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Music and nature: Birds on a wire
This is from 2009, but is worth a watch.
(on edit: from the YouTube posting:
Reading the newspaper one morning, I saw this picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.
This work was made over the original photo, un-retouched, published in one of the biggest Brazilian newspapers, "O Estado de São Paulo" on 27/aug/2009, and shot by Paulo Pinto (note: I just erased the birds for effect at the end, but didn't change their positions at all. What would be the point?).
I've made this short video to demonstrate my interpretation of the birds as notes.
Music made with Logic.
Video made with After Effects.
Jarbas Agnelli
This work was made over the original photo, un-retouched, published in one of the biggest Brazilian newspapers, "O Estado de São Paulo" on 27/aug/2009, and shot by Paulo Pinto (note: I just erased the birds for effect at the end, but didn't change their positions at all. What would be the point?).
I've made this short video to demonstrate my interpretation of the birds as notes.
Music made with Logic.
Video made with After Effects.
Jarbas Agnelli
6 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Ergo, he would have been manipulating the bird bodies into notes they didn't represent on a staff.
Also, I think it would have made a pretty little melody even if he had used the same value for every note. It just makes the melody more interesting to vary the values somewhat.
No comments about the key he used? 
White keys. Can't hit a wrong note. 
Not saying it's not a pretty melody, because it is. You can do a LOT with FACEG. And his orchestration helps, too.
It's just not amazing. Birds land on power lines. If you see them as notes on a staff, you're going to find a melody there.
