Field recording was originally a way to document oral presentations and ethnomusicology projects (pioneered by Béla Bartók, Charles Seeger, and John Lomax). In the case of Bartók, his own studies helped alter the generally unfavorable view of Eastern European folk music at that time. He grew to admire numerous regional styles from both firsthand experience and recordings, eventually incorporating these styles into his own compositional works. Bioacoustics Field recording is an important tool in bioacoustics and biomusicology, most commonly in research on bird song. Animals in the wild can display very different vocalizations from those in captivity. Ambient noise in urban environments have also shown to alter the vocalizations of local bird populations. In addition to birds, whales have also been frequently observed using field recordings. In recent years, COVID-19 has had largely negative effects on the world as a whole, but through recent field recordings, it has been shown that whales have been less stressed and generally more healthy. This is due to a large decline in international commerce and naval shipping during the pandemic, and by extension much less noise and disturbance in the ocean's soundscape. Art Music The use of field recordings in avant-garde, musique concrète, experimental, and, more recently, ambient music was evident almost from the birth of recording technology. Most noteworthy for pioneering the conceptual and theoretical framework with art music that most openly embraced the use of raw sound material and field recordings was Pierre Schaeffer, who was developing musique concrète as early as 1940. Further impetus was provided by the World Soundscape Project, initiated by Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer in the 1970s; this work involved studying the acoustic ecology of a particular location by the use of field recordings. Field recordings are now a common source material for a range of musical results, from contemporary musique concrète compositions to film soundtracks, video game soundtracks, and effects. Chris Watson, formerly of Cabaret Voltaire, is now perhaps the world's leading exponent of this art, with his recordings used for David Attenborough's series for the BBC, programmes for BBC Radio, and many other outlets. Another notable application of field recordings as of contemporary music is its inclusion in some vaporwave tracks, commonly recordings of public areas such as malls or grocery stores to add atmosphere. Another example of the use of field recordings is by the American musician Stuart Hyatt who combines his field recordings