IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022 - 23

The Great Animal Orchestra exhibit compels
visitors to contemplate what Krause
himself has learned over the years: these
organisms have much to tell us about our
world if we will just listen.
A Career in Listening
Krause began his career as a soundscape
ecologist after graduating from
the University of Michigan in 1960 with
a degree in history. Portable reel-to-reel
tape recorders were new and Krause was
a pioneer in a field where there " were no
mentors, written guides, or other references "
to consult. Starting out, Krause
was loaned a beta version of a Uher tape
recorder and a pair of Neumann KM84
studio mics. From there, it would take
him almost 15 years of trial and error
before he hit on a microphone and recorder
combination and field recording
protocols that were versatile enough to
both record calibrated data for research
and capture audio material for the feature
films, TV productions, public space
installations, cassettes, CDs, and other
media productions that, as a sound artist,
he specialized in.
Over time, equipment has evolved,
beginning of course with the switch from
analog to digital. For the past two decades,
Krause has recorded with Sound
Devices 700 series recorders, mostly,
he says, " because the preamps are very
quiet and it's a pretty rugged piece of
technology that provides a range of wonderful
recording options. " He has found
Sennheiser MKH30s/40s microphones
in midside configuration to work best
for both the science and art applications
of his work. He has other microphones
in the rotation and he swaps them out
depending on whether he might need extended
high- or low-frequency range or
whether he is looking to add the illusion
of space.
Today, Krause, who suffers from agerelated
macular degeneration, often uses
the newer Zoom F3, a sophisticated recorder
with 32-bit float audio that needs
little fussing in the field. Because of the
32-bit float option, which provides a substantial
dynamic range, he can basically
plug it in and start recording without
needing to see a small
screen or set levels when
on location.
When he
Over the years,
the technology
has changed, but
Krause's recording
method is
standard. When
he scouts locations,
he " listens
for the acoustic
features that signify
a certain density,
diversity, and richness
of wildlife voices, especially
at the height of their vocal energies. "
These moments mostly occur during the
springtime at dawn and again at dusk in
temperate regions of the world.
Often, when traveling with minimal
scouts locations, he
" listens for the acoustic
features that signify a
certain density, diversity,
and richness of wildlife
voices, especially at the
height of their vocal
energies. "
walks about 100 m away and " sits quietly
for an hour or two, hoping to catch the
acoustic apexes of each cycle. "
Krause helped establish
this attended listening
and recording mode
of being present
onsite while the
recordings are
made, and he
still does this,
observing and
noting the behaviors
of wildlife.
" Recording in
the wild, " he shares,
" is a solitary art and
craft " that requires melding
into the environment so
as not to disturb the natural behaviors
of the wildlife. Sounds, he says, " can
spook wildlife and cause it to respond
in ways that reflect an aversion to
our presence. "
gear, he ties a string around a tree with
a diameter approximately equal to the
distance between the ears in a human
head and then clips a pair of DPA 4060
lavalier mics 180° apart " for a convincing
binaural effect. " Once he is recording, he
He hasn't been everywhere, of course.
He's never recorded in China, Russia, or
India, and many spots in Oceania. He has
had enough " encounters with the natural
world " to fill a book. He's been thrown by
a gorilla and lunged at by a polar bear on
Krause recording mountain gorillas in the late Dian Fossey's Rwandan research
site. (Source: Nick Nichols.)
DECEMBER 2022
IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE
23
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2022

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