Composition 5- Venus

The work for Venus has started.  The idea behind this piece is to merge classical, text/speech and concrete styles in order to create a piece based on love and peace just like in Holst's Planets Suite.  With that in mind, poems have been edited and manipulated in Metasynth in the following way: 

Please click for a larger image.  

These poems have all been manipulated in such a way so that the speech itself is still somewhat intelligible.  This is so that the messages of peace and love can be heard.  

The next steps for the piece are:

1) To manipulate the orchestrated version of Holst's Venus
2) To create a sound file of the same frequency which Venus creates from its movement (221.23Hz)
3) To put the whole piece together

Composition 4- Mars

Composition 4 (Mars) has began to come together.  The graphic score (featured below in diagram 1) has now been processed and an audio clip showing the transformation will soon go live and then will be embedded into this blog.

   [Photo diagram 1- graphic score]

This score was imported into Metasynth and inverted so that sound could be heard.  I changed the synth sounds so that I found something I liked and then put the sound through the FX synth in order to change the sound.  The process the sound went through can be seen in the video below and heard in the soundcloud clip below.

   [Video file]

   [Soundcloud file]

In order to use the piece to create new sounds, I manipulated the sound without the use of (much) software.  I set up 2 speakers against a metal barrel in a studio and played the full symphony through the speakers.  A Neumann U87 microphone was positioned over the top of the barrel and recorded the sounds from the music, the room and the barrel.  Whatever the microphone picked up I re-input into ProTools so that each time it went through the system it would have new properties. This can be heard in the audio clip below.

   [Soundcloud file]

Composition 3- Orchestral Concrete Piece

The 3rd composition I am working on is similar to the piano concrete pieces in as much as that it uses the same basic formula to create it.  I have taken a recording of Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Finale and cut it into musical and non-musical phrases.  These phrases were manipulated any number of times as desired.  The clips have been edited / manipulated twice so far.  The manipulations are as follows:

Please click on the picture for a larger view.  I know the colours are bright but it's only to differentiate between different software easily.  

The random number generator generated the sequence in which the sound clips must go. The results are as shown on the screenshot below. Please click for a larger view.

Below is a screenshot of the Cubase project as it was when the sound clips were inserted in the sequence that the random number generator determined. (Please click on the picture for a larger view.)

The next picture shows the way the piece was arranged after auditioning the sounds, but it stills keeps the order determined by the random number generator.

Below is an audio clip of the completed piece as arranged.

Composition 2 - Shostakovich Piece

The second composition is now completed and the audio has been uploaded to soundcloud. 

Below is a screenshot of the unedited version of the cubase arrangement.  

Please click on the picture for a larger view.

The unedited version is below.  This version is the track as it was after the random number generator generated the sequence the sound clips were to be put together in order to create a new piece.  

Below shows the Cubase project once the editing of the arrangement was completed.  This is exactly how the piece sounds.

Please click on the picture for a larger view.

The edited version is the piece where I moved the sound clips around and ensured that they each worked with one another whilst still keeping the sequence/order that the number generator gave.

Composition 2 Full Manipulations

Below is a screenshot of the full list of manipulations that the sound files undertook.  Please click on the picture for a bigger view. The colours in the chart are for an easier way of finding the softwares used on each sound clip.

Random Number Generator

For the Shostakovich recomposition, I decided to use a random number generator from Random.org in order to arrange the piece, thus giving it an element of indeterminacy. The generated numbers are shown in the screenshot below and this is the order that the sound clips / sound objects will be arranged in the piece.  Please click on the picture to view it in greater detail.

Composition 2

For the second composition using recorded piano music as the basis for musique concrete, I chose Shostakovich's Prelude in Eb Minor as it is very different to the first (Edward MacDowell's To a Wild Rose) and has a much wider range of dynamics, more use of the bass frequencies and has a darker general feel.  

I followed the same primary steps as the first piece (1- Cut piece into phrases, 2- Number phrases, 3- Manipulate each clip) however, with this piece, I decided to allow more than one manipulation on each clip to get a greater variety of sounds and to pull the object source away from the piano thus giving a greater curiosity as to the sound source.

The first manipulation have been completed and these new sound clips will undergo second and, if necessary, more manipulations in order to warp the sonic landscape.  The table below shows the first set of manipulations.

