The origin and evolution of music: Steve Pretty plays the conch
The World, the Universe and Us
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (tracking.swap.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Episode 333
It’s not often you get to see or hear someone playing music on a conch shell. So prepare yourself for a musical treat with musician and podcaster Steve Pretty, who brings into the studio a trumpet and a collection of his favourite conches, rigged up to some modern electronics.
Steve is best known as the bandleader of the Hackney Colliery Band, and also hosts the Steve Pretty On the Origin of the Pieces podcast.
Performing live on the show and recreating the acoustics of prehistoric cave gatherings (a rave in a cave!) Steve explains the science behind how conches and brass instruments can achieve so many different notes by manipulating air pressure and flow. He explores the evolution and origin of music - which may have evolved before language. And he explains the evocative nature of music, the different functions that it has in society and how it allows us to tap into different emotional states.
Hosted by Rowan Hooper and Penny Sarchet.
To read more about these stories, visit https://www.newscientist.com/
Learn about Steve’s conch playing here: https://www.shellectronica.com/
And find his podcast here: https://www.originofthepieces.com/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices