I find amazing the precise choice of words he uses! I would expect nothing less from a sound genius!
His analogy about organisms reconfigured by "forces and constrains" to create other more complex organisms i think can be and is the basis for and can be applied to art in general at various levels.
I also admire his creative freedom, "I want to be on this edge between improvisation and collaboration" that phrase says it all.
As a dancer and performer when I hear the word "improvisation", I hear "awareness", "real time", "presence"... "ever-fresh"!!! I think that it's a improvisation is an essential in any art; it's what keeps that form of expression alive.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Reed Phase, track 12
Reed Phase, track 12 on the CD that came with Sound Unbound, is not a track that I would care to listen to over and over again for any extended amount of time. However, I do appreciate the artist exploring the way in which repetition intensifies the sound. While listening to it, I was at times lost in it like a stream of thoughts pulling me further and further in. Then, just as I was becoming lost in the repetition, the repetition would become too much. At this point, it felt like a form of Chinese water torture with each repetition being one more drop landing on my head. I could hear the piece loop at times and yet was confused as to whether I was hearing the exact same sounds through the entire piece or if it was changing slightly. It was like the repetition was playing with me!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Loudspeaker in the Tower
I had an amazing supplemental reading about bells called "The Loudspeaker in the Tower" by Ivan Illich. Check it out dudes!!!
Campanalogy
Campanology (late Latin campana, "bell" + Greek λόγος, "knowledge") is the study of bells. It encompasses the physical realities of bells — how they are cast, tuned and sounded — as well as the various methods devised to perform bell-ringing.
In particular, it is common to collect together a set of tuned bells and treat the whole as one musical instrument. Such collections — such as a Flemish carillon, a Russian zvon, or a British "ring of bells" used for change ringing — have their own practices and challenges; and campanology is likewise the study of perfecting such instruments, composing music for them, and performing it.
In particular, it is common to collect together a set of tuned bells and treat the whole as one musical instrument. Such collections — such as a Flemish carillon, a Russian zvon, or a British "ring of bells" used for change ringing — have their own practices and challenges; and campanology is likewise the study of perfecting such instruments, composing music for them, and performing it.
Generative Music and Terry Riley
Generative Music relies on a system or process to create a continually evolving and ever-changing piece of music. Unlike a live performance or recorded music, Generative Music is never the same. Using software and technology as paintbrushes, the artist is able to create his own sounds and then let them free within pre-set parameters. The process is similar to a craftsperson creating a wind chime so that he can hear music. The craftsperson knows that he will only be able to control the type of material and how thick it is and how many chimes there will be on the finished piece. Such construction will directly affect the sounds that will emanate from the wind chime, but beyond this he will have no more control. Once the piece is finished, the craftsperson must hang it in the wind for unpredictable sounds to emerge as the wind blows.
As I scanned a few articles on this topic, I began to wonder more and more about how we will experience music in the future. One article pointed out that because generative music is ever changing it cannot be recorded and therefore copyrighted. What will the affect of this be?
I am also very curious about generative music being brought into more public spaces like Brian Eno’s 1975 project, “Music for Airports”. I am specifically interested in bringing such music into a hospital environment where people lay staring at white walls for hours on end without much stimulation except for the static and whirr of hospital machines and the un-rejuvenating noise of the television. Last year, I took part in a one month intensive class with Shands Arts in Medicine that looked at using the Arts in a hospital setting to foster healing in patients. I saw music in particular to be very powerful. One woman who had been in a lot of pain and not able to fall asleep, fell asleep within 10 minutes of three people performing live music right by her bedside. I even watched the monitor that was hooked up to her change to a more relaxing state right before my eyes! As part of this class, we were also lead through a musical journey in which we all played various instruments at different intervals with our eyes closed. The process took about 10 minutes. It brought us into another state and when we finally opened our eyes again, we came out of this musical journey refreshed. So, the healing qualities of music are undeniable.
