I’ve really come to appreciate birds (especially songbirds) lately. I love hearing them when I walk outside in the morning. They remind me that the world is alive and vibrant. Sometimes I imagine what life without their cheerful songs would be like: Bleakness is the word that comes to mind. One of the things I enjoy about songbirds is their intricate melodies. It is like hearing bebop from the trees. And much like the bebop greats, each type of bird has its individual and instantly recognizable style. This morning, Bud Powell was in the cedar tree, Dizzy Gillespie was jamming from the Live Oak and I heard Art Blakey (a woodpecker) laying down the groove from the Arizona Ash tree out front. Charlie (Bird) Parker was too obvious a choice to include here. Interestingly, (and this is all conjecture on my part as I haven't transcribed songbirds nor do I have perfect pitch), their phrases to my ears often sound as though they are based on western tuning. Which makes me wonder, do they sing in just or tempered tuning? I would hazard a guess at just tuning. So, “to those about to Rock (or Bebop or Fugue)….. I salute you”. Interesting songbird fact: While humans have one set of vocal cords, a songbird has two sets, enabling it to produce two different sounds simultaneously, in harmony with itself (piano, vibraphone, guitar etc….?).
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