I was at a concert this weekend, a dancehall/ reggae gig. Was really nice. So nice, even, that I spent a lot of time yelling my appreciation in between songs, when I wasn't dancing.
Now, I was thinking... Would it be able to implant a small sampler in one's throath, that, when a certain nerve is used, or even just something like a button triggered, emits a loud lion's roar?
I was also thinking about artificially lowering one's vocal chords, and thus lowering the pitch of one's voice, but it would still miss the specific acoustics and resonance of a large feline body. Plus, it sounds a bit too much like magic to me.
Is there technology that's small enough to do this? Being able to roar... I don't know. It just appeals to me. And I think also to more people.
And also a valid question: would this be a WIBNI? Sort of, but I think it would also be a marketable product.-- Trickytracks, Dec 18 2005 I don't know about the idea, but a bun just for the title.-- dbmag9, Dec 18 2005 Sounds like a WTCTTIHITJWIBNIIWR to me. As cool as it might be to be able to roar like a lion (or, for what it's worth, chirp like a dolphin, or resonate like a humpbacked whale) I just can't think of a way of doing it either.-- zen_tom, Dec 18 2005 ..."wasn't that cool that thing I heard in JWIBNIIWR ?
Do elaborate, please.-- Trickytracks, Dec 18 2005 An impressive roar has to have a lot of low frequency content. Low frequencies are created by vibrating relatively large surfaces, so you just can't miniaturise this gadget - its size will be measured in tens of centimetres at least. Definitely WIBNI, but it WB very N indeed.-- wagster, Dec 18 2005 You'd presumably need some sort of inflating throat sac, like a frog... which might detract from the majestic impression...-- moomintroll, Dec 18 2005 Hmm. As someone who rapes samplers, grooveboxes and distortion pedals on a daily basis, I should've known that. Good point, [wagster].-- Trickytracks, Dec 18 2005 The last very good Reggae show I went to was Culture in .. hmmm 1990? so I'm not really up on the new stuff. That said, If I heard the sound of a lion roaring somewhere near me at the show, I might have had a freak out something like ...
"Whoooah." "Hey dude?, did you hear that?" "That cyan't be real, can it?" "There's a hell of a lot of rich white kids here aren't there?" "Dude! I can understand the singer on the album, but I don't get but 1 of 5 of his words here when 'es talking. Did you see him point & give the thumbs up towards the lion roar sound?!!" "There it is AGAIN!!!" "Dude!, Calm Down!, It's part of the show!" ....thinking, all (Culture is very cool, what a mind funk).
P.S. I saw Black Stalin at Jazz fest, probably after I saw Culture. They were also GREAT. I was in a weird state of mind that time, but we danced to the sound while the sun went down & struck out w/ girls who thought we were cool probably I was having too much fun to care.-- Zimmy, Dec 19 2005 Helium makes the voice very high. I presume it is because it hass less mass than regular air. The converse then should be true - a hit of very massive gas should considerably lower the voice. Xenon would work. One could have cartidges of xenon and inhale them as is done with nitrous oxide. I recently read that xenon has a narcotic effect too. So: nice buzz, low roar, all good!-- bungston, Dec 19 2005 [bungston]: I've had that idea before myself. I haven't tried it yet because I haven't bothered to find a safe heavy gas. And because I wouldn't fancy standing on my head to get the gas out of my lungs. I could be wrong on that last part though.-- finrod, Dec 19 2005 Jungle, [Trickytracks]. Jungle.-- lurch, Dec 19 2005 Doesn't NO2 have the opposite effect of helium on vocal chords?-- Zimmy, Dec 19 2005 Exactly [lurch], well elaborated.-- zen_tom, Dec 19 2005 Halfbakery Massive.-- Trickytracks, Dec 19 2005 Isn't this something that would get old really fast? People would look at you like your some kind of freak!-- Honduras, Dec 19 2005 [zen_tom], your acronym should end in ICDT, rather than IWR, which doesn't make sense because it is.-- lurch, Dec 19 2005 / Doesn't NO2 have the opposite effect of helium on vocal chords?/
Don't breathe any NO2. It is bad for you. N2O is nitrous oxide. Though I have no math handy, I would expect N2O to be more massive than a mix of N2 and O2, and thus might make your voice lower. Not as low as Xe2, though.-- bungston, Dec 19 2005 Dense gas would make your vocal cords vibrate slower, thus lowering the pitch, but the volume wouldn't increase. For that, you need both more gas (hard), or more resonance (easier, but would generally need large things). Toads aren't that big, and can get good bass resonance. But, I don't think you're trying for a toad's roar....-- sophocles, Dec 19 2005 [bungston] - //Xe2// - er, you do know what column that's in, right?-- lurch, Dec 19 2005 /[bungston] - //Xe2// - er, you do know what column that's in, right?/
Right, right. Yah, scrap that 2.-- bungston, Dec 19 2005 I like the idea, too. But would you really fit at a RAS (Real Authentic Sound) fest, or would you just stand out like a rally banger?-- reensure, Dec 19 2005 //ICDT, rather than IWR//
...after some thought [lurch], I'm going to pretend that I was going for "...I Was Resonant" Hmmm, could be better, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.-- zen_tom, Dec 19 2005 [reensure], I like to stand out anyways...-- Trickytracks, Dec 20 2005 random, halfbakery