Clip	Manipulation 1
1	Evolution GRM
2	Fusion GRM
3	Reson GRM
4	Warp GRM
5	Grinder GRM
6	Comb Filters GRM
7	Shift GRM
8	Freeze GRM
9	Bandpass GRM
10	Pitch Accum GRM
11	Shuffling GRM
12	Vocoder Cecilia 5
13	Pelletizer Cecilia 5
14	Degrade Cecilia 5
15	Detuned Resonator Cecilia 5
16	Granulator Cecilia 5
17	Delay Mod Cecilia 5
18	Harmoniser Cecilia 5
19	PitchLooper Cecilia 5
20	Transpose Cecilia 5
21	LooperMod Cecilia 5
22	Beat Maker Cecilia 5
23	Feedback Looper Cecilia 5
24	Soundgrain 1
25	Soundgrain 2
26	Soundgrain 3
27	Fusion GRM
28	Shuffling GRM
29	Warp GRM
30	Pitch Accum GRM
31	Evolution GRM
32	Grinder GRM
33	Reson GRM
34	Shift GRM
35	Doppler GRM
36	Contrast GRM
37	Delay GRM
38	Freeze GRM
39	Bandpass GRM
40	Distortion Cecilia 5
41	Harmoniser Cecilia 5
42	Granulator Cecilia 5
43	Feedback Looper Cecilia 5
44	Spectral Delay Cecilia 5
45	Spectral Warper Cecilia 5
46	Beat Maker Cecilia 5

The next steps for this piece are:

• Undergo more manipulations
• Use an online number generator to decide the order of the sound objects
• Re-arrangement of sound objects
• Mixing and post-production
• Exporting and mastering

Moving Around the World

This table shows the data I will be using for this piece.  Please click for an enlarged image.  

Moving Around the Globe

New composition idea

1) Use 'random' data based on different places of the world

2) Use Geographical Co-ordinates, population of the country, land area, national minimum wage, GDP (PPP) per capita etc.

3) Change each number into a MIDI note

4) MIDI gets rearranged into a melody

5) Backing is added (instrumentation)

6) Re-organise the sound so that it uses typical sounds from that country (ie. You wouldn't hear steel drums in Russia)

7) Use all this to create the final piece

This is an example of a generative / systems piece and also an Algorithmic piece (Algorithmic in the sense that it has a certain set of rules to adhere to)

Recomposing 'The Planets'

The largest work I will attempt is recomposing a suite of classical pieces- The Planets by Gustav Holst.  I will use parts of the original work and mix it with my own ideas and composition.  In light of this I have made notes as to the nature of each planet in order to re-create this in such a way as to incorporate ideas based on the planets themselves.

MERCURY

 - Rotates slowly buts moves around the sun fastest

 - Has phases

 - Mercury was the god of healing, of business deals and of thieves

 - His thinking is short term, in the present. He is quick to contradict

 - Humor is important; he is the only planet who really uses humor

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 141.27Hz

VENUS

 - Secretive / Mysterious

 - Venus turns out to be a very volatile planet with raging storms and temperatures up to 400 degrees C. - hot enough to melt lead.

 - Confusing but beautiful.

 - She rotates on her axis faster that any other planet

 - The main aspect of Venus is feeling, emotions

 - She can be passionate in loving and hating or charming and caring

 - Venus is not a logical thinker

 - Harmonious, beautiful

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 221.23Hz

EARTH

 - War / Peace

 - Famine and poverty / rich and wealthy

 - On both sides of the scale... Both beautiful and corrupt at the same time

 - Volatile and argumentative

 - Wonders of the Ancient World

 - Possibly do a thing around the world... Different countries etc?

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 194.18Hz

MARS

 - Mars has a thinner atmosphere

 - It makes wild loops

 - He is a builder, dynamic, mobile, enthusiastic

 - He is a fighter and will fight for his ideas either physically or verbally

 - Mars is also a talker. Speech is used as an instrument

 - Mars is strong, assertive, Full of enthusiasm

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 144.72Hz

JUPITER

 - Huge planet and the first from the Sun without solid ground

 - It is made of hydrogen and helium like a star

 - It makes nice equal loops

 - Jupiter turns very quickly on its axle and a Jupiter day only lasts 8 hours

 - The famous 'Red Spot', a hurricane which has been raging for hundreds of years

 - He is a father figure or the good king in fairy tales

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 183.58Hz

SATURN

 - It is mainly known for its rings

 - There are clouds, though not as interesting as those of Jupiter. There are little changing darker and lighter zones

