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Archive of posts tagged Owls

Owlisimo

Igor Stravinsky relates the following story in his “Conversations with Robert Craft” (Now with computerized sounds!): “On a recent visit to Asolo, to see the composer Malipiero, I was strongly reminded of D’Annunzio. Malipiero has a most extraordinary and not entirely un-D’Annunzian house himself, a fine Venetian building on a hillside. One enters under a […]

Hooty Duets

The Great Horned Owl has a semitonal hoot. The male and female display musical dimorphism in their hooty duets. Male hooters usually end up somewhere around the human note E, and female hooters sing something like an A. Though there is much tonal variation in owl pairs, female owls are about a fourth above males. […]

The Eight Hooter

The Barred Owl’s song has 8 hoots and ends in a descending oo-aw. Ornithologists like to sing the mnemonic: “Who cooks for you, who cooks for you all?” The song is swung and in the key of B Minor Lydian. Drag over the note heads below. Owls are like upright basses. They hoot in jazzy […]