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Emily Doolittle

@emilydoolittle.bsky.social
904 followers 1K following 138 posts

Researcher & Lecturer in Composition, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Writes music & words with & about animal songs, zoomusicology, folkore, gender, parenthood & creativity, interdisciplinarity. Plays oboe with whippets: tinyurl.com/2wyxc4st

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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
It's not my imagination: there genuinely has been a genuine increase in the overuse of the genuinely meaningless word "genuinely". I'm genuinely disappointed we can't blame this genuinely annoying trend on AI as the genuinely exponential increase of "genuinely" genuinely started in 2000.
An n-gram of the use of the word genuinely, showing an exponential increase in its usage beginning around 2000.
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Neil Banas @neilbanas.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
@emilydoolittle.bsky.social , Michelle Campbell, Preeti Pansare, and I are in Studio 110 at The Briggait in #Glasgow this weekend with the #doorsopen (waspsstudios.org.uk/open-studios...). Triangles, #crochet, and #invertebrates in many combinations. Drop by!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is the funniest unasked-for AI Overview that I have encountered! (I'll use this next time I need to talk with students about how, whatever the uses of AI may be, saying truthful things is not one of them.)
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Looking fwd to answering @soundscotland.bsky.social Composer Helpline, Weds 1-2 UK time. Open to all new music ppl anywhere, all levels. Sign up here to meet w me (or one of my great colleagues Lisa Robertson, Ruta Vitkauskaite, Pete Stollery or Fiona Robertson). sound-scotland.co.uk/event/compos...
sound-scotland.co.uk
Composers' Helpline - Sound Scotland
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Looking fwd to answering @soundscotland.bsky.social Composer Helpline, Weds 1-2 UK time. Open to all new music ppl anywhere, all levels. Sign up here to meet w me (or one of my great colleagues Lisa Robertson, Ruta Vitkauskaite, Pete Stollery or Fiona Robertson). sound-scotland.co.uk/event/compos...
sound-scotland.co.uk
Composers' Helpline - Sound Scotland
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I'm preparing for my UK driver's test, and I was not expecting quite so many questions about sheep! (I don't remember any questions about moose when I took my Canadian driver's test, though in retrospect there probably should have been!)
A picture of a UK driver's test question. There is a picture of a road with sheep, and multiple choice answers 1) briefly sound your horn, 2) go very slowly 3) pass quickly but quietly 4) herd them to the side of the road
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mhoeschele.bsky.social @mhoeschele.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Our book, "Nature Beats" is finally out. It talks all about how we can study rhythm across species and what that can tell us about the evolution of music. link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
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Moira Donegan @moiradonegan.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I also appreciate Emily Wilson as a woman in a male dominated role, by which I don’t mean translator or classicist or public scholar but rather “curmudgeon.”
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The dog never really comes when we call "Idris". But he always comes running when he hears us open a plastic food package. I think this means his name is now effectively "[crinkle crinkle]"!
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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
It's great to see The Biology of Music - Interdisciplinary Insights edited by @andrearavignani.bsky.social out in the wild! I have a co-authored chapter in there on #animalmusicking, with @emilydoolittle.bsky.social and Pralle Kriengwatana. academic.oup.com/book/63102.
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Adding some random-hyphens between words and making some non-standard compoundwords to fit within the wordcount... (Not really, but I consider this every time!)
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
