Recently, Charlie Raymond from the Kentucky Bigfoot Research Organization shared with me a short clip of a possible sasquatch vocalization. This vocal was captured on cell phone video while he walked the forested area of his family's property. The video is unremarkable, but the audio demonstrates a "two-tone" characteristic that has been captured in other possible sasquatch vocals.
The vocal starts with a deeper, raspy note that quickly breaks upward in pitch to a tightly focused vocal tone. Over the years I've heard similar vocals in the recordings made by Rick Noffke in Minnesota, and my own recordings from south Georgia.
Here's the most recent clip from Kentucky: The Summer Shade Howl
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Iowa Moan Howl - April 2013
Earlier this month Steve Moon from Iowa, a BFRO investigator contacted me with an audio clip and the following information:
"This howl was recorded at the April public expedition in Iowa. If you look at a spectrogram there [appears to be] a double howl, one starting two seconds after the first at about 200 Hz higher register. The higher howl decays two seconds after the first one [...]. I verified as much as possible whether the howl was from our group or not. It was not from our group. The area that it came out of is undeveloped with deep woods lining the valley and swampy bogs in the valley bottom. The valley is a bit less than a half mile from side to side."
I gave Steve's audio a good review and post processing, then responded to him with the following thoughts:
"Steve, I have a somewhat different interpretation of the spectrogram than what you're reading. Allow me to elaborate.
It's not a double howl you're seeing, but multiple resonating harmonics from a single howl. The lowest "resonating harmonic" that you see is the loudest, most visible in your spectogram. It ascends to a peak of about 730Hz or so. The higher harmonic peaks at about 1100Hz. It's softer in volume but it adds "depth" to the vocal.
The way harmonics work is simple math. They should normally be seperated by a common multiple (e.g. 2x, 3x, etc.). Now when we subtract your lower harmonic from your upper harmonic (or 1100-730) we get 370Hz. If the lower harmonic (730Hz) were your true "fundamental" of this howl, the next higher harmonic would be at 1460 (2x730), and not at 1100.
What this tells us is there's a harmonic even lower than 730Hz. And if we divide 730Hz by 2 we get 365 Hz (which is pretty darn close to the 370 Hz difference we see in the two visible harmonics). This is just a round about way of telling you this howl is a single howl with an "attenuated fundamental" at ~370Hz.
The attenuated fundamental is ... a feature difficult for most normally sized humans to achieve (you can test it yourself with your own recorder). Only large bodied individuals like Bobo have been able to produce this reliably, in my experience (not saying someone smaller couldn't learn to do it though).
A couple other features I'd like to point out. First, obviously the duration of the howl. Nearly 15 seconds, is rather difficult for a human with no vocal training to achieve (or at least some amount of natural talent).
Also, notice as the howl trails off how the higher harmonic seems to end then restart at a slightly lower pitch. This is due to the voice changing from an /aa/ phoneme to an /oo/ phoneme."
There were a number of other points I shared with Steve about his clip. They're important clues that I look for when trying to authenticate possible sasquatch vocals, and his recording exhibits several of them. So in the end I feel Steve has hit the jackpot, and captured a reliably authentic sasquatch moan howl.
"This howl was recorded at the April public expedition in Iowa. If you look at a spectrogram there [appears to be] a double howl, one starting two seconds after the first at about 200 Hz higher register. The higher howl decays two seconds after the first one [...]. I verified as much as possible whether the howl was from our group or not. It was not from our group. The area that it came out of is undeveloped with deep woods lining the valley and swampy bogs in the valley bottom. The valley is a bit less than a half mile from side to side."
I gave Steve's audio a good review and post processing, then responded to him with the following thoughts:
"Steve, I have a somewhat different interpretation of the spectrogram than what you're reading. Allow me to elaborate.
It's not a double howl you're seeing, but multiple resonating harmonics from a single howl. The lowest "resonating harmonic" that you see is the loudest, most visible in your spectogram. It ascends to a peak of about 730Hz or so. The higher harmonic peaks at about 1100Hz. It's softer in volume but it adds "depth" to the vocal.
The way harmonics work is simple math. They should normally be seperated by a common multiple (e.g. 2x, 3x, etc.). Now when we subtract your lower harmonic from your upper harmonic (or 1100-730) we get 370Hz. If the lower harmonic (730Hz) were your true "fundamental" of this howl, the next higher harmonic would be at 1460 (2x730), and not at 1100.
What this tells us is there's a harmonic even lower than 730Hz. And if we divide 730Hz by 2 we get 365 Hz (which is pretty darn close to the 370 Hz difference we see in the two visible harmonics). This is just a round about way of telling you this howl is a single howl with an "attenuated fundamental" at ~370Hz.
The attenuated fundamental is ... a feature difficult for most normally sized humans to achieve (you can test it yourself with your own recorder). Only large bodied individuals like Bobo have been able to produce this reliably, in my experience (not saying someone smaller couldn't learn to do it though).
A couple other features I'd like to point out. First, obviously the duration of the howl. Nearly 15 seconds, is rather difficult for a human with no vocal training to achieve (or at least some amount of natural talent).
Also, notice as the howl trails off how the higher harmonic seems to end then restart at a slightly lower pitch. This is due to the voice changing from an /aa/ phoneme to an /oo/ phoneme."