The Terry Riley video that is posted on this blog talks about the possibilities that music opens up for a person to more fully realize himself. Riley says that “music carries a powerful message about who we are”. I think that is true not only on a personal level, but can also be applied to the larger society. If music has this power, then incorporating its effects into the larger society should be something we aim for. We should be including the positive and healing aspects of music into our everyday lives in the different public spaces that we interact within.
The idea of music as including healing and spirituality makes me wonder what sounds exactly affect one’s mind in such a way as to cause this mental shift. What makes one noise grating and another uplifting? The sounds of the sitar have a very calming effect on me so I’d like to find out why that is so.
As I scanned a few articles on this topic, I began to wonder more and more about how we will experience music in the future. One article pointed out that because generative music is ever changing it cannot be recorded and therefore copyrighted. What will the affect of this be?
I am also very curious about generative music being brought into more public spaces like Brian Eno’s 1975 project, “Music for Airports”. I am specifically interested in bringing such music into a hospital environment where people lay staring at white walls for hours on end without much stimulation except for the static and whirr of hospital machines and the un-rejuvenating noise of the television. Last year, I took part in a one month intensive class with Shands Arts in Medicine that looked at using the Arts in a hospital setting to foster healing in patients. I saw music in particular to be very powerful. One woman who had been in a lot of pain and not able to fall asleep, fell asleep within 10 minutes of three people performing live music right by her bedside. I even watched the monitor that was hooked up to her change to a more relaxing state right before my eyes! As part of this class, we were also lead through a musical journey in which we all played various instruments at different intervals with our eyes closed. The process took about 10 minutes. It brought us into another state and when we finally opened our eyes again, we came out of this musical journey refreshed. So, the healing qualities of music are undeniable.
The Terry Riley video that is posted on this blog talks about the possibilities that music opens up for a person to more fully realize himself. Riley says that “music carries a powerful message about who we are”. I think that is true not only on a personal level, but can also be applied to the larger society. If music has this power, then incorporating its effects into the larger society should be something we aim for. We should be including the positive and healing aspects of music into our everyday lives in the different public spaces that we interact within.
The idea of music as including healing and spirituality makes me wonder what sounds exactly affect one’s mind in such a way as to cause this mental shift. What makes one noise grating and another uplifting? The sounds of the sitar have a very calming effect on me so I’d like to find out why that is so.
Sound Design
Sound design is one of the youngest fields in stagecraft, second only to the use of projection and other multimedia displays. The idea of sound design has been around since theatre started, however the first person to receive a credit as Sound Designer on the poster and in the programme alongside the lighting and scene designers was David Collison for the 59 Theatre Company Season at London's Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith in 1959. The first person to be titled the "sound designer" on Broadway was Jack Mann for his work on Show Girl in 1963 [3], and for regional theatre to Dan Dugan at the American Conservatory Theatre (ACT), San Francisco in 1968. Since then the field has been growing rapidly. The term "Sound Design" was introduced to the film world when Francis Ford Coppola directed (and his father, Carmine Coppola, arranged the music for) a production of Private Lives at ACT, while the final cut of the film The Godfather was being edited in 1972.
Currently it can be said that there are two variants of Theatrical Sound Design. Both are equally important, but very different, though their functions usually overlap. Often a single Sound Designer will fill both these roles, and although on a large budget production they may work together, for the most part there is only one Sound Designer for a given production. Where such distinctions are made, the first variant is "Technical Sound Design" (which has also been termed Theatre Sound System Design by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's (USITT) Sound Design Commission), which is prevalent on Broadway, and the second "Conceptual Sound Design" (which has also been termed Theatre Sound Score Design by the USITT), which is prevalent at Regional Repertory Theatres. Both variants were created during the 1960s. These terms are really examples only, and not generally used in practice since most Sound Designers simply call themselves Sound Designers, no matter which role they are filling primarily.
Technical Sound Design requires the sound designer to design the sound system that will fulfill the needs of the production. If there is a sound system already installed in the venue, it is their job to tune the system for the best use for the given production using various methods including equalization, delay, volume, speaker and microphone placement, and this may include the addition of equipment not already provided. In conjunction with the director and musical director, if any, they also determine the use and placement of microphones for actors and musicians. A Technical Sound Designer makes sure that the performance can be heard and understood by everyone in the audience, no matter how large the room, and that the performers can hear everything they need to in order to do their job.
