I see trees of green, red roses, too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself:
What a wonderful world.

Music is in conversation with the environment in many ways, from composing with the climate to environmental activism. For Earth Month, this April we are looking at our relationships with music and the environment, as we shape and care for each other.

Making music with the Earth

Music is everywhere. It is not unique to humans; as you will hear if you have listened to the sound of waves on a beach or the song of birds in the trees. Our relationship with music is often inspired by the natural world—after all, the wood, metal and more that make up our instruments come from the earth.

Recommended reading

Finding the Singing Spruce: Musical Instrument Makers and Appalachia’s Mountain Forests by Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth brings readers into the homes and practices of instrument makers in Appalachia, as Waugh-Quasebarth learns the craft and the role the larger political and social world plays in these communities. Finding the Singing Spruce presents the intersecting factors at play in construction, from correspondence between maker and tree to the overharvesting that is impacting forests due to demand.

The Book of Music and Nature: An Anthology of Sounds, Words, Thoughts edited by David Rothenberg and Marta Ulvaeus is interested in the relationship between music and the earth, exploring different perspectives such as Music of the Spheres and more recent work by environmental sound artists. It is made up of comics, poems, book excerpts, stories, tape analysis and more—with a uniting them of the many ways music and nature intersect and are lovingly cared for. Accompanied by a CD, you can listen to sounds of rivers, deserts, insects, forest floors and more.

Environmental Sound Artists: in Their Own Words edited by Frederick Bianchi and V.J. Manzo is made up of a series of essays from environmental sound artists, discussing what drew them to it. In chapter five, John Bullit talks about his interest in capturing the intangible in his work, and the sense of loss and hope that comes in tying to capture sounds that are becoming increasingly more difficult to find in the changing landscape of the earth.

Sustainable music practice

There is no one way to be sustainable. It is an ongoing process, something that can be difficult to understand how best to apply to our own work. Much of this work is inherently reflective, but it is also in conversation with practices from around the world. This section provides a brief overview of how environmentally informed practices can be implemented on personal, institutional and industry levels.

Recommended reading

Eco-Literate Music Pedagogy by Daniel J. Shevock makes space for reflection on how to incorporate the environment into music education. Shevock alternates through research, experience and reflective. Chapters two and three, "Ecological Literacy" and "Ecomusicology," look at practical applications of place base pedagogy and the role of humans within ecology.

The Green Musician’s Guide: Sound Ideas for a Sound Planet by Jeff Touzeau is an extremely practical guide taking you through different ways to sustainable approach music making and working as a musician. Touzeau interviews people working in the industry about their own experiences before helping readers design their own roadmap for approaching their practice. If you are curious about your individual environmental footprint, Chapter 3, "Tools of the Trade," looks at sustainable purchasing and use on both an individual and industry level.

Sustainable Futures for Music Cultures: an Ecological Perspective edited by Huib Schippers and Catherine Grant is made up of nine case studies of different cultural music practices from around the world, that seek to understand how sustainability is and can be better embraced in music practice. It aims to help people better understand and define sustainability, thus being able to look at ways they can implement it into their own practices.

Cultural Sustainabilities: Music, Media, Language, Advocacy edited by Timothy J. Cooley takes readers through a process of sustainable understanding, beginning with thinking about it and ending with applying it to practice. Chapter 22, "Discovering Maine’s Intangible Cultural Heritage," chapter talks specifically about how when we apply a cultural understanding of the ecosystem, we better understand how humans are situated within said ecosystem.

Music and environmental activism

Across the world, people have turned to music to amplify their message. While marginalized people are often ignored, music has served as a record of remembrance, a practice of connection and a way to be heard about the environment that many would like to ignore. The following books explore music as a tool for communities to advocate for themselves and their relationship with the land.

Recommended reading

Voices of Drought: The Politics of Music and Environment in Northeastern Brazil by Michael B. Silvers paints a web of musical connections that stem back to drought, beginning in 1877. With sound being a key component of cultural production in Latin America, Silvers is interested in listening as a culture. He looks at how drought has shaped music in the region from the soundscape to socio-economic factors, examining it all through the areas of vulnerability, materiality, listening, nostalgia and policy.

A Song to Save the Salish Sea: Musical Performance as Environmental Activism by Mark Pedelty documents seven case studies to see what can be learned from the work and music of environmental activists. In chapter three, "Turtle Islands Idle No More," Pedelty writes on his experience attending Convergence 2014 which was protesting the Kinder Morgan pipeline where Pedelty describes music used not as a set text and performance, but rather "musicking."

Mele on the Mauna: Perpetuating Genealogies of Hawaiian Musical Activism on Maunakea by Keola Donaghy shares the role of music in a 2019 environmental movement lead by kānaka 'ōiwi (Native Hawaiians) to protect the volcano Maunakea from the construction of a thirty-meter telescope. Donaghy looks at how colonization has put kānaka 'ōiwi in this position, the practice of mele and its use as a defense in this movement, the role of soundscapes and silence, and the importance of anthems, chants and music in struggles for land rights.

Black ecomusicology

Black artists have been inspired by the environment, with plant life and the natural world serving as refuge in art. Music has been used as both an expression of this connection and in defense of the environment, as Black artists like Gil Scott-Heron continuing their activist musical repertoire.

Recommended reading

Come to My Garden by Brittnay L. Proctor does a deep dive on Minnie Riperton’s album Come to My Garden through the lens of Black feminist sound studies. Chapter four, "On Black Women’s Gardens," looks at how Riperton’s album connects to Black women’s connection to nature which has been remarked on throughout art, and the garden as a refuge for creativity.

Sounds like a No-No: Queer Sounds and Eccentric Acts in the Post-Soul Era by Francesca T. Royster dives into different Black artists in the post-soul era who building off previous social and political movements, experimented and played outside the margins in their music and performance. In Chapter 2, "Stevie Wonder’s 'Quare' Teachings and Cross-Species Collaboration in Journey through the Secret Life of Plants and Other Songs," Royster discusses Wonder’s intention with the album to portray Black life and love and highlight the connection to the natural world. Royster also draws connection to Wonder’s inspirations from Minnie Riperton’s Come to My Garden.

Music is Power: Popular Songs, Social Justice and the Will to Change by Brad Schreiber looks at the social activism of music, touching on the wide range of genres of music and themes they have covered including environmental activism. Chapters 6, "Reason and Blues: Marvin Gaye and The Temptations," and 11, Word: "Gil Scott-Heron and Grandmaster Flash," touch on songs by Gaye and Scott-Heron that called for attention to be paid to the environment.

Recommended listening

Want to listen along to some of the works musicians have been inspired by the earth to create? Try a CD, LP or some online listening.

Bessie Smith
Louis Armstrong, What a Wonderful World
Vida Hille, A Field Study
Marvin Gaye
The Drop that Contained the Sea
Women Warriors: The Voices of Change
Joni Mitchell, Ladies of the Canyon
Stevie Wonder, Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants

Want to learn even more about what the library offers? Check out the Sustainability LibGuide, put together by previous TALint student Sabine O’Donnell.

Oh mercy, mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land?
How much more abuse from man can she stand?

An Encore for the Earth

Gallery