Week3-Sound for Spatialisation 

In today’s lesson, I learned how to pack the wires using 16 speakers and how to use the mixer to live automation.

Sound diffusion–diffusion is the method of spreading out sound energy with a diffusor (diffuser) for better sound in a space. However, in the wide, wide world of acoustics, the sound diffusion process and tools are widely misunderstood, even by some acoustics professionals. This seems a bit odd because it’s one of only two tools in our “Better Sounding Room” toolbox. There are only two acoustical tools available to improve sound inside a room, whether that room is huge or tiny: sound absorption and sound diffusion. Both tools will improve sound perception in spaces that, if left untreated, would be a bad influence on the sound. In large acoustically-designed spaces, like concert halls, diffusion is most often built into the room’s physical geometry – the shapes of walls and ceilings (floors are nearly always flat and act as large flat-surface reflectors, even if sloped).

A balance of absorption and diffusion is better for critical-listening rooms. Adding diffusion keeps enough energy in the room to sound more natural while spreading out some of the reflected energy. Additionally, diffusion can give the impression of a larger space, which is good for smaller listening rooms. More well-trained listeners – such as recording engineers and audiophiles – usually aim for a 50% mix of absorption and diffusion.

“It is appropriate […] that the same type of physical gestures (reinforcing a sforzando by ‘nudging’ the potentiometers, enlarging a ‘sweep’ to travel the full width of the listening space) that were used to shape material during the process of the composition should be used again in performance to enhance further the articulation of the work’s sonic fabric.”

GUIDE OF DIFFUSION

Features of a graphic score

• A key (often very important!)
• Labeled axis (often time on the horizontal axis and frequency on the vertical axis). Contrast and/or color as amplitude. No strict plot or scale.
• All parameters are relative to their immediate surrounding material.
• Sectional timings (include more timing information where its important)
• Pitch information (where clear enough) and traditional instrumental motives are notated in traditional notation…

Felipe Otondo studied acoustics in Chile where he started composing and performing music for experimental theatre and ran several performance projects with actors and musicians. In 1999 he moved to Denmark to undertake post-graduate studies in sound perception at Aalborg University focusing on spatial sound and timbre perception. He studied composition at the Carl Nielsen Academy with Anders Brødsgaard where he composed and performed various compositions and took part in several interdisciplinary projects with visual artists. For several years he worked as a research fellow at the Acoustic Technology unit of the Danish Technical University on projects exploring the directional characteristics of musical instruments for room naturalizations in collaboration with the musical acoustics team at IRCAM. In 2005 he pursued his composition studies at the University of York in England with Ambrose Field and Roger Marsh focusing on electroacoustic composition and music theatre. Between 2006 and 2008 worked as a lecturer at Leeds College of Music and Northern School of Contemporary Dance teaching courses related to composition and music technology. In 2008 joined the Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts at Lancaster University, where he worked as a lecturer until 2014 teaching various UG and PG music courses.

I am very interested in his collaboration with contemporary dancers. In this first session of the ensemble, Germán interprets for us in order to be able to comment on the experience and make decisions regarding presentations with the public. The sound material is the same that will be used during the said event. These types of activities allow us to situate ourselves in the same way as the public and thus anticipate any detail that could compromise the presentation, it also allows us to realize the directive characteristics of the system when the dancer passes by us.

We believe that there is a good relationship between the sound quality and the power of the system, which is the result of the experiments and the sound design created for this device.

Then I spent some time looking at another multichannel artist Annie Mahtani. I am pretty sure she is a talented violinist but she plays music in a very experimental way which is very inspiring.

ACOUSMATIC

RACINES TORDUES

Ambisonic. Premiered at HEARO Diffusion, Hull, UK (March, 2019)

RE-SOUNDING YARDLEY

Commisioned by BCMG and For-Wards. For Oboe, Viola, Tape and Live Sound Processing. Premiered St Edburghas Church, Birmingham, UK (June, 2018) as part of the For-Wards project

AEOLIAN

Fixed media, 24 channel. Premiered at BEAST FEaST, Birmingham, UK (2016)

INVERSIONS

Fixed media, 24 channel. Premiered at BEAST FEaST, Birmingham, UK (2015)

‘ROUND MIDNIGHT

Fixed media, stereo. Premiered Nuit bleue festival, Arc-et-Senans, Doubs, France (2010)

PAST LINKS

Fixed media, 8-channel. Premiered at 25 Years of BEAST, Birmingham, UK (March 2008)