In my honest opinion you can absolutely recognise when something is AI-written because of the overuse of genuinely pointless intensifiers... (This is not AI-written though, I'm just channeling the style for illustrative purposes.)
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
People like to quote Bartok's (apocryphal?) dictum "competitions are for horses, not artists", but I always find myself thinking: what use has a horse for a competition? While highly flawed, competitions have some potential benefit for artists, whereas I imagine horses do not care about them at all!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
What novel should I read next? (The last few novels I've read & enjoyed include Nonesuch, Houses of Ravicka, The Safekeep, Birnam Wood -- not sure if that amounts to a coherent genre, but stuff like that!)
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
I'm at that weird stage of getting into composing a new piece where I'm alternating rapidly between "I'm so excited, I've written 8 minutes of music" and "this is terrible, I'm going to scrap it all, I've done nothing!" Usually this stage settles down after a few weeks...
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
It doesn't have to be this way. (Climate change, rising fascism, increased bigotry and xenophobia, out-of-control capitalism, destruction of habitat, etc., etc.). Can we please make it not this way?
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
It doesn't have to be this way. (Climate change, rising fascism, increased bigotry and xenophobia, out-of-control capitalism, destruction of habitat, etc., etc.). Can we please make it not this way?
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
1/3 In my 30 years as an artist, I've seen the success rate of some grants go from, say, 1/3 to 1/30. Of course if you're 10% as likely to get a grant, that doesn't mean you spend 10% as much time on it: more likely you work harder. Instead of spending 3 hours on it maybe you spend 5.
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Dr. Kendra Preston Leonard (she/her) @kleonardphd.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Time to re-up it, or, Why Nadia Boulanger Isn't Your Poster Child for Women in Music kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org/2018/04/05/m...
kendraprestonleonard.hcommons.org
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
1/3 In my 30 years as an artist, I've seen the success rate of some grants go from, say, 1/3 to 1/30. Of course if you're 10% as likely to get a grant, that doesn't mean you spend 10% as much time on it: more likely you work harder. Instead of spending 3 hours on it maybe you spend 5.
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
I hear traces of birdsong in my music even in non-bird-related pieces. I thought this was b/c I listen to birds so much. But I just listened to one of my pre-birdsong pieces & it sounds bird-ish too. Maybe it was my innate motivic & structural tendencies which drew me to birds in the first place?
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The Cosmic Shambles Network @cosmicshambles.com · 21/06/2026
Ep 1 of For the Record delves into the world of music in the animal kingdom. 3 of the experts we spoke to were bird song expert, @dominiccouzens.bsky.social, zoomusicologist @emilydoolittle.bsky.social & oceanographer @helenczerski.bsky.social Ep one out Jun 25 on youtube.com/cosmicshambles
a man in a khaki polo and grey hair in front of a background of a stylised recorda woman with brown curly hair and glasses in front of a background of a stylised recorda woman with brown hair in front of a background of a stylised record
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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Very happy to be visiting Fetlar (Shetland) 9 June to perform music by @emilydoolittle.bsky.social inspired by the folk tale Jan Tait and the Bear, plus works in which the clarinet evokes the sounds of gannets and whales.
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
If you'll be on Fetlar June 9 pls come to an evening of art & music w paintings about Jan Tait & the Bear by Meilo So & a concert by @amsouth.bsky.social of music abt bears, whales & gannets. Free & drop-in but if you book here we can bring enough snacks! Pls RT! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...
eventbrite.co.uk
An Evening of Art and Music at the Fetlar Community Hall