There were a number of other points I shared with Steve about his clip. They're important clues that I look for when trying to authenticate possible sasquatch vocals, and his recording exhibits several of them. So in the end I feel Steve has hit the jackpot, and captured a reliably authentic sasquatch moan howl.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Michigan Sasquatch Vocals? Vol. 12 An Extended Interaction
Another installation from BFRO Investigator Jim Sherman...
In August of 2011 witnesses in central MI started hearing strange vocalizations coming from the woods. They decided to mimic them and began getting responses. They began recording their interactions first with a video camera and then with a recorder. The interaction begins simply but becomes more animated about halfway through. I have not manipulated the sound but I did cut out a series of loud cars and dead space (you can tell because the sky gets darker). This is where the cool sounds really kick in. Thanks for listening.
http://youtu.be/a6ZwOxRyXQ8
In August of 2011 witnesses in central MI started hearing strange vocalizations coming from the woods. They decided to mimic them and began getting responses. They began recording their interactions first with a video camera and then with a recorder. The interaction begins simply but becomes more animated about halfway through. I have not manipulated the sound but I did cut out a series of loud cars and dead space (you can tell because the sky gets darker). This is where the cool sounds really kick in. Thanks for listening.
http://youtu.be/a6ZwOxRyXQ8
Thursday, May 2, 2013
My Long Duration Audio Recorder
For some time I've planned to share a few photos of the long-duration recorders I use in the field to collect sasquatch vocalizations. I've built three of these, and this evening I was preparing one for a new deployment, so I took the time and captured the pics below.
These are the guts of the system. On the right you can see the TASCAM DR-03 recorder which can be programmed to start and stop at specific times, and draws external power through its USB port. I've exposed the recorder for this photo, but during deployment it will be tucked into a pocket in the foam it's resting on. Notice the red tape on the right edge of the recorder. It helps secure the external mic and USB power supply cord in place, should the recorder receive any rough handling. (One of my recorders has been mauled by a bear, twice, and continued to record.)
This view shows the recorder tucked into place, in a pocket in the foam (lower right corner), surrounded by a plastic bag (to improve moisture resistance). In the center of the photo you see the power supply, a small, 12 volt lead acid battery. This is a little larger than the size you often see on motor cycles. The large alligator clips connect the battery terminals to a cigarette lighter style power plug. This is out of view in the foam pocket in the lower left corner of the photo. Inserted into that plug is a USB power plug, the type you use in your car to charge your cell phone. Connected to that USB power plug is a USB power cord, which you see emerging from the foam pocket. That cord runs around to the recorder to provide it with external power.
Here's the system all buttoned up and ready to go. This case is made by Plano and easily found in many sporting goods stores. I've added a bit of duct tape to the outside because I overstuffed the foam, and it causes one side to bulge a bit. Normally this isn't necessary and the case seals very well when closed. In the field I'll add some cordage to the handle and tie the device to a tree. This makes it more difficult for a bear to pick it up and carry it away (something that has happened to another of my recorders).
Finally, in this view, you can see one of the two stereo microphones built into the case (the second is on the opposite end, out of view). These sensitive mics are held tightly in place with grommets. They are recessed a bit to shield them from direct moisture, and the upper edge of the case provides additional protection from precipitation as well. This configuration gives very good stereo separation in the audio the recorder captures and that's important to discerning which direction a vocalizer is located, relative to the recorder.
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These are the guts of the system. On the right you can see the TASCAM DR-03 recorder which can be programmed to start and stop at specific times, and draws external power through its USB port. I've exposed the recorder for this photo, but during deployment it will be tucked into a pocket in the foam it's resting on. Notice the red tape on the right edge of the recorder. It helps secure the external mic and USB power supply cord in place, should the recorder receive any rough handling. (One of my recorders has been mauled by a bear, twice, and continued to record.)
This view shows the recorder tucked into place, in a pocket in the foam (lower right corner), surrounded by a plastic bag (to improve moisture resistance). In the center of the photo you see the power supply, a small, 12 volt lead acid battery. This is a little larger than the size you often see on motor cycles. The large alligator clips connect the battery terminals to a cigarette lighter style power plug. This is out of view in the foam pocket in the lower left corner of the photo. Inserted into that plug is a USB power plug, the type you use in your car to charge your cell phone. Connected to that USB power plug is a USB power cord, which you see emerging from the foam pocket. That cord runs around to the recorder to provide it with external power.
Finally, in this view, you can see one of the two stereo microphones built into the case (the second is on the opposite end, out of view). These sensitive mics are held tightly in place with grommets. They are recessed a bit to shield them from direct moisture, and the upper edge of the case provides additional protection from precipitation as well. This configuration gives very good stereo separation in the audio the recorder captures and that's important to discerning which direction a vocalizer is located, relative to the recorder.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Roar from Michigan
Jim Sherman shares a very good "roar" vocal captured in central Michigan, on March 18th. Check the 10 second mark in this clip:
Monday, April 8, 2013
Michigan Sasquatch Vocals? Vol. 10 A Real-Time MI Investigation
Jim Sherman has a new volume out from his series of possible sasquatch vocals in Michigan. This one shares a wood knock and some interesting observations he's made while investigating an area that was featured on Finding Bigfoot last year.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Michigan Sasquatch Vocals? Volume 9
On April Fools day 2012, Jim Sherman recorded a great series of compelling whoops, howls, shrieks and roars. A year later, he shares those vocals in this latest release of possible sasquatch vocals from Michigan...
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