Hear For Yourself – Examples of Pitch-lowered Bird Songs:

Below are recordings of numerous high-pitched singers where non-shifted “normal” songs are followed by three pitch-lowered versions (divide by two, three and four). The frequency ranges of the natural songs are provided in kilohertz (1 kHz = 1000 Hz).

Listening Instructions: If you have high frequency hearing loss and want to judge how helpful our Hear Birds Again app will be, please do the following:

• Find a quiet place to listen
• Wear headphones if possible
• Adjust volume to a low level, such that the narration is barely audible

Note that turning down the volume approximates natural outdoor situations in which distant bird songs are first discerned. Being able to hear soft and distant songs is all-important in the realm of birding by ear.

Given that you have moderate to severe high frequency hearing loss and you follow the above instructions, you will not be able to hear songs played at normal pitch (or you’ll only hear the very bottom end of songs), but if your hearing is reasonably good up to 2kHz or thereabouts, you should be able to hear one or more of the pitch-lowered versions, even when played softly.