13.01 Sound Art Workshop 2nd Meeting

Check-in: [12:00, 15min] ¹

• How’s everybody doing?
• Confirm that all recordings are uploaded to the shared gDrive
  • make recordings of any that are missing
• video of Lucy Raven’s “Demolition of a Wall (Album 2)”, from Pittsburgh Carnegie Art Museum  
  • interaction of multiple elements
  • speaker selection & placement
  • challenges of sound art in trad institutional settings

Activity: preliminary sculpture install [12:15, 45min]

Initial placement of sound sculptures in the installation room

• Arrange sculptures in the space, paying exclusive attention to their sound
  • individually, how does each one interact with the space? adjust as necessary.
  • collectively, how do they interact with each other? adjust
• Introduce interactive (motion sensor) and sequenced triggering
  • look for ways to use these to balance the overall sound environment

Homework review: [1:00, 45min]

Listen to student recordings of their sculptures (homework)

• Blind listen, identify artist by sound only
• In prep for multichannel authoring session categorize:
  • Continuous or intermittent - suggests use as either bed or foreground sound
  • Pitch - to guide combinations of sounds that remain distinct
  • Volume

Lecture/instruction - Multichannel nuts & bolts: [1:45, 30min]

Overview of multichannel hardware setup:

• 8-channel circular speaker array (x/y, no z for overhead)
  • distinct from 5.1 or 7.1 video, which divides frequencies between sub(s) & mid/highs. x.1 requires specialized expensive software (Sony Sony Blu-print & Vegas, or Minnetonka’s Surcode)
  • also different than Ambisonics, which addresses a full spherical sound environment, but is encoded/decoded)
• Computer sound output (from either authoring software or DAW) to a multi-channel hardware audio interface; this requires special hardware connections (firewire) and driver software.
  • Could also be mixed down and delivered via stand-alone media player (Tsunami or similar)
  • for soundscapes that don’t require tight synchronization, individual media players are another option
• Listen to a fixed-media multi-channel composition incorporating environmental sounds (examples from The World Soundscape Project)

Lecture/instruction - Multichannel nuts & bolts: [2:45, 30min]

Introduction to SpaceControl simplified multi-channel authoring tool (how-to).

• SpaceControl is a simplified tool for the creation of multichannel audio, with control over the panning of sounds around a multi-speaker array
• Quickstart video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYJ57K_lLjA  
  • Load a soundfile using “open” on any of the available channels
    • (stereo files will load into 2 channels by default; we can delete the second one)
  • Entire (5min) clip displays in lower panel
  • Click bar at top of lower panel to add “nodes”; software adds corresponding nodes in round vector/map
  • click & drag nodes in vector map to move sound in space, around speaker array
  • click & drag nodes top of lower panel to move them forward/backward in time
  • Green line towards the top of lower panel represents volume
    • click on the line to add a volume node (shiftclick node to remove)
    • drag node downward to lower volume
    • typically several nodes are added to lower or raise volume of just a segment of the sound
  • on right side of lower panel is a tiny vertical slider to zoom in/out on time scale - zoom in to make fine adjustments
• More advanced tools (like SPAT   , developed at IRCAM and now available via Ableton or MAX) allow for more detailed manipulation of spatialization, including reverb and filtering to more realistically simulate distance effects.

Activity: Multichannel Sound Authoring [3:15, 1hr]

Once we have a basic handle on using the tool to manipulate sounds in space, we’ll combine our sounds into a group project on a single computer connected to the array, sharing authoring.

• Collectively come up with a compositional structure or strategy (overall arc, sequencing, background/foreground sounds, conceptual spatial map for placement in speaker array).
• Create a graphic score/storyboard to use as a map for our sound installation
• Working collectively (or small groups), we will import our sounds in SpaceControl, and assign positions and movement/trajectories within an 8-channel speaker array

Activity: Finalize installation [4:15, 30min]

Play the multichannel recording in the room together with the activated sound sculptures. Listen and evaluate resultant sonic installation/environment. Adjust as time allows, being sure to listen after each change.

• Listen with your eyes closed. In pairs, take turns trying to navigate the space with eyes closed (buddy responsible for preventing collision/injury).
• Notice the juxtaposition of the original sounding objects and their matching recorded sounds - how do they interact, and/or inform each other?
• Overall, listen for coherence/balance (elements working together) as well as contrasts. Similar or differing volumes? Complementary tonal ranges? etc…

Closing Discussion: [4:45, 15min]

• Immersive nature of sound (installation vs sculpture)
• Juxtaposition of live vs. recorded sound art, differences in affect
• Acousmatic listening (where sound source is not identifiable)
• Musique concrete (acousmatic) vs environmental composition (referential)

Questions

Students are ENCOURAGED to contact Bob Drake with any questions or concerns.

References