The Amish

Step back into a simpler time to experience a culture not often heard from the outside. Come listen to where cow’s milk is hand-squeezed into metal buckets before the break of dawn. Where horse and human work side by side. Evocative Sound and Visuals is pleased to announce its latest sound effects library entitled, The Amish. It is a rare collection of high-quality recordings featuring life among an Old Order Amish community in northeast Ohio.

My goal in starting this project was to capture the sound of an Amish buggy from an interior perspective. Buggy versus automobile accidents occur way too often. I thought that if someone could hear what it sounded like as cars zoom past a buggy, from an Amish occupant’s perspective, then perhaps they’d slow down the next time they passed one. I succeeded in getting the recording I wanted, but it took time. A rapport needed to be established. Along the way, I found myself fortunate to record these sounds and more:

• The beginning of class in a one-room schoolhouse, including the morning bell, captured from the outside and inside.
• Early-morning barn chores captured inside, including cow milking and tending to stalls. Bonus sounds include cows peeing and pooping right next to the mics. This was not a pleasant experience for me, but one that elicited much snickering from the youngsters.
• Hitched teams of large draft horses, snorting and whinnying as they plow a muddy field, with pass-bys and follow-behinds.
• The relaxing sounds of rain and rolling thunder, captured from inside an old metal-roofed barn on several occasions.
• The peaceful sounds of clothes swaying on a line in an afternoon breeze.
• The sound of cornstalks blowing in the wind in autumn and in winter, when they’re dry and brittle.
• The tink, tink, tap, tap as a farrier putting new shoes on a horse.
• Bringing in dry hay at the end of the growing season, plus putting it into a silo.
• Interior and exterior perspectives of two working vintage sawmills.
• Inside a leather shop, where an Amish farmer makes hand-made flyswatters with his children.
• The rhythmic sounds of a squeaky old metal windmill spinning, along with water that gurgles from the pipe as it comes out of the ground.
• Wagon and buggy rides (onboard) and pass-bys

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Recording the Amish

I learned early on in my photojournalism career that if I wanted to be accepted into new cultures, it was best to first explore around the edges of them. Let people see you, cameras to your face. In this case, it was headphones on my ears. Let them get to know your car. Make sure they know you intend to stick around to represent their way of life honestly. Basically, just show them that you mean well. This advice, from a National Geographic photographer I took a class from, served me well while working alongside the Amish.

My first request upon approaching the Amish was permission to record windmills. It seemed like every Amish farm had one, and there were no people involved. Innocuous enough, right? After a puzzled look and a “Why would you want to do that?” my first farmer gave me the okay. I asked if he and his kids would like to hear how it sounded through headphones. He declined. The kids were all about it.

After recording for a while, an Amish neighbor from up the road, Milo Yoder, came to visit. He asked what I was doing. After explaining, he graciously invited me to record at his place too. I would go on to visit his farm and family off and on for two years. Since they didn’t have a telephone, I would pop in unannounced. During that time, Milo introduced me to other families. I made it a point to ask plenty of questions about what they thought sounded interesting and unique.

I found the Amish freely offered-up sounds to record that I hadn’t considered. The sound of fresh cow milk pouring from buckets into a 10-gallon metal can is one example. It’s a very cool sound as it goes into the can for the first time. There were other instances as well. Their knowledge of farm life far exceeded mine.

Recording the Amish was rewarding in so many ways. I hope that you find these sounds useful for your sound design projects, and in the process, come away with a better appreciation for Amish culture.

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