Filed under: 2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures, Abstract, Algebra, Avant-garde, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Experimental, Frequency, Golden Mean, Golden Proportion, Golden Ratio, Hertz, Hz, Math, Math Music, Mathematics, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Music Structure, Psychology, Science, Sound, Sound Sculpture, Soundscape | Tags: 2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures, Abstract, Algebra, Avant-garde, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Experimental, Frequency, Golden Mean, Golden Proportion, Golden Ratio, Hertz, Hz, Math, Math Music, Mathematics, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Music Structure, Psychology, Science, Sound, Sound Sculpture, Soundscape
And this weeks Sonic Scultpure:
2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures – 4. January IV [2 min 0 sec, 1.83mb mp3]
For this composition, I decided to mess around with a little math. First, I decided on how to mathematically structure this music. I decided on it being 2 minutes (or 120 seconds) long. From there, I derived the main “climax” of the work by applying the mathematics of the Golden Ratio (more info here), which resulted in a timing of 74.166 seconds for its occurance. From there, I continued dividing the remaining first large section down into two more sections, using the same idea of the Golden Ratio. This led to: 45.838 seconds, 28.330 seconds, 17.509 seconds, etc. down to 0.033 seconds.
Next, I created two base tones to sound out continuously throughout the 2 minute duration of the piece. I selected the tones of 255Hz and 215Hz, one projected from the left speaker, the other from the right speaker. The 255Hz tone starts at 255Hz and gradually decreases in Hz until it reaches 215Hz at exactly 120 seconds from the beginning, the very conclusion. This creates a mean tone of 235Hz with an additional resulting beat at around 40Hz at the beginning, gradually ending at 215Hz with an additional resulting beat at 0Hz. According to some information found here, the beating would resonate with Gamma brain wave frequencies (anxiety, problem solving, etc.) and gradually shift to Delta brain waves (deep sleep).
Once this psychological ostinato was in place, I began placing increasingly longer sections of a tone set at 107.5Hz (the next lower octave companion to the unchange base tone of 215Hz) at the corresponding timings derived through the Golden Ratio. These also slightly diminish in volume through the work and eventually fade with the connecting tones at the conclusion.
In reality, this work certainly pushes the definition of a sonic “sculpture” since it is very systematically (or algorthmically or possibly even stachostically) created rather than “sculpted,” but I think it still will work well in this ongoing series, and certainly shows my strange interest in mathematics and music currently. Please feel free to leave comments about this piece, especially if you feel you had any slight bit of psychological reaction to the work.
Of course, this is best heard with good stereo headphones. Please, enjoy.
Filed under: 2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures, Abstract, Amazon.com, Audio Mulch, Avant-garde, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Electronica, Experimental, Hip-hop, IDM, Keyboard, Madlib, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Rap, Ring Tones, Sonar, Sound Sculpture, Soundscape, Trip-hop | Tags: 2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures, Abstract, Amazon.com, Audio Mulch, Avant-garde, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Electronica, Experimental, Hip-hop, IDM, Keyboard, Madlib, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Rap, Ring Tones, Sonar, Sound Sculpture, Soundscape, Trip-hop
Here is the second installment of the 2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures experiment:
2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures – 2. January II [9 min 57 sec, 9.1mb mp3]
Well, where to begin with this one… I began with an idea of recording room noise (interesting, since I did that with the first one). I recorded myself moving around my room, banging things here and there, playing with ring tones on my cell phone, playing my keyboard, and listening to music on a stereo system, as well as computer hums and a space heater (again…). The music was mostly tracks from my album The-Novus-Arcadia.
I recorded approximately 15 minutes of those kinds of sounds. The next step was taking that sound clip and chopping small pieces out of it randomly, throughout the whole clip. These cuts varied from a second or two to 20 or more seconds…this reduced the length to just over nine minutes long. I did this with Adobe Audition.
I took that sound clip and layered it in my sequencer (Sonar Producer), and began further scultpting. I adjusted gains between all of them, fading some in while other fade out, etc. I applied several different effects to each clip, EQing them differently as well. Then I went in and did further chopping and looping. I had been listening to a bit of hip hop lately (mainly Beat Konducta, Vol. 1-2 by Madlib) hence the touch of beat loops sort of coming in with other abstract loops.
Once this was completed, I had a clip approximately ten minutes long. I took this clip and ran it through Audio Mulch several different ways, recording it back in realtime while manipulating a number of parameters in realtime. This final ‘performance’ is the track I uploaded.
I don’t know if I’ll normally go that far with these EVERY single week, but I felt like digging into some ideas with this one. Hope you enjoy, and of course….what are your thoughts?
Filed under: Abstract, Album, Amazon.com, Avant-garde, CD, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Electronica, Experimental, IDM, Marketplace, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Music Video, P2 Cards, Promo, Used CDs, Video | Tags: Abstract, Album, Amazon.com, Avant-garde, CD, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Electronica, Experimental, IDM, Marketplace, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Music Video, P2 Cards, Promo, Used CDs, Video
Be sure to check out some free downloads and videos: http://www.erratikproductions.com/releases/err001.html
Then go here and listen to more samples: The-Novus-Arcadia on Amazon.com
Then buy it used at amazon.com for cheap… Well worth the few bucks! Thanks, and good day…
Oh, and then read the previous post about the series of Sonic Sculptures and listen to the first one… The second one will be up in a few days I would guess…
Also, Erratik has a Marketplace page on Amazon.com with a wide range of goods, mostly electronics, DVDs, etc. Check it out here: Erratik Marketplace
Thanks, and good day…again.
Filed under: 2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures, Abstract, Avant-garde, Christmas, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Experimental, Local News, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Sound Sculpture | Tags: 2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures, Abstract, Avant-garde, Christmas, Classical, Composition, Electronic, Experimental, Local News, Mp3, Music, Music Composition, Sound Sculpture
I just completed the first Sonic Sculpture for the year 2008. Here it is:
2008: 53 Sonic Sculptures – 1. January I [2 min 9 sec, 2.1mb mp3]
I wasn’t feeling particularly inspired this morning as I constructed this. I’m not feeling the greatest today, and I’ve been writing a lot of “nice” music lately, so I think that’s where my desire to use more distorted sounds came in to play.
The static sound that is similar to a vacuum cleaner was derived from just recording the room ambience – I have a space heater running since it is winter in Duluth, Minnesota, and it is rather cold today.
The bell sound was taken out of a piece of music I had recently composed for Fox 21 News here in Duluth for the Sports Rewind (here is the track: Carol of the Bells – Rewind Mix). Obviously it was written with a little Christmas spirit, hence the bell sounds. The sample I used is actually derived from the entire work–I took the audio file and greatly sped it up, creating a short loop that begins with a sort of bell sound (you can hear it at the beginning, and it also makes a reappearance near the end).
The bouncing, synthy sounding material was derived from some improvisation I did on my keyboard with a synthesizer-type sample. I then layered it and EQed it a couple different ways, as well as added a phaser effect, and later stretched fragments of it (hence the bouncing type sound).
The distorted, louder, almost concert-band or orchestra sounding bit of sound that comes in toward the end rather suddenly is from an old recording of the UMD Symphony Orchestra rehearsing a piece of music I had composed many years ago. I distorted the recording considerably and gradually slowed it down, again creating a type of bouncing, jagged distorted sound…
Thoughts?