 - Saturn moves slowly around the Sun in 30 years and makes tiny loops

 - Saturn lives with death. Consciously or unconsciously

 - Saturn is not very flexible

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 147.85Hz

URANUS

  - Brings new way of looking at things

 - Its approach is best met with an expanded consciousness

 - Originality, inventions and cutting edge technology and future events are ruled by this planet

 - Sees no need for the status quo, preferring to break with tradition and create a new mold

 - Rebellion, revolution, dictators, an autonomous state and free will fall under this planet

 - Coaxes erratic and bizarre behaviour and byzantine schemes

 - A bohemian, utopiano society and humanitarian ideals is more in keeping with Uranus

 - Freedom and Creativity are important

 - Due to it's sudden, unexpected and sometimes violent manner, Uranus rules earthquakes and other natural disasters

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 207.36Hz

NEPTUNE

 - Planet of illusion, insight, idealisation and inspiration

 - Operates in subtle suggestions or vague and mysterious implications that are sensed rather than known

 - Positive aspects include creative ability, intuition and a realization of the unity of all life

 - Negative aspects include self-deception, vagueness, unrealistic desires, illusion, confusion, misunderstand and false appearances.

 - KEY FREQUENCY - 211.4Hz

Sources: 

 http://www.gotohoroscope.com/planet-aspects-neptune.html 

 http://www.johnhayes.biz/planets/planetsNeptune.htm

 http://www.astrology.com/uranus-planet-rebellion/2-d-d-67285

http://www.planetware.de/octave/cosmic-octave.html

http://busbi.home.xs4all.nl/

Composition 1

The first composition of the project involves taking phrases from the piece in order to split these phrases and manipulate them separately.  The piece chosen for this was To A Wild Rose from Woodland Sketches (Op. 51, (1896)) by Edward Macdowell. The piece was performed and recorded prior to manipulation. This piece was chosen as there are many musical phrases and pauses in the piece. 


Methodology

1. The piece will be split into musical (and non-musical) phrases in order to get 26 different phrases
2. Each phrase will undergo a different manipulation in one of three software packages in no specific order to add another layer of indeterminacy
3. These will be each bounced out as numbers
4. These numbers will be re-entered into a DAW in no particular order
5. The piece will be formed using artistic liberties but also keeping some elements of indeterminacy. This means that any changes to the piece to make it sound better will be done
6. The piece will be mixed appropriately and bounced out

Tools

For this composition, the piece requires 3 software packages:

• Cecilia 5
• Soundgrain
• GRM Tools (Demo version)
• DAW (for this track, Cubase was used)

Influences

• Pierre Schaeffer and his Etudes Violette and Etudes Noir (his studies using piano sounds recorded for Schaeffer)
• John Cage and his pieces on indeterminacy (for example his Music of Changes)

Manipulations

1. Cecilia - Vocoder
2. Cecilia - Morphing
3. Cecilia - Convolution Reverb
4. Cecilia - Feedback Looper
5. Cecilia - Multiband Harmoniser
6. Cecilia - Delay Mod
7. Cecilia - Degrade
8. Cecilia - Chord Maker
9. Cecilia - Phaser
10. Sounds made in Soundgrain
11. Sounds made in Soundgrain
12. Sounds made in Soundgrain
13. Sounds made in Soundgrain
14. GRM Tools - Freeze
15. GRM Tools - Evolution
16. GRM Tools - Pitch Accumulators
17. GRM Tools - Shuffling
18. GRM Tools - Doppler
19. GRM Tools - Fusion
20. GRM Tools - Resonator
21. GRM Tools - Warp
22. GRM Tools - Comb Filter
23. GRM Tools - Shift
24. GRM Tools - Delays
25. GRM Tools - Bandpass Filter
26. GRM Tools - Evolution

Videos

Videos of the manipulations were created for each in order to prove the methodology and for transparency in the project.  These will be edited together and time lapsed and uploaded at a later date.

The Track

You can listen to the track here:  

Conclusion

A conclusion has not yet been formed.  Please check back at a later date.

Write Up Final Report

So today I began the write up for the final report.  I have started the Abstract and given myself the headings of what needs to be included.  Under these headings I have posed questions to myself urging me to answer them as the weeks go on and so that I will not miss anything out of the final draft.  