Conceptual Sound Design is very different from technical sound design, but equally important. The designer must first read the play and talk to the production's Director about what themes and messages they want to explore. It is here that, in conjunction with the director and possibly the composer, the designer decides what sounds he will use to create mood and setting of the play. He or she might also choose or compose specific music for the play, although the final choice typically lies with the director, who may want nothing but scene change music or, on the other extreme, will want ambient beds under every scene, such as Robert Woodruff of the American Repertory Theatre or Bill Ball, Ellis Rabb and Jack O'Brien who were active at ACT and the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, in the mid 1960s where Dan Dugan initially began his art. Many sound designers are indeed accomplished composers, writing and producing music for productions as well as designing sound. With these designers, it is often difficult to discern the line between sound design and music.
Some noted Sound Designers and/or Composers include David Budries, Abe Jacob (considered by many to be the Godfather of modern Theatre Sound Design), Steve Canyon Kennedy, Otts Munderloh, Mark Bennet, Hans Peter Kuhn, Obadiah Eaves, John Gromada, Darron West, Michael Bodeen, Rob Milburn, Tom Mardikes, Jon Gottlieb, Dan Moses Schreier, Jim Van Bergen, Bruce Ellman, Richard B. Ingraham, David Van Tieghem, Joe Pino, Steven Brown, Richard Woodbury, David Collison, Jonathan Deans, Tony Meola, Paul Arditti and John Bracewell.
On occasion, the director may be very hands-on and will tell the sound designer what sounds to use and where to play them. In such cases, the sound designer becomes little more than an audio editor, but this depends to a large degree on the director and his relationship and level of trust with the sound designer. There are also collaborations such as exist between Ann Bogart and Darron West in the Siti Company, where he is in rehearsal from the day one and sound is really another character of the play. Also, the Conceptual Sound Designer must build the "prop sounds" (telephones rings, answering machines, announcements etc.) and figure out how to fit them into the established themes with regard to when and where the action is supposed to be taking place. For example, using a modern cellular phone ringtone would be out of place for a phone ringing in the 1940s. A Conceptual Sound Designer uses sound to enhance the audience's experience by conveying specific emotion or information without using words.
Above all, both the Technical Sound Designer and the Conceptual Sound Designer must call on experience and "uncommon" sense to ensure that the sound and music are contributing constructively to the production and are in harmony with the work of the actors and other designers.
The union that represents theatrical non-Broadway sound designers in the United States is United Scenic Artists (USA) Local USA829 which is now integrated within IATSE. Theatrical Sound Designers in Canada are represented by the Associated Designers of Canada (ADC). Sound Designers on Broadway working on productions falling under the League of American Theatre and Producers contracts (i.e. all Broadway theatrical productions) are represented by IATSE Local One[1], by virtue of Local One's merger with IATSE Local 922, the former Theatrical Sound Designers local union. Local One maintains a binding contract with Broadway producers for work performed on Broadway shows.
Charlie Richmond assembled a set [4] of Definitions, Communication Standards, Recommended Working Procedures, Information List, and suggested Contract Addenda to the ADC in 1990 in order to assist them in creating a Sound Design contract which finally occurred in 2004.
Other audio positions in a production that may or may not be filled by the designer include that of the production engineer.
Currently it can be said that there are two variants of Theatrical Sound Design. Both are equally important, but very different, though their functions usually overlap. Often a single Sound Designer will fill both these roles, and although on a large budget production they may work together, for the most part there is only one Sound Designer for a given production. Where such distinctions are made, the first variant is "Technical Sound Design" (which has also been termed Theatre Sound System Design by the United States Institute for Theatre Technology's (USITT) Sound Design Commission), which is prevalent on Broadway, and the second "Conceptual Sound Design" (which has also been termed Theatre Sound Score Design by the USITT), which is prevalent at Regional Repertory Theatres. Both variants were created during the 1960s. These terms are really examples only, and not generally used in practice since most Sound Designers simply call themselves Sound Designers, no matter which role they are filling primarily.
