Introduction to Sound

This course is designed to provide a basic framework for recording, editing, and composing with sound in a variety of media. No prior production knowledge is assumed. Classes will focus on creative projects, while establishing a common technical and aesthetic vocabulary through in-class demonstrations and discussions. Logic Pro software will be used for most projects, supplemented by in-class experimentation with performance hardware such as turntables, Kaoss Pad, and various MIDI controllers.

Topics will include microphones and digital recorders, field and studio recording techniques, sample editing, effects processing, sequencing, sound theory, and compositional strategies in musical and multi-media contexts. Additional detailed topics will be introduced based upon student interest.

Time for work on creative projects will be provided in class, with critical feedback available to students at all stages of sound creation. Verbal critique among all students is expected. In addition to the in-class work, an average of 3 hours per week spent on creative projects outside of class is essential.

Fall 2011

Meeting time: Tuesdays 4 - 10 pm

Location: B412

Instructor: Erik Spangler

email: erikspangler@gmail.com

Required Information on MICA Syllabi

Playlist of student work from Summer 2010 on alonetone.com.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

Headphones

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

ELECTRONIC AND EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC, third edition, by Thom Holmes

GUERRILLA HOME RECORDING, second edition, by Karl Coryat

Portable hard drive

Boombox or USB-powered speakers (with laptop) for guerilla audio action

Portable digital audio recorder such as a Zoom H2 or H4

Download Audacity (free audio editor and recorder) or purchase a more advanced DAW (digital audio workstation) such as Ableton Live

GRADING

Creative projects 35%

Class participation (includes attendance, written critique on peer projects via timed comments on soundcloud.com, & in-class discussion participation) 15%

Journal 10%

Presentation on sound artist 10%

Podcast (files uploaded to soundcloud.com) 10%

Final project 20%

SCHEDULE

8/30-- The environmental soundscape; classifying sounds; use of portable audio recorders; field recording expedition- collecting multiple examples of 2 contrasting sound types in the local environment; Musique Concrete; importing audio files into Logic Pro; basic editing techniques; illusions of space: automating panning, volume control, and reverberation.

9/6-- Mixer functions; equalization; automating effects; warping audio; altering pitch and rhythm; blending layers; highlighting stratified layers; transitions; in-class work on Project 1.

9/13-- Project 1 due: Similar & Contrasting Sounds; listening and discussion- visual & sensory analogies to listening experience, identifying the ways in which sounds affect us, reflecting on the experience of time; introduction to microphones; selecting audio elements and microphone positioning to create an atmosphere; recording a group improvisation in the stairwell; using effects to build a vertical, multi-layered sonic texture; listening to ambient music/soundscape compositions; in-class work on Project 2.

9/20-- Project 2 due: Ambient Soundscape; listening and discussion- what kind of space or landscape is evoked? Introduction to experimental music notation: text pieces, varieties of graphic scores; workshop on structured improvisation responding to texts and graphic scores; in-class work on Project 3.

9/27-- Project 3 due: Graphic Score; recording our performances of graphic scores, followed by listening and discussion- what images led us to certain create sounds? Sampling from performances recorded in class, choosing loops and one-shot samples for a beat (next project); finding complementary or contrasting sounds in archival audio.

10/4-- Instrumental hip-hop and electronica listening & discussion; working in grid mode; beats and bars; beatmaking: managing loops and one-shot samples; drum racks; MIDI sequencer editing; subdivisions and quantization; pattern construction and variation; mashups and culture jamming; viewing and discussion- RiP: a remix manifesto featuring Girl Talk; in-class work on Project 4.

10/11-- Features of drum patterns in hip-hop, dubstep, downtempo, drum & bass; pattern exercises using graph paper; creating drum patterns with a MIDI controller or by step sequencing; keeping loops fresh (listening survey of beatmaking techniques); in-class work on Project 4.

