Ambient harmonizing with smoke detector -- HELP (Quelm Heights)
My ambient (his name is Hum) has figured out the frequency of our smoke detector's low-battery chirp. Every time it chirps, he harmonizes with it. He holds the note. He builds on it. It started as kind of charming and now it's 4 AM and he's been sustaining a chord based on the chirp for three hours and I think he's added a bass line.
I changed the battery. He is now harmonizing with the NEW chirp, which is slightly different, which he seems to consider a creative challenge.
How do I stop this.
You can retune the detector to a frequency outside his responsive range. Most ambients top out around 14kHz -- get a detector with an ultrasonic alert mode. The Krevmire hardware store on Dross Ave carries them, they're labeled "pet-compatible" in small print on the back. Tell them it's for an ambient and they'll know which one.
Also, DO NOT just remove the smoke detector. I know it's tempting. I did it and my ambient spent two weeks trying to reproduce the chirp from memory. It was not accurate and it was not pleasant.
My ambient learned to mimic the detector perfectly and now I genuinely cannot tell when there is an actual alarm versus when he's performing. I have been standing in my kitchen with an oven mitt evaluating whether a sound is art or an emergency more times than I want to admit.