Paintings by Cullivoe artist Meilo So and music by clarinetist Alex South
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Joanne Merriam @joannemerriam.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
New pinned post so the silly preview thing works yikes | my Austenaut novel: inanna.ca/product/aeth... | #SmallPress starter packs: 🇨🇦 go.bsky.app/D4YKenp 🇺🇸 go.bsky.app/S4HKBuC 🌍 go.bsky.app/S5N1WAY 🎓 go.bsky.app/EoXRRgy | 🌈📚 #Booksky 🪐📚 | recent writing: see linktree in bio | yaaaayy nailed it
inanna.ca
Aether and Ego - Inanna Publications
Aether and Ego is a steampunk retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with the addition of space travel, dogs, and accidental death.
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
If you'll be on Fetlar June 9 pls come to an evening of art & music w paintings about Jan Tait & the Bear by Meilo So & a concert by @amsouth.bsky.social of music abt bears, whales & gannets. Free & drop-in but if you book here we can bring enough snacks! Pls RT! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening...
eventbrite.co.uk
An Evening of Art and Music at the Fetlar Community Hall
Paintings by Cullivoe artist Meilo So and music by clarinetist Alex South
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Joanne Merriam @joannemerriam.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Daily(ish) #SmallPress #books: Aether and Ego by @joannemerriam.bsky.social, Inanna Publications & Biopiracy by Vandana Shiva, @btlbooks.com. See alt-text. 💙📚 #BookSky #DSPBposts #shamelessselfpromoversion #prideandprejudice #bookish #booklovers #booktok #booksta #bookstagram
Book cover for Aether and Ego by Joanne Merriam, Inanna: Elizabeth Bennet is a part of the second generation embarking on a centuries-long flight to Alpha Centauri, working in the signal room and studying engineering aboard a massive centrifugal ship. When she is thrown into the orbit of the conventional Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth finds him haughty and intolerable. But then her younger sister elopes. For all of their progress in the new society of the ship, a woman can still be ruined by an imprudent attachment. Can Elizabeth and Darcy save Lydia’s reputation, learn to like each other, and avoid being convicted of murder? Pre-order (release date is 15 Sept): https://inanna.ca/product/aether-and-ego/ or in the US, https://bookshop.org/a/96356/9781834210261Book cover for ‬Biopiracy by Vandana Shiva, Between the Lines: Award-winning scientist and activist Dr. Vandana Shiva argues that genetic engineering and the cloning of organisms are “the ultimate expression of the commercialization of science and the commodification of nature… life itself is being colonized.” According to Jeremy Rifkin, Shiva’s book is “a path-breaking work on one of the most important issues of the coming century… a clarion call [that] should be widely read and discussed by everyone concerned with the fate of the Earth.” https://btlbooks.com/book/biopiracy
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
There are still a few spots available for the @soundscotland.bsky.social Composer's Helpline tomorrow -- free and open to all composer and new music people (not just in Scotland). Details and sign-up here: sound-scotland.co.uk/event/compos...
sound-scotland.co.uk
Composers' Helpline - Sound Scotland
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
There are still a few spots available for the @soundscotland.bsky.social Composer's Helpline tomorrow -- free and open to all composer and new music people (not just in Scotland). Details and sign-up here: sound-scotland.co.uk/event/compos...
sound-scotland.co.uk
Composers' Helpline - Sound Scotland
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Sometimes when I am answering too many emails in a day I end up typing "all beset" instead of "all best", which seems appropriate!
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Joanne Merriam @joannemerriam.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
I can’t get over how gorgeous this cover by Pei Yuan Li is! So many thanks to Inanna for involving me in decisions about specifics and finding such a talented cover artist. Also very grateful to @kateheartfield.com for her lovely blurb. 💙📚 #BookSky #JaneAusten #bookish #romance 🪐📚
A screencapture of an Instagram post from inannapub: We're thrilled to reveal the cover for AETHER AND EGO by Joanne Merriam @joanne.merriam

