boominess, or indeed a significant deficiency in very low frequency response (as would be the case in virtually all computer speakers) would make that wind noise more problematical.
This excerpt from the half-hour full recording is the opening five minutes. For some reason, as with the other two recordings I made on that day, there is a fair bit more 'action' and indeed at times boisterousness after the first five minutes - which works out quite satisfyingly when listening to the full recordings.
Since I uploaded this excerpt I came to the conclusion that the wind noise in the microphones did need a slight 'taming', so I used a graphic EQ profile on the full recording to slightly reduce the heaviness of that noise (which is more apparent after the first five minutes).
Please note that the volume level of this recording has been carefully adjusted for listening purposes, and ALL my recordings so far are meant to be listened to with a volume setting that would give a realistic level for playback of CLASSICAL music (a large but not exceptional symphony orchestra). If you have the right volume setting, you should not need to change that setting from one recording of mine to another.
(Later note: This recording - with better sound than here - is one of my CD-quality downloads, and can be found in my e-Store.)
Please remember to give this recording a rating!
This recording can be used free of charge, provided that it's not part of a materially profit-making project, and it is properly and clearly attributed. The attribution must give my name (Philip Goddard) and link to https://freesound.org/people/Philip_Goddard/sounds/169184/
Type
Flac (.flac)
Duration
4:59.732
File size
24.9 MB
Sample rate
44100.0 Hz
Bit depth
16 bit
Channels
Stereo
11 years, 1 month ago
I love this! I'm using Atmosphere Deluxe to create some soothing soundscapes for day-to-day personal use, and your recordings of windchimes blow away anything the software (or other ambient sound generating softwares I've tried) have had available. Thank you for making these!
11 years, 5 months ago
True, as someone pointed out recently I seem to have "excellent" speakers. Very good though they are, I could see some relatively simple improvements that would make them sound a heck of a lot better, even for $40 that they cost us... Though for now they'll have to do :P
11 years, 5 months ago
Actually, for some people the wind in the microphones would be an annoyance anyway, simply because it works well only with listening equipment that has a reasonably flat and well extended bass response. Any tendency to boominess, or indeed a significant deficiency in very low frequency response (as would be the case in virtually all computer speakers) would make that wind noise more problematical.
11 years, 5 months ago
I see what you mean by the wind, and I immediately felt it to be a very positive aspect of this recording. I only wonder how at times I felt these sounds to be just a bit annoying, never the less this is beautiful to me now, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.