The song of the whales

Why do whales sing, and are there musicians who are inspired by them? When we look for the answer to this question, we see that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are especially famous for their singing. There is also some information about why they sing. Whales fascinate both scientists and artists because their unique voices emphasize both the beauty of nature and the universality of communication.

The humpback whale is one of the few mammal species that can reach 14-15 meters in length and 30- 40 tons in weight, with the female being larger than the male. With limited senses of smell and hearing, the distinguishing features of these sea giants are the size and shape of their fins. For the curious, the main difference is their musical call. They sing for three reasons. The first is that they vocalize to communicate with each other and to send messages to other whales. They also use their voices for navigation to find each other during their long-distance migrations. Male whales are also known to increase their singing during mating season to attract females. As a result, groups of whales are socially bonded creatures that maintain group dynamics and unity. When their sounds are listened to, it is seen that they have surprising compositions that resemble harmonic musical patterns. In this case, it is impossible for some bipedal musicians not to be inspired by them.

Paul Winter is one of the musicians who use the songs of whales as a source of inspiration. In his 1978 album Common Ground, in which he integrated their songs into his music, he used the sound of whales as a jazz instrument along with wolves and eagles. George Crumb, a modern classical music composer, was also inspired by whales to compose a chamber music piece called Vox Balaenae (Voice of the Whale), reflecting the timbres and musical structure of their songs in his composition. The Icelandic band Sigur Rós, who believe that these natural sounds from the sea contain elements of ambient and experimental music, were also inspired by whale sounds in their album Riceboy Sleeps. David Rothenberg, known as a jazz composer as well as a philosopher of music, is already a musician who incorporates nature and animal sounds into his music, and in his book Thousand Mile Song, he describes in detail how he makes music with whale songs and his interaction with nature.

Yet the discovery of this source of inspiration was not made by musicians. Probably there would not have been such an interaction if Roger Payne had not recorded the sounds of humpback whales and released it as a long play album in 1970 under the title Songs of the Humpback Whale. This album sold over a hundred thousand copies when it was released, helping to popularize nature recordings and raise environmental awareness. In 1979, when National Geographic gave a synopsis of this album on a 45 flexi disc to over ten million of the magazine’s subscribers, no one was left unaware of this natural wonder.