The Grooved Whale Project

Had a wonderful time at Entheos this weekend. Gave my first ever workshop on my research with music and whales. It felt really good to do – to finally release some of my ideas out there and get feedback. A rite of passage.

Back in the studio tonight, preparing for Shambhala. I’ve been working closely with two amazing musicians, Kirk Watson and Alcvin Ramos, focusing our creative efforts on how best to combine our acoustic instruments (violin, bass, shakuhachi) with technology. We will now be joined by a third amazing musician, live PA artist Haagen who will bring his gear into the mix. Together, we will be exploring the creation of human music.

Working with these fellow musicians has definitely broadened my horizons in terms of understanding music. First and foremost they release me from playing every role in the creation of a song. I can better concentrate on specific aspects of sound. I can take time to listen to what’s evolving outside the realm of my own creation. I can rest, recharge and wait for musical inspiration to hit.

The communication that is created between musicians is one of the most intriguing features of music. How do we know what to play and when to play it? What are the cues we are listening for? Why do we have these cues and where do they come from? Is music an innate language or one that we learn as we grow as musicians?

At 45 feet and just as many tons, the Humpback Whales of the northwest Pacific congregate each summer to feed in the waters of southeast Alaska and journey each winter to the tropical breeding grounds of Hawaii. The fifth largest of the great whales,

Classified as a Cetacean – or marine mammal – Humpbacks are warm-blooded, give birth to live young, use lungs to breath and retain similar sensory organs to ours – eyes, ears, nose (blowhole) and are thought to be descendants of land mammals similar to present day cows.

Humpbacks are named for the distinctive arch thier backs make when diving. Other identifying features include the small dorsal notch on the back, elegant flukes and extraordinarily long pectoral fins – which gives rise to their scientific name: megaptera noveangiliae (translation: Big Wings of New England).

Most often, the underside of the fluke has a unique black and white pigmentation pattern that allows for easy identification of the individual. Some flukes are entirely black, in which case the shape of the fluke becomes its identifying character. Other times, a notch or tear in the fluke provides the necessary information.

In summer, Humpbacks feed on two types of food – Krill (tiny shrimp-like creatures) and Herring. When Herring is on the menu, the whales coordinate efforts in a behavior known as lunge or group feeding which entails a group of whales encircling a ball of Herring in an underwater trap known as a bubblenet. As the bubbles rise, a whale trumpets a feeding call for to a minute or two before sweeping the frequency upwards to cue a synchronous lunge to the surface.

Between mid October and November the feeding stops in Alaska and the whales swim to the warm protected waters of Hawaii for the breeding and birthing season – a 2,818 mile (4535 km) journey that has been documented as taking as little as three weeks.In Hawaii, the Humpbacks display another quality of vocalizations – the Humpback’s famous mating song, sung exclusively by the males.
The song lasts between 20 – 35 minutes with each whale singing the same arrangement of verse, chorus, verse – though not in unison. Whereas in Alaska the Humpbacks maybe vocalize once every twenty minutes, the Winter Song is a continual presence in the waters of Hawaii.