Shoreline Operetta
Harbour Seal
Overall description: Pacific harbor seals are found north of the equator in both the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans. In the northeast Pacific, they range from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico. They
favor near-shore coastal waters and are often seen on rocky islands, sandy beaches, mudflats, bays,
and estuaries. Pacific harbor seals spend about half their time on land and half in water. A harbour
seal’s hearing is almost 14 times greater under water (160 kHz) than above the surface (12 kHz).
Some scientists suspect that harbour seals may have the ability to echolocate. Although harbour seals
make a number of soft grunt like sounds, they are far less noisy than the Northern Sea Lion.
Pups make a bleating noise that sounds like "maaaa."
Group or Solo
Suggested Instrumentation and technique
mid-range 3-note melody - hocket in 4/4 F G F Eb, G F C
Voice (Chorus)
Mouth position: Loose/unhinged jaw, relaxed lips, wide open and expanded mouth cavity, tongue
pushed far back and down into esophagus area
Sound: “AWR, AWR” opening and half-closing jaw hinge at each utterance
Breath: Pushing from diaphragm on each syllable, resonate from abdomen and chest
Effect: Loud, rich chest sound, not quite controlled (pitch need not be exact)
Interaction: Leave spaces in the melody, fragment the melody, filling in spaces left by other singers,
anticipate others’ utterances, leave gaps, take breaths.
Clapping: Each vocalist performs clapping (12 very quick open-palmed claps) 1 – 3 times during the
Harbour Seal section.
Links to Audio Samples:
http://www.freesound.org/people/polymorpheva/sounds/91560/
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