title: Why do Whales and Children Sing?: A Guide to Listening in Nature
author:  David Dunn 
description: David Dunn has a long history in the worlds of soundscapes, contemporary composition, and leading edge thinking. He first became known in the early 1970's for his place-based compositions, written to be performed in specific outdoor (often wilderness) locations, and designed to be frameworks for interaction between musicians and the environment. From there, he moved on to the International Synergy Institute, where he was editor of the IS Journal for several years, forging connections between scientists and artists from a wide range of media. Since moving to Santa Fe, David has continued to record the wild, design museum sound installations, teach, and write (most recently, a biography of Harry Partch). While he has a huge list of previous writings and sound installations, this is his first work for a popular audience.
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  ![Songs from the Deep by Kelly Powell, Margaret K. McElderry
  Books](../images/00010.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #  CHAPTER ONE
  
  
  ![Image](../images/00011.jpeg)
  
  
  THERE ARE THREE SIRENS on the beach today.
  
  
  I watch them, rosining my bow slowly as I do. The tide comes in, restless and
  white-capped, pushing at the shoreline. The cliff grass pricks at the thin
  cotton of my dress as I stand, keeping my eyes trained on the beach below.
  
  
  They are distant and impassive, marble statues staring out to sea.
  
  
  Movement is rarely what catches their attention. Sound is how they hunt, what
  they wait for. Any noise is tenfold more interesting to them than a wave of
  fingers or shuffle of feet.
  
  
  I slide my bow across the violin in an open note. The song becomes slower,
  softer, as I dip into a lower pitch. When I quicken my pace, the violin’s
  sound vibrates through the air, and I feel it humming in my chest, in the
  soles of my feet. The music is sharp against the noonday stillness, the on