Shells to Synths: Exploring the Origins of Music with Steve Pretty

Overview

In this episode from New Scientist, host Rowan Hooper and Penny Sache welcome musician Steve Pretty to discuss where music comes from, how early instruments like conch shells work, and how modern technology echoes ancient creativity. The conversation moves from the physics of resonance and overtones to the cultural roles of music in ceremony, communication, and community, with live demonstrations of conch playing and a glimpse into Shell Electronica and Selectronica.

Introduction and Origins

The episode opens with Steve Pretty describing his fascination with the origins of music and the way shells function as wind instruments, akin to trumpets. The hosts highlight that while songs don’t fossilize, instrument artifacts and vocal anatomy offer clues about early music. Fossils of voice control hint at vocal capabilities around 1 million years ago, while bone flutes provide hard dates for instrumental use around 40,000 years ago. Pretty demonstrates conch playing, explaining how changes in air flow and lip tension create different notes through resonance, much like bugles do in Last Post ceremonies.

Physics of Sound and Instruments

The discussion delves into the resonant properties of shells and brass instruments, the overtone series, and how higher notes become closer together, enabling scales without valves. The analogy to guitars and pianos helps explain exponential string lengths and pitch spacing. Pretty emphasizes that both ancient and modern instruments rely on manipulating natural physics to shape sound, and he even models this with a 3D printed conch to illustrate similar acoustics with new materials.

Culture, Ceremony, and Communication

The podcast explores how shells feature across cultures in ritual, ceremony, and messaging, notably in Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu traditions. The conch as a symbolic instrument connects listeners to a broader human story of using sound to mark events, guide groups, and convey meaning. Pretty reflects on the social and ceremonial roles of music, alongside its capacity to move individuals emotionally at a deep level.

Technology and Creative Expression

Beyond traditional playing, Pretty uses hacksaws to modify shells live on stage, illustrating the iterative process at the heart of instrument evolution. He discusses the continuum from natural instruments to electronic sound manipulation, including Selectronica and Shell Electronica projects that sample shells, re-pitching, delaying, and filtering to create microtonal textures. The conversation touches on the aesthetics of sound baths and festival settings where audiences lie down to experience immersive, contemplative music rather than conventional gigs.

Education, Language, and the Future

The hosts and guest debate whether music preceded language or evolved alongside it, referencing motherese and early vocalizations as primal connections between sound, emotion, and communication. The discussion concludes with a sense of curiosity about the future of music, the democratization of sound-making through accessible tools, and the role of AI and archæoacoustics in deepening our understanding of how humans express meaning through sound.