Week 6 - SoundHack and Music Technology Panel

My left ear was blocked all this week, so forgive me if my blog is a little ‘one-sided’. In any case, this is my ‘monocracy‘.

Our creative computing class this past week involved an introduction to SoundHack, and more Spear exploration, including deleting and transposing entire harmonic sections and also using a PCM editor to layer a manipulated sound file over the top of the original. After learning the file editing capabilities of SoundHack, I plan to crack the 396kbps audio file that I mentioned last week. In our Audio Arts class we were taught how to send and receive signals between the dead room and studio 1. On Friday I assisted honours student Tim Swalling in setting up a mic and headphones in the dead room to connect to C|24 in studio 1. Apart from some sound level issues, we got it working in 5 minutes, talk back and all. We checked to see how much bleed (if any) occurs between the two rooms by recording silence on the mic while an audio track was being played through the headphones, however there was minimal discrepancies.

Our workshop began with ‘Ecuatorial’ (1932-34), by Edgar Varèse. It uses a very complex collection of instruments, originally including two theremins, which were later replaced by ondes martinots in the published version of the song (1). Large and intricate chords would swell up every now and then in the wind instruments, and sometimes in the strings. The percussion was mostly a mix of loud and quiet instrumentation, but still added shock value. A baritone voice seems to sit around in the quiet parts, and is quickly made superfluous by the roaring trumpets. [Camera Press Ltd, London / photo Walter Bursten/Queen]

Milton Babbit is the first person to use ‘total serialism’(2), as exemplified in “Ensembles for Synthesiser”. Listening to the piece, I had several interpretations of the sounds, including various ringing phones, and Atari 2600 music. There was no musical form, but there wasn’t meant to be. A thought occurs: without musical form, what can be done in 10 minutes that can’t be done in 5? The piece was way too long, and I found myself gazing out the window thinking “If we were meant to be monogamous, why aren’t we born already married?” [Camera Press Ltd, London / photo Vytas Valaitis]

Barry Truax‘s “Wings of Nike” (1987) consisted of wind sounds with a tinkling sound on top, rising and falling intermittently with some effects thrown in. Nothing incredible or thought inspiring.

The forum was an actual forum this time, with Stephen Whittington, Mark Carroll and Tristan Louth-Robbins, (eventually) asking the question “Is Music Technology a defined or segregated area of study?” While there were many views and opinions being thrown about, I feel that by the end, the question still remained. Fundamentally, it is difficult to officially define each field of music technology as possible stand alone subjects, as music technology studies have only just begun their integration into the education system. It is not fair to compare it with other well established areas of study that have sometimes had hundreds of years to grow into specialty fields, while music technology has only just become a specialty field itself (of music). Give it time, perhaps our offspring will have a choice? Although I'll need a girlfriend first...



(1) Paul Griffiths: ‘Varèse, Edgard’, Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 07/04/2006), http://www.grovemusic.com

(2) Quote: David Harris. Music Technology Workshop- “Milton Babbit, Ensembles for Synthesisers." Presented at the Electronic Music Unit, EMU space, University of Adelaide, 06/04/2006.

Stephen Whittington, Mark Carroll, Tristan Louth-Robbins. "What is Music Technology". Presented at Electronic Music Unit, EMU space, Adelaide University, 06/04/2006.

Christian Haines. "Audio Arts - Studio 1 and Dead Room." Practical class presented at Studio 1, Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 04/04/2006.

Christian Haines. “Creative Computing - SoundHack and Spear.” Practical class presented at Audio Lab, Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 06/04/2006

For a huge collaboration of pictures of synthesisers, amplifiers, mixers and customisations from around the world, check this out. Be careful though, as there is a TONNE of pictures, and they start downloading as soon as you open the page. I would only recommend viewing if you don’t have a download limit (like I do- 200Mb *sob*).