1 / 25

The Music of Sound: Strategies and Tools for Creating Music with Digital Audio

The Music of Sound: Strategies and Tools for Creating Music with Digital Audio Dr. Daniel Hosken Assistant Professor of Music Technology California State University, Northridge Presented at the CMEA/TI:ME Annual Meeting Pasadena, CA March 12, 2003 Contents Motivation Why Not MIDI?

daniel_millan
Download Presentation

The Music of Sound: Strategies and Tools for Creating Music with Digital Audio

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Music of Sound: Strategies and Tools for Creating Music with Digital Audio Dr. Daniel Hosken Assistant Professor of Music Technology California State University, Northridge Presented at the CMEA/TI:ME Annual Meeting Pasadena, CA March 12, 2003

  2. Contents • Motivation • Why Not MIDI? • Brief History of Sound Composing • Steps in a Sound Composition Project • Types of Sound Composition Projects • Software for Recording and Manipulating Digital Audio

  3. Motivation • Composition is a fundamental musical skill • Traditional methods require music literacy • Composing with sound is an alternative • Useful for future listeners and future musicians • Techniques are in wide use in popular music • Related techniques can be found in sound design for film, TV, and other media

  4. Why Not MIDI? • MIDI is note based • MIDI sequencers privilege bars/beats • MIDI obscures properties of sound • Easily accessible techniques privilege repetition and accretion over development

  5. History of Sound Composition • Limited editing in early recording media • 1930s: experiments with turntables • 1940s–50s: development of tape recording • Musique Concrète (Schaeffer in Paris) • Elektronische Musik (Stockhausen in Cologne) • Tape Music (Luening and Ussachevsky at Columbia) • 1950s: advent of computer music • 1960s: synthesizers • 1980s: MIDI, cheap synthesizers, PCs • 1990s: All in software, Interactivity, Multimedia

  6. Steps in a Sound Composition Project • Acquiring Sound • Libraries • Custom Recording • Synthesis • Creating a Plan • Choosing a Tool • Composing • Evaluation and Revision

  7. Types of Projects • Collage • Soundscape • Text Piece • Remix • Sound Design for Multimedia

  8. Collage • Record items in pocket or classroom • Perhaps use “like” sounds (e.g., paper sounds) • Strike, shake, rattle, drop, break the objects into mic • What are the properties of these sounds? • Pitch: high, medium, low • Loudness: loud, medium, soft • Timbre: descriptive terms (e.g., “bright, sharp”) • How might sounds be organized in time? • Rhythm: fast, slow and regular, irregular • Plan property “trajectories” to create phrases • How might phrases be organized (i.e., form)? • Introduce simple concepts such as ABA

  9. Collage Examples • Bajon’s Collage (Art Student) • Bajon’s Audio-Video • Devin’s Collage (Art Student) • Melanie’s Collage (Music Student) • Damon’s Collage (Music Student)

  10. Soundscape • Record a “Sound Walk” • Find a variety of environments • What are the characteristics of these environments? • Ringing vs. Dry • Natural sounds vs. Artificial sounds • “Compose” a new environment • Juxtapose different spaces and events • Use environments to create a narrative

  11. Text Piece • Record a reading of poetry or prose • Perhaps use different languages and reading styles • Manipulate and process the text • Changes of pitch/speed • Reordering of words or phonemes • Cut into unintelligible chunks of pure sound • Create a new reading or an abstract sound piece • Enhance existing meanings • Create new meanings • Organize pure sound as in collage

  12. Text Piece Examples • Dorothy’s Text Piece (Music Student) • Agnes’ Text Piece (Music Student) • Damon’s Text Piece (Music Student)

  13. Remix • Acquire sound • Use sound from CD • Record the band, orchestra, choir, etc. • Identify phrases and sections • Create a new version of the piece • Reorder phrases • Create new repetitions • Delete elements (perhaps just one beat!) • Cut into abstract sounds and treat as collage • Combine elements from different pieces

  14. Remix Examples • Jon’s Remix • Matt’s Remix

  15. Sound Design • Watch scenes from film/TV and identify elements • Dialog • Music • “Foley” and Sound Effects • Digitize or otherwise acquire a video clip without sound • “Spot” the video for foley and effects • Acquire sound • Custom Recordings • Libraries • Synthesizers • Manipulate sound and “Sync” sound to Digital Video

  16. Sound Design Examples • David’s “Whoosh-Slam” • Clay’s “Whoosh-Slam” • Clay’s Star Wars • John’s Star Wars

  17. Software for Digital Audio • Desired Features for Software • Mono or stereo recording • Multi-track (for layering sounds) • Cut, Copy, Paste • Effects: Pitch shift, time stretch, filters • $$ Software $$ • Most commercial sequencers (e.g., Cubase, Logic, Performer, Cakewalk, Sonar, Nuendo) • Free Software • Pro Tools Free (Fits Specs) • Sonicworx Artist Basic (Stereo Editor) • SoundHack (Sound Processor)

  18. A quick tour of Pro Tools Free • Edit Window View (modes, tools, track)

  19. PT Free Tour • Transport

  20. PT Free Tour • Mix Window

  21. PT Free Tour • “Plug-in” List

  22. PT Free Tour • Pitch Shift (example of “Plug-in”)

  23. PT Free Tour • Tools: grabber, I-beam, trimmer, fade

  24. PT Free Tour • Volume and Pan Edits

  25. Contact Info Email: dan.hosken@csun.edu Website: http://www.csun.edu/~dwh50750/

More Related