SCHEDULE:

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Feb 28 - March 16: Look for sounds/Record sounds
March 17 - 24: Create keyboard sounds/Melody/Tune
March 25 - April 06: Use Sound Editting Software to create the composition
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IDEA !!

After thinking long and hard I believe I want to create a sound project based on my own strength and interest. Music. I will make some kind of music. I want to use the keyboard to create some kind of music. I want to use other unusual sounds that you don't usually hear in a piece of music, fused with the keyboard sounds.........................................


**My theme is going to be about me. I'm going to try to express myself in the form of music and sound. Body Sounds + Keyboard Sounds = Me
**I will need to find sounds that represent myself (Heart Beat, Foot Steps, Breathing, etc.)


I have no experience in sound editing, therefore, I feel this is going to be challenging. However, I am very excited about this new endeavour.

John Cage - In The Name Of The Holocaust

I play the piano, so I found this musical piece by Cage to be very inspiring.
I am able to feel the emotions pouring out of the virtuoso pianist.

John Cage "4'33"

I found this piece very fascinating.
The viewer is suppose to listen to the sound in the environment during those 4 minutes and thirty three seconds which creates this avant-garde musical piece.

I now know that music can come in any form, shape or size.

Going on a Soundwalk

Went on a soundwalk during Reading Week in my neighborhood in Toronto.
The sidewalks were paved so I could hear my shoe soles thumping on the sidewalk.
I could hear the cars from far away giving off an echoey sound that ascended then descended.
The faint rustling of the frozen branches above my head creaks as the wind blows mildly but coldly.

I thought I would be able to hear more interesting sounds. But nothing really surprised me. I guess it's because I've always walked on the same street walking home from school for most of my life. And my ears are always wide open listening to my surrounding environments.

The most interesting sound was probably the chirping from a sparrow perhaps? Although I'm not sure if that kind of bird still stays in Toronto during the winter season.

A picture is worth a thousand Sounds

Images taken from Google Images:

Looking at each of these photographs, I am able to imagine what kind of realistic audible sounds that could possible come from each of these settings...

Bird-like cresendo chirping from crickets along with decrescendo small soft stroking ripples that hit the shore very lightly.

Flushing tide rushing on to the sand, exiting with a glistening sound.

Soft smoothing high pitched drip-like sounds in numerous numbers.

A sound similar to a large amount of sand being poured and ending in a crumbling crashing sound.

Soundwalk at Waterfront in Hiroshima

The Tuning of the World - Murray Schafer (1977)

Observing Sound in my room

Prior to writing this entry, I sat in my usual seat in my studio apartment, which is in front of my desk. I closed my eyes and attentively listened to the sounds around me.
I could hear the quite loud and steady calm blowing of the fan on my humidifier (to my right), the drone-like buzzing that moves from a static sound to a throbbing effect from the fridge (to my left), the soft airy steady pitch of the fan from my desktop computer (under the desk). And one soundmark was the water bubbling in the tank of the humidifier that happened suddenly.
As I sit in front of my computer and type out this entry, I notice that all of these sounds usually just all blend together and become a big blur. However, once one actually shuts all thoughts and cuts out the sense of sight, one can find things that were there that they did not notice before. For instance, I just noticed that the water tank in my humidifier released air and bubbled every so often so the filter could absorb more water.

Soundwalk

A soundwalk is the empirical method proposed by R. Murray Schafer for identifying a soundscape for a specific location. In a soundwalk you are supposed to move through a limited geographic area, with your ears as open as possible, registrating all the environmental sounds that you hear.

Perception happens according to Schafer in three categories: keynote sound, figure sound and soundmarks. Keynote is the basic environmental sound that is steady, predictable and always there. It is the base of the sound. Figure sounds are in the front of the perceptive focus. They are surprising, sudden or annoying. Soundmarks are these sounds that you identify a place with consciously. It can be the special sound of a clock tower, a tourist attraction or a special acoustic.

Source: wikipedia

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LOUDSPEAKERS!