Sunday, August 31, 2008

Thoughts on Sound Diffusion V

Listening to a multidimensional representation of sound won't be as accurate or complete as what our ears perceive if it were a 'real' sound source which will present an issue in creating sound spatialisation. So for me it’s a twofold consideration: of what and how that sound is placed in space equally as what implications of space are in the sound source itself.
Knowing a piece well enough to do justice as the composer intended is a challenge in sound diffusion nevertheless our interpretations in sonic art group have been interesting. The next step is to perhaps create a musique concrete piece ourselves taking sound spatialisation into consideration in terms of the creative process.
I hadn’t considered using a number of different spatial formats for an electroacoustic piece. A six channel stereo system controlled within a multi dimensional interpolation space along with fixed sounds of mono tracks created in Nodal and a separate control for other mono tracks would give greater range in representing what we wanted musically.
What captures my imagination are the creative possibilities in working this way. For example, the use of a wiimote (I believe the new iphones also have an accelerometer in them) in conjunction with other sources and layers of sound would give the composer an opportunity to use it as a live performance tool.
Obviously there are technical hurdles to overcome in implementing technology such as this eg. ability to pick up an accurate and consistent signal and the issue of latency, but not only could it enable the audience to visualise the directionality of a sound source controlled and directed by the composer/performer using a remote device but also allow for greater musical expressivenesss and flexibility in a performance.
Without taking away from notion of a musical piece being valid on its own merit, a visual perspective may enhance an auditory experience which, in turn, could make cross media pieces such as this more memorable and meaningful.

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