I'm aiming for the Introduction and Literature Review to be completed by 8th September and the Research Methodology to have at least 4 entries by that point.  

The date for the Research Methodology to be completed is the 22nd September.  This will give me little over a week to compile the evidence, analyse the results and create the conclusion for the project for hand in on 3rd October.

Notes on Shostakovich

I'm looking at using the theme / motif of Shostakovich's Prelude in Eb Minor (Op. 34 No. 14) as a sonic art piece.  I've been trying to find some academic writing on what the piece is based on.  Failing this, I will look at using another Shostakovich work for example String Quartet No. 8 in C Minor Op. 110 as this work has a very strong theme. 

Below is the diagram created in order to keep track of thoughts and progress.

Diagram of Influences and How They are to be Used

The diagram below shows the composers who have influenced me in this project and how their ideas, techniques or compositions will influence the project.  This is a work in progress and is likely to change over the coming weeks.  Please click on the diagram for a larger view.

Diagram of Techniques

The diagram below shows the techniques to be used for the project and how the techniques may effect the project as a whole.  Please click to enlarge the diagram.

The workload

I've come to the conclusion that with other duties, the number of tracks will be significantly cut down to incorporate only the best possible works.  I have also decided that it is not imperative for the works to all undergo the same processes as this is not a project about which process is better, necessarily, rather about whether the pieces being taken and used in new ways has any merit of its own.

Proving the techniques

In order to show how the pieces were created, videos will be made showing the process exactly as I went through them myself.  It will show every single detail of what each piece went through and will be useful, not only as evidence for the project, but also for my own research and technique development. 

Changes to Project

In order to ensure that the project is the very best possible piece of work I can produce, it has changed slightly.  Instead of only using Musique Concrete as a basis for the work, now the project will incorporate many different styles of composition from different composers using different software and hardware.   

The project will take different classical pieces and transform them using different compositional methods in order to re-create the sound in a new, modern way. In a sense, it's merging 2 different styles and era's together to create something new and innovative.
Other composers have done similar things in the past including Stockhausen, Webern, Klusak and Shchedrin. This is often referred to as Polystylism which refers to the use of multiple styles or techniques in music, art, film etc. and is a postmodern characteristic.  This is often also called eclecticism and can describe music which combines multiple styles as well as also being used to refer to music which is thought to be lacking originality and has drawn on other methods or models.

The project will now incorporate different techniques and ideas from many composers and scholars and will show a creative and innovative personal style.  I hope to show that I can compose in a range of ways and in genres.  

Techniques to be used include prepared piano, indeterminacy, Musique Concrete and electroacoustic. 

x

Problems to Overcome

1. Sound samples have to be cut into smaller sounds in order for them to adhere to one frequency
2. Sound samples have to be put through a frequency detector individually
3. The frequency detectors currently on the market are the best estimates of the frequency
4. Sound samples will be used quickly and so the recording and editing of new samples will have to be done often.  
5. Find a way to mix the samples together- put all the low sounds on the same track?  Or put them on tracks according to their acoustic properties?

Breaking It Down

In order to ensure that the categorization of sounds is effective and productive, each sound will be cut into smaller sections enabling that sound to stay at a certain frequency (i.e. larger sounds which vary in frequency will be cut into smaller parts each having only 1 frequency).  

This editing stage will be done in Cubase.

These smaller sounds will then be processed in Pd.  Using a patch I have created, the sound effect will be loaded and then it's frequency determined using the fiddle object.  

The sound will then be placed into a folder containing other sounds with the same frequency.  

These folders will later be renamed according to their specific note for ease when reading a score.

Baby Steps

Step 1

Create one whole folder of sounds

Step 2

Sub divide by frequency

Step 3

Rename by note names

End

There'll be a set of folders named "Notes"

Notes will have all the notes inside it and folders within each note.  For example, if you go into notes and choose A3 then you will have a range of folders of sound all with that specific frequency, i.e romantic, hits, electrical, sustained, organic, synthesised etc.

Avant-Garde

Definition of avant-garde in English:

- "New and experimental ideas and methods in art, music, or literature"

- "Favouring or introducing new and experimental ideas and methods"

Origin

- late Middle English (denoting the vanguard of an army): from French, literally 'vanguard'. Current senses date from the early 20th century.