Birdsong puts a spring in your step, say experts

And now a leading UK beatboxer has recreated the nation’s best-known songbirds to celebrate the sounds of spring and encourage people in the south west to get outdoors and experience nature first hand.

The album of tweet music was commissioned by the National Trust after academic research found that listening to birdsong, one of the trust’s 50 things to do before you’re 11 ¾, not only makes people calmer, but boosts positivity.

According to a new study the dawn chorus is our favourite spring sound – with almost 50 per cent of people in the region waking up to the sound of birdsong and 83 per cent hearing birdsong on a daily basis.

Beatboxer and vocal sculptor Jason Singh visited National Trust places for inspiration before creating the album, which features birds and wildlife including blackbirds, robins, woodpeckers, crows, skylarks, owls, warblers, buzzards, frogs and crickets.

Jason said: “I love the magic of spring, when the silence of winter comes to an end, you can feel a real sense of change as the parkland erupts with noise, bursts of colour and new life. This is what makes spring so special for me and it’s this that I really wanted to capture in this project.

“It was important to me that the bird calls and environments I recreated were as lifelike and authentic as possible, so it was great to work with the National Trust’s nature experts to better understand the flora and fauna of spring.”

University of Surrey environmental psychology PhD student Eleanor Ratcliffe, who is working on an ongoing investigation with the National Trust into the psychological impact of birdsong in people’s lives, added: “It makes sense that people should find birdsong calming. Songbirds tend to sing when it is safe, and it makes evolutionary sense that we should feel calmer in a safe natural environment.”

Matthew Oates, National Trust wildlife and nature expert, added: “With 45.7 million of us now living in cities, we wanted to produce a unique piece of music that would bring the wonderful sounds of spring to everyone – no matter where they are.

“By developing this in a quirky, creative way, we hope our album of tweet music inspires families and kids to have fun in the outdoors this spring and enjoy all the benefits that the sounds of nature can bring.”

The National Trust cares for over 300 historic houses and gardens, over 700 miles of coastline and over 617,500 acres across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Visit nationaltrust.org.uk/ spring to experience ‘tweet music’ and find out more about places to enjoy this spring, or tweet them @nationaltrust #tweetboxing

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