Sonic Art & Sound Design- P17 pdf

QC Preflight Point 1 st 33 p80 Job no : 76098 Title : The Fundamentals Of Sonic Art Client : AVA Scn : # 150 Size : 200(w)230(h)mm Co : M3 C0 (All To Spot)(Coagl) Dept : DTP D/O : 16.02.07 (Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.07 Co: CM0) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 80 1 st p80 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 80 1 st p80 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 80 Articulation One of the most fundamental activities of sonic art involves examining individual sounds to see what they are made of and what they relate to. Thus we discover much about their nature and meaning: it is rarely sufficient to present a sound ‘as is’ since this tells us only what is on the surface, not what the sound is made of at a deeper level or what its relationships may be. Before we examine the context in which we hear a sound, we need to consider how to discover its structure and there is no better way of doing this than identifying its components and seeing how best to display them.This is known as articulation and we can approach it in two main ways: firstly, we can be analytical and uncover the components that make up a sound object and, secondly, we can use another sound as a means of discovering how it interacts with others. PROCESS AND PRACTICE 1 st p80 Right: The Behringer Multigate Pro A simple dynamics controller capable of a useful range of processes. Image used with permission of BEHRINGER International GmbH © Copyright 2006. BEHRINGER International GmbH. Both approaches help us to understand what our sound consists of and what it may signify: both can be undertaken using regular studio technologies. A number of possible processes could be adopted: for example the filter of a synthesiser allows us to isolate and hear each individual harmonic. Here we consider two other examples: the (noise) gate and the vocoder. For our purposes, the gate is the most useful of the several types of dynamic processor. One quality is common to all: the level of sound passing through the unit is subject to automatic control.This is usually derived from the sound itself or via a ‘side chain’ carrying the same information. However, there is no reason why this has to be so: the controlling element can be derived from another source so that one sound is subject to the ‘articulation’ of another. 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 80 3 p81 QC Preflight Point 2 nd 33 Job no : 76098 Title : The Fundamentals Of Sonic Art Client : AVA Scn : # 150 Size : 200(w)230(h)mm Co : M3 C0 (All To Spot)(Coagl) Dept : DTP D/O : 16.02.07 (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 81 p81 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 81 p81 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 81 80 81 STUDIO OR LABORATORY? input control input from incoming signal gain control output input gain control output control input from external source p81 Left: Simple dynamics processor The incoming signal directly provides information used to control the level of the output. Left: Dynamics processor with side chain The information used to control the level of the output normally comes from the incoming signal but can be derived from another source allowing the dynamics of one sound to be imposed upon another. 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 81 p82 QC Preflight Point 2 nd 33 Job no : 76098 Title : The Fundamentals Of Sonic Art Client : AVA Scn : # 150 Size : 200(w)230(h)mm Co : M3 C0 (All To Spot)(Coagl) Dept : DTP D/O : 16.02.07 (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 82 p82 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 82 p82 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 82 insrument (carrier) bandpass Filters amplifiers mixer output envelope followers bandpass filters mic or drums (modulator) vocoder allows one sound (the carrier) to be articulated by another (the modulator) but there the resemblance ends: the vocoder takes the modulator signal and analyses it for energy at different frequencies. It takes this information and applies it to filters and envelope followers that act upon the carrier as shown in the diagram. Traditionally, the vocoder encodes the human voice upon something else, usually resulting in crudely ‘singing’ synthesisers. 7 A little imagination will suggest that this approach can be far more versatile: it can encode any sound upon any other – arguably the ultimate in articulation. A gate usually passes no signal unless its volume exceeds a set level. In normal use, it is our chosen sound that opens and closes the gate for itself but we can use another sound for this purpose: applying our second sound to the side chain will open and close the gate independent of our original sound thereby articulating one sound by another. 6 This can tell us a great deal about the dynamic structure of both sounds. The gate offers a useful form of articulation but works very simply upon sounds as a whole. A more sophisticated (although essentially similar) approach is offered by a vocoder. Like the gate, the p82 Left: Diagram of a vocoder Vocoders allow one sound (the carrier) to be articulated by another (the modulator).Unlike dynamics processors, vocoders analyse energy levels at a number of frequencies in the modulator signal and apply the results to equivalent frequency bands in the carrier signal. PROCESS AND PRACTICE 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 82 3 p83 QC Preflight Point 2 nd 33 Job no : 76098 Title : The Fundamentals Of Sonic Art Client : AVA Scn : # 150 Size : 200(w)230(h)mm Co : M3 C0 (All To Spot)(Coagl) Dept : DTP D/O : 16.02.07 (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 83 p83 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 83 p83 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 83 8382 6. A particularly good example of this occurs on the track Fire on the 1977 album Consequences by Kevin Godley and Lol Creme. Here, the cracklings and poppings of a fire are used to trigger a noise gate that is carrying a vocal track singing the word ‘fire’. Hence the word, with all the meaning that it has for us, is apparently articulated by the sound of the actual fire itself. 