[Friday, 10/14]-- GUEST SPEAKER: Performance/demonstration by composer and meta-saxophonist Matthew Burtner and ensemble. Falvey Hall, 12 PM

[Friday, 10/21]-- DEUS EX MACHINA music series performance by members of the class at Dionysus Restaurant & Lounge, 9 PM

10/25-- Project 4 due: Sample-based Beat; historical overview of sound installations, public sound art; group field recording expedition; assembling a common pool of recorded sounds for Project 5.

11/1-- Artist presentations: Andrew Scotti, Greg Cole, Esie Cheng, Ross Potter; Project 5 due: Guerilla Community Sound Art; discussion of guerilla audio experience; scoring spoken word, radio documentary, and audio walking tours; listening and analysis; recording and editing narrative voice: microphone choice & positioning, EQ & de-esser; balancing text and atmosphere.

11/8-- Artist presentations: Fang Di, Alex Parlato, Chris Davis, Rebecca Chernoff; radiophonic workshop with diverse microphones; making contact microphones (picking up surface vibrations); recording foley; in-class work on Project 6.

11/15-- Artist presentations: Akira Ishikura, Chelsea Harman, Michael Arreaga, Reed Ratynski; Project 6 due: Narrative Radio Piece; introduction to film scoring and foley; analysis: excerpts from films by Akira Kurosawa, David Lynch, Sergei Parajanov, and others; sonic symbolism and point-of-view; diagetic and non-diagetic sounds. Workflow for editing sound to video.

11/22-- Artist presentations: Daniel Guiness, Yefu Liu, Shanti Rittgers; in-class work on Project 7, sharing excerpts or rough cuts for discussion with the class.

11/29-- Project 7 due: Video Scoring; viewing and discussion- how does the soundtrack shape how I experience this visual sequence?

12/6-- Sharing and critiquing work in progress on Final Project.

12/13-- Final Project due: Presentation at the Windup Space, 6 PM

CREATIVE PROJECT SPECIFICATIONS

PROJECT 1: Similar & Contrasting Sounds

1. Record multiple examples of 2 contrasting sound types.

2. Edit and arrange the recorded audio to compose a piece using 3 - 5 audio tracks, in the style of musique concrete.

3. Create sequences of similar sounds (e.g. different recordings of door sounds), while also highlighting contrasts between the sound types. Think about the idea of conversation between different types of sound.

4. Incorporate fades and other volume adjustments, panning, and selective use of reverb to create a sense of space.

5. Alter sounds beyond recognition occasionally by chopping off beginnings, reversing, splicing, etc.

6. 1 - 2 minutes long.

PROJECT 2: Ambient Soundscape

1. Compose a piece with at least 3 layers of sound, each given its own area of the frequency spectrum.

2. Unfolding slowly, with subtle changes. Listening attention is focused on hearing each moment in multiple dimensions.

3. Aim to suspend perception of forward-moving time.

4. Focus on richness of texture, and giving each layer a distinct kind of rhythm (even if apparently beat-less).

5. Incorporate your own field recording in some way.

6. 1 - 2 minutes long.

PROJECT 3: Graphic Score

1. Utilize any method of graphic notation on a page to indicate a sequence and combination of sounds to be performed.

2. Traditional music notation will not be used, but a small amount of verbal text may accompany your visual symbols or abstract drawings.

3. Establish what instruments/sound sources will be used, and let particular sound qualities of those sound sources guide the symbols/drawings that you assemble.

4. Choose either: A) Write out individual parts for the performers, with explanatory text for any specific symbols. Include time-frames for particular sequences of action- all performers will refer to a central timer displaying minutes and seconds elapsed from the beginning of the performance.

Or... B) Create a single score that everyone will read from (either printed out for everyone or projected. You will either provide guidance as to how the performers should respond to each other and the written score, or conduct the performance by cueing particular moments with gestures that you will explain.

5. 2 - 4 minutes long.

