Freesound Forums

Hi All,
I've just discovered a free software called Natural Worlds that allows anyone to create a soundscape with looped and randomly playing sounds.

One of the first things I thought of was to create a 'zen garden' soundscape with a Shishi Odoshi and Suikinkutsu as the main elements, and then other randomly playing sounds (wind rustling, a bird or two, chimes etc).

Unfortunately, I can't find a Shishi Odoshi or Suikinkutsu sample here, and was wondering if anybody has seen these and can record them?

For the Shishi Odoshi in particular, I think something close to the Kill Bill one (Uma Thurman enters the garden to kill Lucy Liu) would be ideal. (That one is unfortunately spoiled by those two breathing heavily, apart from being non-free

Thanks a bunch!

Links:

http://projects.gerryscuppatea.org/NaturalWorlds/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shishi_odoshi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suikinkutsu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYYcXv5goSM - Shishi Odoshi

hammerklavier, thanks a bunch to you and your friend for trying to get the sounds, and t DJ Chronos for the HUGE list of soundsample sites. If not for this project, it will surely be useful for something else.

Also, if anybody has any ideas about what sounds should be in this kind of a soundscape, I'd love to hear it. I've never actually been in such a place, so it would be good to hear ideas from people who have. (I'm starting to think of this more of a Buddhist temple/ Shinto shrine soundscape, rather than a japanese style garden by itself)

(BTW, check out this site - http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=359&pID=350 - some non-free sounds, good description of shrines)

So far, here's what I'm thinking -

Main track - Shishi Odhoshi sound loop: Imagine you're sitting a few feet away from it, which is some distance away from the main activity of the temple/shrine

Random sounds -
1) Suikinkutsu - each Suinkutsu 'drip and echo' as a separate sound so that the rate of water dripping could be controlled. But the idea is that this would also be a more or less regular sounds. This could be lower volume than the SO. The other option is to link the suikinkutsu with a sound sample of someone using a tsukubai since this is how it is used conventionally.

2) Bell, gong - every once in a while, people ringing the temple bell as they come in. There are a bunch of samples on freesound for this. I didn't like the coins clattering sound samples though. So I'll just go with a simple bell and/or gong (wonder if gongs are actually used in these temples, but I guess we'll use some poetic license). Much farther away.

3) People/monks chanting. - haven't found any sample of a whole chant. Probably should make sure what the chant is about, before we use it.

4) Someone raking the sand/gravel garden - Wonder if we can get this? Would be pretty cool I think.

5) Birds - I'm imagining afternoon time. So the birds won't be making too much of a racket. But a couple of different bird calls once in a while would be cool. (Some shrines apparently have peacocks, I think I'll go with just some basic bird calls. Suggestions for appropriate calls welcome)

6) People talking (in japanese?)

7) Footsteps on a wooden bridge/walkway.

9) Wind rustling leaves

10) Are there any musical instruments that are conventionally played in these places?

That's all I've thought of till now. Let me know if you guys have any suggestions!

Thanks all!

It was no problem.
I found the list on a dj sample website where practically everyone in the community contributed links to make this massive list. Unfortunately about 1/4 of all the sites listed have either moved or been shut down so don't be surprised if you get four or five dead links in a row.
Anyway I hope you find what you're looking for,
-Dan

Just giving this thread a bump.

Has anyone found a way to record Shishi odoshi sounds?

Thanks!

soundscapes,

Nice idea! Just read your post from the 20th, and I can share some pointers as I have a little experience in this area.

Regarding Bell/Gong: Gongs are rarely, if ever, used. A garden may or may not have a bell, but a temple almost certainly would. Traditional Japanese temple bells are very large (often as much as 2 meters tall!), very resonant, and have a very long sustain (easily 8-10 seconds!). (I know of one in Portland, OR, at the Oregon Convention Center, but I don't live there at present.)

Regarding Chanting: Gardens, never. Temples, common, but usually fairly quiet, so most any "chanting" sound could work.

Regarding Raking Sand: White noise, with moderate fades and pauses for each stroke. At a temple, the sand in a garden is usually raked once or twice a day.

Regarding People talking: Gardens and temples, it almost never happens, and when it does it's very quiet. (Unless you are in a "tourist" garden.)

Regarding Footsteps: Definitely! Just make sure they are slow, deliberate steps. Also, most larger Japanese gardens have some gravel pathways specifically so visitors hear the sound of their own footsteps. In a garden, there will be pauses as the visitor takes in each new view. In a temple, very few pauses.

Regarding Music: Any traditional Japanese instrument may be heard in a garden, (less common in temples), but only on special occasions. (Religious festivals, etc.)

