In Hindu India both orality and sonality have enjoyed great cultural significance since earliest times. They have a distinct influence on how people approach texts. The importance of sound and its perception has led to rites, models of cosmic order, and abstract formulas. Sound serves both to stimulate religious feelings and to give them a sensory form. Starting from the perception and interpretation of sound, the authors chart an unorthodox cultural history of India, turning their attention to an important, but often neglected aspect of daily religious life. They provide a stimulating contribution to the study of cultural systems of perception that also adds new aspects to the debate on orality and literality.

This volume examines fish sounds that have a proven signal function, as well as sounds assumed to have evolved for communication purposes. It provides an overview of the mechanisms, evolution and neurobiology behind sound production in fishes, and discusses the role of fish sounds in behavior with a special focus on choice of mate, sex-specific and age-specific signaling. Furthermore, it highlights the ontogenetic development of sound communication and ecoacoustical conditions in fish habitats and the influence of hormones on vocal production and sound detection. Sound Communication in Fishes offers a must-have compendium for lecturers, researchers and students working in the fields of animal communication, fish biology, neurobiology and animal behavior.

The last decades have brought a significant increase in research on acoustic communi cation in animals. Publication of scientific papers on both empirical and theoretical aspects of this topic has greatly increased, and a new journal, Bioacoustics, is entirely devoted to such articles. Coupled with this proliferation of work is a recognition that many of the current issues are best approached with an interdisciplinary perspective, requiring technical and theoretical contributions from a number of areas of inquiry that have traditionally been separated. With the notable exception of a collection edited by Lewis (1983), there have been fewvolumes predominatelyfocused on technical issues in comparative bioacoustics to follow up the earlyworks edited by Lanyon and Tavolga (1960) and Busnel (1963). It was the tremendous growth of expertise c:()ncerning this topic in particular that provided the initial impetus to organize this volume, which attempts to present fundamental information from both theoretical and applied aspects of current bioacoustics research. While a completely comprehensive review would be impractical, this volume offers a basic treatment of a wide variety of topics aimed at providing a conceptual framework within which researchers can address their own questions. Each presentation is designed to be useful to the broadest possible spectrum of researchers, including both those currently working in any of the many and diverse disciplines of bioacoustics, and others that may be new to such studies.

book by Stephen Gislason emerged from his Music Notes collected over many years. The topics cover a wide range of interests from the history of instruments, music theory, composing to the most current technologies involved in music composition and sound recording. A special chapter on the Musical Brain explains current knowledge in the brain processing of sound as it applies to language and music decoding. A chapter on the Music Business reviews the dramatic changes in music marketed and discusses some of the dilemmas and controversies facing musicians. Preface This book emerged from notes I have kept for several decades. I have spent much time studying music theory, electronics applied to sound reproduction and to performance skills. I decided to assemble my music notes so that any person interested in music could benefit from simple, clear explanations. Music descriptions often are too complicated and the use of terms can be inconsistent and confusing. As with other subjects I have tackled, I assumed that with a little extra effort more precise descriptions would be welcomed by readers seeking a practical understanding of music. The book begins with a consideration of what sound is and how animals use sounds to communicate. Music is not a human invention, but we do elaborate sound communication more than other animals in our production of both speech and musical performances. The discussion continues with noise, an important topic that is poorly understood. A well informed musician will refrain from making noise and understand Ambrose Bierce when he stated: Of all noise, music is the less offensive." I include acoustic and electronic instruments in my discussions of music creation. In my world, electronics dominate every aspect of work and play and most music I create and listen to was created, stored and distributed electronically. The art and science of recording is an important study for all 21st century musicians. Increased sophistication about the nature of sound, the art of combining musical sounds, and the effect on the listener's brain are all required for music to advance beyond noise toward a more effective means of human communication. Stephen Gislason 2016