Technical Sound Design requires the sound designer to design the sound system that will fulfill the needs of the production. If there is a sound system already installed in the venue, it is their job to tune the system for the best use for the given production using various methods including equalization, delay, volume, speaker and microphone placement, and this may include the addition of equipment not already provided. In conjunction with the director and musical director, if any, they also determine the use and placement of microphones for actors and musicians. A Technical Sound Designer makes sure that the performance can be heard and understood by everyone in the audience, no matter how large the room, and that the performers can hear everything they need to in order to do their job.
Conceptual Sound Design is very different from technical sound design, but equally important. The designer must first read the play and talk to the production's Director about what themes and messages they want to explore. It is here that, in conjunction with the director and possibly the composer, the designer decides what sounds he will use to create mood and setting of the play. He or she might also choose or compose specific music for the play, although the final choice typically lies with the director, who may want nothing but scene change music or, on the other extreme, will want ambient beds under every scene, such as Robert Woodruff of the American Repertory Theatre or Bill Ball, Ellis Rabb and Jack O'Brien who were active at ACT and the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, in the mid 1960s where Dan Dugan initially began his art. Many sound designers are indeed accomplished composers, writing and producing music for productions as well as designing sound. With these designers, it is often difficult to discern the line between sound design and music.
Some noted Sound Designers and/or Composers include David Budries, Abe Jacob (considered by many to be the Godfather of modern Theatre Sound Design), Steve Canyon Kennedy, Otts Munderloh, Mark Bennet, Hans Peter Kuhn, Obadiah Eaves, John Gromada, Darron West, Michael Bodeen, Rob Milburn, Tom Mardikes, Jon Gottlieb, Dan Moses Schreier, Jim Van Bergen, Bruce Ellman, Richard B. Ingraham, David Van Tieghem, Joe Pino, Steven Brown, Richard Woodbury, David Collison, Jonathan Deans, Tony Meola, Paul Arditti and John Bracewell.
On occasion, the director may be very hands-on and will tell the sound designer what sounds to use and where to play them. In such cases, the sound designer becomes little more than an audio editor, but this depends to a large degree on the director and his relationship and level of trust with the sound designer. There are also collaborations such as exist between Ann Bogart and Darron West in the Siti Company, where he is in rehearsal from the day one and sound is really another character of the play. Also, the Conceptual Sound Designer must build the "prop sounds" (telephones rings, answering machines, announcements etc.) and figure out how to fit them into the established themes with regard to when and where the action is supposed to be taking place. For example, using a modern cellular phone ringtone would be out of place for a phone ringing in the 1940s. A Conceptual Sound Designer uses sound to enhance the audience's experience by conveying specific emotion or information without using words.
Above all, both the Technical Sound Designer and the Conceptual Sound Designer must call on experience and "uncommon" sense to ensure that the sound and music are contributing constructively to the production and are in harmony with the work of the actors and other designers.
The union that represents theatrical non-Broadway sound designers in the United States is United Scenic Artists (USA) Local USA829 which is now integrated within IATSE. Theatrical Sound Designers in Canada are represented by the Associated Designers of Canada (ADC). Sound Designers on Broadway working on productions falling under the League of American Theatre and Producers contracts (i.e. all Broadway theatrical productions) are represented by IATSE Local One[1], by virtue of Local One's merger with IATSE Local 922, the former Theatrical Sound Designers local union. Local One maintains a binding contract with Broadway producers for work performed on Broadway shows.
Charlie Richmond assembled a set [4] of Definitions, Communication Standards, Recommended Working Procedures, Information List, and suggested Contract Addenda to the ADC in 1990 in order to assist them in creating a Sound Design contract which finally occurred in 2004.
Other audio positions in a production that may or may not be filled by the designer include that of the production engineer.
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