It is autumn 1845, and Elizabeth Bennet is a part of the second generation embarking on a centuries-long flight to Alpha Centauri, working in the signal room and studying engineering aboard a massive centrifugal ship. When she is thrown into the orbit of the conventional Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth finds him haughty and intolerable.

But then her younger sister elopes. For all of their progress in the new society of the ship, a woman can still be ruined by an imprudent attachment. Can Elizabeth and Darcy save Lydia’s reputation, learn to like each other, and avoid being convicted of murder?

Aether and Ego is a steampunk retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, with the addition of space travel, dogs, and accidental death.

Preorder your copy today, link in bio.
Releases September 2026

Cover Designer: @plumtree.jpg

Next to that text is the cover, featuring a clockwork chickadee perched on the branch of a peach tree with a starry background.
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
Trying to chat with a company to get help is so utterly useless these days...
A picture of a chat with a company:
The company: What is your first name?
Me: Are you a person or an AI?
The company: Thanks, Are you a person or an AI?!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
This is a great opportunity for Scotland-based composers and artists to create a new work based on data sonification. Please apply and/or share with people who might be interested! forms.office.com/pages/respon...
forms.office.com
Microsoft Forms
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
I'm really looking forward to being part of this show at Transmission Gallery (Glasgow), with crochet by my, origami by @neilbanas.bsky.social, and paintings by Michelle Campbell. Join us for the opening (with drinks and snacks) Feb 24 6-9! #sciart #mathart #seaslugs
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St. Simeon the Holy Fool @simeonthefool.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
The wonderful thing about Tyggers Is Tyggers are burning bright Their tops are made out of rubber In the forest of the night What bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy, Immortal hand or eye Did frame the most wonderful thing about Tyggers, Their fearful symmetry!
William Blake’s illustration for “The Tyger” has what appears to be a dippy grin for some reason.
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
I'm really looking forward to being part of this show at Transmission Gallery (Glasgow), with crochet by my, origami by @neilbanas.bsky.social, and paintings by Michelle Campbell. Join us for the opening (with drinks and snacks) Feb 24 6-9! #sciart #mathart #seaslugs
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Kenneth Woods @kennethwoods.net · 05/02/2026
It's time to change the laws around streaming services so that musicians get their fair share! Join me in signing to Musicians' Union petition to fix streaming! www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/ch...
megaphone.org.uk
Change the law to fix music streaming
It's time to change the laws around streaming services so that musicians get their fair share! Join me in signing to Musicians' Union petition to fix streaming!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
If I suddenly became very rich (which sadly isn't going to happen) I would start up a moderately competitive grant for a moderate amount of money for mid-career artists to complete the middle phase of a mid-sized project. Obvs other demographics need more funding too. But there's a real lack here!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
I'm very pleased to share this creative conversation with my wonderful @rcsofficial.bsky.social friends and colleagues Laura Bissell and Laura Gonzalez, in which we explore "inspiration" in both the literal and metaphorical senses of the word. rdw.rowan.edu/joie/vol3/is...
rdw.rowan.edu
On Inspiration
In this creative conversation, we three artist-researchers at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ponder inspiration in education and in our own creative practices from a range of perspectives. Each o...
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Neil Banas @neilbanas.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
"Breath…is repeatable and trainable, yet also unpredictable and resistant." This conversation about inspiration goes lots of unexpected places. Ultimately I think it's about finding comfort and rhythm in bodies and creative practices that are always a bit creakier and wheezier than one envisioned.
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
I'm very pleased to share this creative conversation with my wonderful @rcsofficial.bsky.social friends and colleagues Laura Bissell and Laura Gonzalez, in which we explore "inspiration" in both the literal and metaphorical senses of the word. rdw.rowan.edu/joie/vol3/is...
rdw.rowan.edu
On Inspiration
In this creative conversation, we three artist-researchers at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ponder inspiration in education and in our own creative practices from a range of perspectives. Each o...
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
The 10 year old: "I want neeps [turnips]! I want NEEPS! I WANT NEEPS NOW! #parentingproblemsididnotforesee #scottishparenting #unexpectedturnipemergency
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
I enjoy Spelling Bee, but I also find the allowable words so arbitrary. Why is puppylike a word but eellike isn't. And why is eely a word but elky isn't? And don't get me started on all the excellent Scottish words it omits! I am feeling a bit elky about this!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
I enjoy Spelling Bee, but I also find the allowable words so arbitrary. Why is puppylike a word but eellike isn't. And why is eely a word but elky isn't? And don't get me started on all the excellent Scottish words it omits! I am feeling a bit elky about this!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
All the Scottish cafes now serve pumpkin spice lattes in the fall, which seems very out of place because no no one eats pumpkin pie here, so pumpkin spice is not a thing. But haggis spice is pretty similar -- nutmeg, allspice, mace. Why don't they sell these as haggis spice lattes? Sounds delicious!
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
All the Scottish cafes now serve pumpkin spice lattes in the fall, which seems very out of place because no no one eats pumpkin pie here, so pumpkin spice is not a thing. But haggis spice is pretty similar -- nutmeg, allspice, mace. Why don't they sell these as haggis spice lattes? Sounds delicious!
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Jan Tait and the Bear @jantaitopera.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
PRANKSTER SLUG news! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...
theguardian.com
Doorbell prankster that tormented residents of German apartments turns out to be a slug
People suspected teenagers playing ding dong ditch and called police, who found animal crawling on the door panel
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Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
A collaboration between me, @amsouth.bsky.social & Lesley Harrison, performed at @rethinkingfable.bsky.social (www.rethinking-fables.org.uk). Lesley & Alex weave together pieces by me and Alex and a poem by Lesley to create a new fable, "The Gannet and the Whale". www.youtube.com/watch?v=r55d...
youtube.com
The Gannet and the Whale (May 24, 2025, Rethinking Fables)
YouTube video by Kaori Nagai
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