7. There are other means by which instruments and other sound sources may be made to speak or sing. A simple approach plays the sound back through Walkman earpieces or via a tube, both of which are placed in the mouth. The user then shapes the desired words or sounds silently and his/her vocal track takes on the function of a (rather limited) vocoder. Other approaches include using transducers to artificially excite the vocal chords. Most famously used to create Sparky’s Magic Piano , these are also used to provide an alternative to natural speech for patients who have undergone surgery on their larynx. STUDIO OR LABORATORY? p83 2 nd (Job no:76098C1D/O : 09.03.07 Co: CM11) Above, top: Software vocoder This software vocoder is made by Propellerheads. Image courtesy of Propellerhead Software AB. Above: Altiverb A hardware or software reverberation system using convolution processing to impose a sampled acoustic upon the incoming sound. Image courtesy of Audio Ease. 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 83 QC Preflight Point 1 st 33 p84 Job no : 76098 Title : The Fundamentals Of Sonic Art Client : AVA Scn : # 150 Size : 200(w)230(h)mm Co : M3 C0 (All To Spot)(Coagl) Dept : DTP D/O : 16.02.07 (Job no:000000 D/O : 00.00.07 Co: CM0) 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 84 1 st p84 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 84 1 st p84 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 84 PROCESS AND PRACTICE Space and place Having created a sound, we need to present it. Conventional studio practice takes very little notice of this beyond adding a little treatment and reverberation (see also pp.36–37).This denies us a useful opportunity – that of hearing our sound in relation to a real or imaginary environment; placing a sound in an acoustic space can do much to reinforce or contrast with our expectations. The basic technique here is reverberation: many systems exist that simulate real and imaginary environments and the best of these are capable of excellent performance. Where many fall short is that they create ‘spaces’ that are impossible or unbelievable and, whilst these are immediately attractive, their artificiality may make them unsatisfying in the longer term. The space in which a sound is performed and heard can dramatically influence the way in which we perceive and respond to it, 8 hence the need for spaces to be believable. Rather than attempting to simulate the acoustics of a real space, convolution allows us to sample the actual qualities of a space and to use them as a matrix in which to embed our sound. Thus it is possible to place a sound in the acoustic of London’s Albert Hall or the dome of the Taj Mahal. Convolution systems find wide application not least since one can make a location recording of a chosen acoustic space and can then ‘place’ one’s own sounds in it. Having established a location for our sound, we need to consider how to place it there. A stereo recording allows us to locate it on a line between the speakers. A surround system adds the element of front/back allowing us to locate on a flat plane but neither approach allows us to indicate the distance of our sound from the listener. In landscape painting, two ideas are used to indicate distance: an object that is far away will appear bluer in hue and paler in tone than one that is closer (as happens in nature). We can adopt a similar tactic: a sound that is far 1 st p84 away will have more reverberation than one that is close by (increased blueness) and will have less high frequencies (a paler tone). Again, this is a reflection of nature: a distant sound assumes more of the acoustic qualities of its location and is muffled compared to the ‘dryness’ and ‘crispness’ of a close one. Locational provenance confirms the status of a classical recording (see pp.20–21) and the ephemerality of much recorded rock and pop music has been attributed to a tendency to opt for acoustics that are spectacular rather than credible. In the case of Jimi Hendrix (see also pp.76–77), the placement of microphones in the studio and the sense of space and place that was communicated by powerful amplifiers and speakers making large amounts of air move in a big room was crucial to conveying the essential qualities of the performer and his work. In establishing recorded sound works as serious art endeavours, it costs us little to ensure that the sounds that we create are appropriately placed. 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:06 AM Page 84 . we can use another sound for this purpose: applying our second sound to the side chain will open and close the gate independent of our original sound thereby articulating one sound by another. 6 This. that one sound is subject to the ‘articulation’ of another. 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 80 3 p81 QC Preflight Point 2 nd 33 Job no : 76098 Title : The Fundamentals Of Sonic Art Client. 80 1 st p80 76098_CTP_072-107.qxd 3/24/07 6:05 AM Page 80 Articulation One of the most fundamental activities of sonic art involves examining individual sounds to see what they are made of and what they