PROJECT 4: Sample-based Beat

1. Demonstrate variation (shifts, new inserts or deletions, etc.) to a drum pattern or several drum patterns.

2. Drum patterns should be created from at least 3 individual short sounds (may be from a preset drum kit, or a drum kit that you create- either from a collection of found sounds or by slicing a single source sample).

3. Create patterns by creating blank MIDI clips of various lengths (2 bars, 4 bars, etc.), drawing in placement of sounds as you listen to the clip on loop playback.

4. Utilize various audio effects on individual tracks: compressor, EQ, reverb, etc.

5. At least 3 other samples, longer than the individual drum sounds, should be brought in at different times. Place these samples on other audio tracks. Some of these samples may be additional loops of different lengths to fit rhythmically into your groove, while other samples may be "one-shot" samples (such as a snippet of spoken word, or a sound effect, brought in just once at a time).

6. Creatively explore layering of different samples together, and vary the number of layers heard at once throughout the song. Maintain a sense of groove, but play with the listener's expectations a bit.

7. 1 - 3 minutes long.

PROJECT 5: Guerilla Community Sound Art

1. Record sounds as part of the class field recording expedition.

2. Work collaboratively with a team to develop a specific aspect of our public sound art performance/installation (Team A- create graphic score to coordinate overall form; Team B- edit field recordings into manageable samples; Team C- set up audio processing template).

3. Create an audio piece from the field recorded sounds, utilizing the same audio processing template as everyone else, following the directives of the graphic score to coordinate everyone�s individual pieces as threads of one soundscape.

4. Your individual audio piece should be designed to loop seamlessly, 1-3 minutes in length.

Install/perform the composite piece with the class at the designated location.

PROJECT 6: Narrative Radio Piece

1. Create a piece designed for radio broadcast (or podcast), combining spoken narrative with environmental sounds that you have recorded. Additional music is optional. Mix all elements of the soundtrack with the goal of creating an atmosphere that supports the spoken narrative (documentary, fictional narrative, or poetry).

2. Record your own voice and/or voices of others, either in the narrative recording booth, in the field, or through a phone (possibly using a site such as simplevoicebox.com).

3. Use one or more stereo recording techniques for gathering the environmental sounds.

4. 3 - 5 minutes long.

PROJECT 7: Video Scoring

1. Create a soundtrack for a chosen short film or individual scene, importing the video into Logic. The video may be original or taken from an existing film with the original soundtrack removed.

2. Create your own original foley for diagetic sounds.

3. Record a vocal and/or instrumental improvisation responding to the video, and incorporate this into your soundtrack. Another option is to write a graphic score that will be performed by others, recorded, and synced to your chosen video.

4. 2 - 5 minutes long.

PROJECT 8: Live Recording/Performance

CHOOSE:

A) Record a band playing live on the MICA radio station [radiowicv.com], setting up multiple microphones and running the mixing board. Adjust EQ and effects as necessary, and mix prior to submitting the recording.

B) Perform in a collaborative group set of live electro-acoustic music on DEUS EX MACHINA music series [ambient/experimental]

Timing of this project is open to the opportunities available.

FINAL PROJECT

1. CHOOSE: A) Live electro-acoustic performance. B) Video or animation with original soundtrack- to incorporate two or more composition ideas recorded in the studio. C) Sound installation incorporating original audio or processing system into a specific physical space.

2. You may incorporate any amount of material from previous projects in the class.

3. Incorporate a process or gradual unfolding, illustrating transformation of a soundscape.

4. 5 � 10 minutes long.

ARTIST PRESENTATION

1. 5-minute oral presentation. 2. Add on time for playing audio example(s): 2 to 5 additional minutes (audio examples are necessary). 3. Mention what types of audio technology your chosen artist uses and how this may affect the sound of their work. 4. Describe the aesthetic of this artist's work: what types of sounds are most valued? how would you describe the form, sense of rhythm and pacing, etc.? 5. Describe how the sound artist's work been received. 6. Trace artistic and musical influences.