La ricerca sul campo e la registrazione del suono: interazioni teoriche e tecnologiche

Abstract

Research on the field and sound recording: theoretical and technological interactions The paper deals with the presence and the use of technology during fieldwork and its theoretical implications. Two special cases are discussed. The first one is the fieldwork done by Milman Parry and Albert Lord in the Balkans in the ’30, and preserved at the Harvard University in the Milman Parry Collection; Parry and Lord used special machines with aluminum disks in order to record and analyze the long performance of the epic singers. The second one is the research by Steven Feld in Soutehrn Italy in 2004 for the realization of the cdbook Santi, animali e suoni; Feld used DSM microphones to record bells and other instruments during some rituals, and edited them with Protools in order to create a soundscape composition. In both cases, we can see a strong relationship between the theoretical aim of the researcher, and the choice and use of specific technological devices.