It’s a sound we take for granted – the bird call.  A seemingly mundane and detached part our world, bird calls (or songs) could actually be the answer to an extraordinary question… Are we alone in the universe?

It is understood that almost all, if not all, animals communicate in some form or another but the depth of their communication is still largely unknown.  Let’s take birds for example…

We are all accustomed to birdcalls.  City dwellers accustom their ears to the pigeons and crows, subburians wake up to the calls of bluejays and hummingbirds and in the forest, a symphony of sounds some short (the owl), some percussion (the woodpecker) and some melodic and (the common robin or the lark) ring out against the trees trunks.

Like humans, birds learn to communicate, from birth using the mechanics and vibrations granted to them by nature.  These typically take the form of a large air sacks, which then the bird, using its own individual technique, composes a song to convey a message.

And while their messages usually function as alerts, calls and courtships it is important to remember how little we know about the animal kingdom and what messages they may truly be communicating.

Just remember, that birds and their amazing acoustical abilities have shaped our own consciousness for thousands of years, including some of the great composers.

The scales, trills and runs found in Mozart’s symphonies are easily found when listening to birds in nature.

The notion that birds have shaped and even guided classical music is not so far fetched when taking into consideration the degree to which these geniuses were immersed in nature.

Mozart would have awoke in the morning to an orchestra birds outside his window.  The sound would have been impossible for composers to escape thus many classical pieces utilizes the sound of the orchestra and piano to emulate birds.

Bird of Paradise performing a mating dance

There is a reason that their highly advanced communication intrigues us, it’s because we can recognize, as musicians, their aural capabilities and complexities.   Bird melodies and rhythms are far more sophisticated than our greatest composer’s compositions.  Even the complex rhythms found in modern dubstep, which utilizes very complex rhythmic patterns, don’t come close to that of a song bird.  It is proof that some creatures still have us beat in a realm we thought we had dominion over; music.

It is important to respect the other musical beings vibrating out in nature.  There are many more out there and each one, including us, uses there body in a physical manner so as to produce a signature vibration uniquely their own.  When a male bird courts a female he must put on the most beautiful dance and sing the most beautiful song and that is how he wins her heart, through creation and creativity.

Nature is a creative network and their is no lack of vibrational energy or creativity in the animal kingdom.  Birds inspire us with their amazing vibrational capabilities; Sing, shine and fly as their colors light up the forest.

Nothing brings a human joy like the sound of two birds echoing off the hallow tree trunks.  The path is never wrong when the birds are chirping.

So next time you hear a piccolo or a flute, thank the birds because it’s the sounds of nature that inspire us humans to emulate it’s voice through our musical instruments.

Thank you birds!

-B