In general, Zen gardens and temples are very quiet places. Of course the usual nature sounds will be present, and it is not unusual for temples and gardens to be found in urban settings, with the usual ruckus in the background. Water sounds are common in larger gardens, and almost any garden that has water will have a Shishi Odhoshi, and I would say that it is the most clearly identifiable sound associated with Japanese gardens. (There is also an excellent Japanese garden in Portland, OR with a Shishi Odhoshi. Anyone live in that area?)

Also, a garden of any size will probably be designed so that most sounds have a fair amount of reverb.

Good luck, and let me know how it turns out!

BearzZ, Thanks a bunch for the detailed and knowledgeable reply.

I've been using the Natural Worlds software for a few weeks now as a white noise when I'm working, and the Temple soundscape seems like an excellent way to induce a contemplative mood. Thanks for clarifying the differences in the sounds possible in gardens vs. temples.

So here's a list of sounds that we need -

Not currently available on Freesound -

Shishi Odoshi
Suinkutsu

Available on Freesound -

Large Japanese style bell
Birds
Wind/leaves rustling

A few different chants that would be heard in a Japanese temple
Sand Raking (perhaps I'll be able to generate this sound on Audacity or something, since it's close to white noise, but real samples would be best, of course!)
People talking - perhaps murmurs, ideally in Japanese?
Slow footsteps on gravel (and perhaps also cobblestone, wooden etc?) paths

soundscapes

Not currently available on Freesound -

Shishi Odoshi
Suinkutsu

Can anybody in Portland volunteer to get some samples from the garden there? That would be a huge favor!

Hi, I can perhaps record at the Japanese garden, however it would be at least a week before I can go, I hope that is not a big problem (my recording equipment is on loan and I must go elsewhere for some days).

Thanks Corsica_S! No worries about the time at all, of course. Do it when you can. If you hear any other interesting things happening, I'm sure you'll capture them as well.

If there's a sand garden (?) there, could you also capture sounds of the sand being raked? It'll have to be quite a coincidence for you to be on location at the right time of course...

Thanks again. You're awesome!

Hey Chronos I would like to see that list posted here for everyone to see :wink:

Buddhist temple
'Kon'! Water marks time
Mind at peace

So I've finally sat down and actually put together the soundscape. Current freesounds used are provided by MShades (bell), reinsamba (birds), gurdonark (bird), gezortenplotz (chant), lgarrett (chant), dobroide (footsteps), tigersound (footsteps), digifishmusic (footsteps). See below for full credits.

While Corsica_S gets the sounds from the Portland gardens, I decided to use one sample I had as a placeholder. The shishi odoshi sound is currently from the Hokkaido Tokai University. If anyone can figure out how to get in touch with the creator/owner of this sound, please let me know. (http://www.htokai.ac.jp/DD/ogawa/st02/99sdd232/sound/Sisi-2.wav)

For now, I've uploaded the file here - http://www.mediafire.com/?fbz0famy1md. If you have access to a computer running OS X, please try it out, and let me know what you think. Currently, the soundscape is set to make sounds very rarely, apart from the looping Shishi Odoshi sound.

Of course, you would also need the Natural Worlds software, found here - http://projects.gerryscuppatea.org/NaturalWorlds/

Thanks everyone!

Credits:
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version 0.1 - This NaturalWorld is still a work in progress. Specifically, the Looping Sound is currently being used without permission. However, since the sound is available on the Hokkaido Tokai University website, it is assumed in good faith that it can be used for non-commercial purposes.

Most other sounds have been sourced from the FreeSound Project - http://freesound.iua.upf.edu

Looping Sound:

Sisi-2.wav from http://www.htokai.ac.jp/DD/ogawa/st02/99sdd232/sound/Sisi-2.wav

If anyone knows how to contact the creator or owner of this sound, please leave me a message through my Freesounds profile at http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/forum/privmsg.php?mode=post&u=528242

This sound is planned for replacement with a Creative Commons sound as soon as available.

Environment Sounds:

By MShades (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=180608)
Kongourin-ji_bell_mp3.mp3 (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25914)

By reinsamba (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=18799)
blackbird in backyard.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=19999)
chaffinch.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=20020)
mistle thrush.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=20021)

By gurdonark (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=59021)
Birdsong down a Chimney.WAV (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=31839)

By gezortenplotz (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=11536)
nichi ren02.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=32421)

By lgarrett (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=58726)
grafton peace pagoda 1.mp3 (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=34167)

By dobroide (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=8043)
20060129.scrub.04.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=15226)

By tigersound (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=23035)
gravel walking.aif (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=15562)

By digifishmusic (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/usersViewSingle.php?id=29541)
Pebbles On Flat Beach.wav (http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=43761)

Software Used

Max 0.7.1 (http://sbooth.org/Max/) was used for converting all non mp3 files to mp3.

Audacity 1.2.5 (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) was used for editing the audio files.
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