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Steve Piccolo

Backmasking for Beginners

Instructions

I   don’t   know   about   you,   but   I   certainly   feel   the   need   to   have   at   least   a   rudimentary   form   of   encryption   to   use   in   personal   communications   these   days. A   code   shared   in   the   close     relationships   confusedly   and   confusingly   defined   in   recent   ministerial   decrees   in   Italy,   with     their   double   talk   of   spouses,   significant   others   and   “stable   affections.”     A   code   shared   in   the   close relationships   confusedly   and   confusingly   defined   in   recent   ministerial   decrees   in   Italy,   with     their   double   talk   of   spouses,   significant   others   and   “stable   affections.” People   have   a   way   of   bonding   around   words.   Often   in  a   couple,   a   family,   a   group   of   classmates or   fellow   workers,   it   is   possible   to   notice   that   certain   words   seem   to   have   taken   on   an   almost     esoteric   shared   meaning.   This   undoubtedly   happens   spontaneously,   yet   at   some   level   of   the     process   decisions   were   made,   preferences   were   felt   and   acted   upon.   It   is   seldom    about    regional   usage   or   dialects.   It happens   in   smaller,   more   insular   communities. Could   this   complicity   be   extended   to   encrypted   terminology?   As  the   need  for   strategies   of   privacy   expands,   I   would   like   to   suggest   day-­‐to-­‐day   application   of   the   technique   of  “backmasking,”   which   means   the   embedding   of   backwards   speech   in   sonic   contexts     (originally   musical   recordings)   to   hide   secret   messages   that   can   only   be   perceived   if   you   listen     to   the   record, tape   or   digital   sound   file   backwards.   Lots   of   silly   satanism   theories   spread   in   the     heyday   of   vinyl   records,   fueled   by   the   “Paul   is   dead”   rumors   and   other   crucial   episodes   for   the     history of   pop   culture.  So-­‐called   Pig   Latin and   Cockney   rhyming   slang   are   examples   of   shared   semi-­‐secret   verbal codes,   but   they   are   quite   widely   understood   and   have   thus lost   most   of   their   effectiveness,   in     spite   of   their   exceptional   poetic   charm.

FOR   THIS   PROJECT   I would   like   to   encourage   you   to   learn,  together   with   your   stable affections,  family   and   friends, to   speak   certain   words   backwards   in   the   course   of   everyday     conversation, until   the   sounds   begin   to   constitute   a   secret   private   vocabulary.   In   the   digital   era   backmasking   has   gotten   much   easier   (you   can   record   with   a   phone   or  camera,   and   use   the   free   sound   editing   software   called   AUDACITY).   To   learn   to   backmask   in     everyday   speech,   it   will   not   suffice   to   simply   write   the   word   or   words   backwards   and   then     read   them   out   loud.   Especially   in   English,   the   phonetic   absurdities   of   the   language   can   make     the   operation a   bit   more   complicated.   Let’s   say   two   people   have   decided   to   encode   a   sound   for   use   in   conversations   in   public   to mean   “what a   boring   fool!”   (handy   on   many   occasions).   If   we   write   “LOOF   GNIROB   A   TAHW”     and   read   it   back,   it   just   won’t   work.   We   won’t   really   be   talking   backwards.   Here’s   what   happens.     

1. Recording   of   backwards   phrase   pronounced   phonetically.

2. Reversal   of   recording   to   reveal   the   secret   message…   it   doesn’t   really   work!

2. Reversal   of   recording   to   reveal   the   secret   message…   it   doesn’t   really   work!

 So   you   have   to:

1. record   “what   a   boring   fool”   spoken   normally

2. reverse   the   recording      

3. play   it   back

4. learn   to   say   it    

5. just   to   check…   record   your   voice   as   you   say   it   backwards   

6. then   reverse   that   recording   and   play   it   back      

Was   the   phrase   “what   a   boring   fool”   understandable?   it   have   any special   qualities? I   think   this   example   comes   out   with   an   interesting   accent! Please   choose   your   own   words   or   phrases,   follow   the   above   procedure,   and   then   practice using   the   backmasked   version   whenever   it’s   appropriate   in   everyday   life.   My dream   is   to     occasionally   notice   people   utilizing   this   encrypted   speech,   at   parties   or   openings,   in     restaurants.   That   would   be   very   satisfying   indeed.  Don’t   worry   too   much   about   getting   caught in   the   backmasking   act…   people   are   almost   always     reluctant   to   admit   that   they   haven’t   understood   a   word   during   a   conversation, for   fear   that   it     was   a   particularly   erudite   and   sophisticated   foreign   term   they   should   be   embarrassed   about     not   knowing.   Furthermore,   they   seldom   really   listen   to   what   other   people   are   saying   anyway,     because   they   are   too   busy   thinking   about   what   they  will   say   next.   Believe   me,   I’ve   used   this     encryption   extensively,   and   no   one   has   ever   seemed   to   notice!         YOJNE!   

Steve Piccolo
Steve Piccolo
1. Recording of backwards phrase pronounced phonetically
Steve Piccolo
2. Reversal of recording to reveal the secret message… it doesn’t really work!