Author: Vashti Hayes

One of the most important aspects of being an artist, be it in whichever format, is the ability to convey an image successfully. Do do this is to achieve an aim and, during the course of this project, I feel that we have achieved this aim.

When we initially met to discuss ideas, I was highly interested in what the rest of the group had to offer. When Timmie suggested “Swan Song” as a title and an idea to base our soundscape on, I was so happy that my following suggestion of a meditative composition was taken on board. To work in a group who will so happily listen to and embrace your ideas is rewarding.

Straight away I began research into both the phrase Swan Song and meditation music and compositions, as well as other relevant ideas that I felt would aid us in our progress. I presented ideas from my research to the group, such as possible sounds. We realised that we could include the sound of a swan in our soundscape, but also realised that the actual “song” of a swan would be hard to come by and the sound that swans made usually wasn’t all that relaxing. Max, however, played around with the EQ of a swan sound and essentially changed the feeling that it conveyed and, in our final piece, I feel that we managed to make the “voice” of the swan fit in with our relaxing composition.

Being the “hippy” that I am, I was able to bring to the table a selection of unconventional “instruments”, all of which were used in the final piece. A Tibetan Singing Bowl rings out through the entirety of our soundscape. Chinese Exercise Balls frequent the piece, adding a recognisable pulse. The inclusion of a Karimba (thumb piano) adds an extra layer to the piece and helps to break up other sounds. Timmie recorded some bird song, which we used as the base to add other sounds upon for our soundscape. He also recorded wind and footsteps through grass, which help add to the depth of the piece. Max’s swan recordings helped to really bring the piece out and he recorded a note on a bass guitar which added depth to the jingling of the Chinese Exercise Balls. Furthermore, his excellence in EQ really brought out the piece, as he was able to listen to how we expected something to sound and bring it out clearly in the piece.

I was extremely satisfied with our end product, we somehow managed to create an effective piece that truly conveyed our ideas. I feel that out of the group, we almost had assigned roles; I was more of a researcher, Timmie a recorder and Max a producer. Although Josh participated in some aspects, such as the blog, I felt that he was less interested and that this project was not one of his priorities and he didn’t contribute much.

I have enjoyed recording sounds and feel that my input was more than adequate. I conducted thorough research into all aspects of our product. In the future however, I would like to contribute more, physically, to the production of a piece, rather than just saying how I think that something should sound. This is so that I can experience this role and experiment with it. I enjoyed being a part of this group and feel that I contributed well to the final product.

Predictably, we once again headed to the usual meeting place; The Shed. Predictably, we sat down with our smooth pints and got down to business. Unpredictably, no sooner than we’d sat down, I unzipped my bag (and no, it’s not Mary Poppin’s magic carpet bag, it’s a brown leather number!) and pulled out my singing bowl and two sets of “Chinese Exercise Balls”, jingling as they clonked together in their neat little boxes. The perfect ingredient to any meditation-inspired composition, as I (repeatedly) pointed out to the gents.

This led us nicely onto the idea of comprising a list of sounds which we would be using in the piece, half of which we had already recorded, and half of which that were still to be included. Timmie and I whipped out our notepads and pens, the unofficial group secretaries and scribbled down a list, him writing the list of sounds we already had, me thinking of the sounds that we still needed. Timmie’s list read: Wind (check), Birds (check), Swans (check), “Grass Walking” (footsteps through grass; check) and Thunder (check). Underneath this, I wrote: Singing bowl, Wind chimes, Water → Trickling? → Dropping something in?, Karimba (a “thumb piano”) and Swishing branches.

We decided that, due to our ideas and eventual aims of the piece, we would no longer require to record animals other than birds, so our trip to Riseholme campus would no longer be needed. This is because the type of animals that we could record there would not fit in with our ideas, unless we were to heavily distort/edit them, which would go against our idea of keeping the soundscape and sounds used as natural as possible.

We finished our meeting and headed our separate ways. I then had to prolong my writing of the blog, due to the previous meeting’s blog not yet being uploaded. This, however, gave me the chance to do some more personal research (which, as you have probably guessed by now, is pretty much my favourite thing, ever) that, due to the delay, I am now able to include in this blog post.

I spoke to some members of a meditation group, who meet frequently for guided meditation and soup, to ask what aspects they think should be included in a meditation-inspired composition. Alva, who hosts the group and takes them through a guided meditation, spoke about the frequencies that affect us as humans, something which we had already discussed in our Principles of Audio lectures. In her words, “Different people resonate with different frequencies, though there are certain frequencies and pitches which everybody can hear and relate with. It’s these that they [meditative pieces] include. This is because people are feeling orientated and we feel sound.” She spoke about how meditative pieces should paint an image within a person’s head, but not have a “story-line”, as the idea is to allow the individual’s mind to respond to the piece in its own way.

-Vashti

The day was Wednesday, and the time had come for another meeting at the Shed. Luckily, when I turned up late to the meeting (oops!), the boys were just waiting for their food to arrive, whilst drinking cocktails, so I hadn’t really missed much, even if they did spend the next twenty-something minutes trying to convince me our soundscape was now called something along the lines of “Ballad of the Peacock”, but luckily I knew they were kidding. Finally our food arrived (I joined the crew in ordering one of the £1.99 meals, after stupidly spending rather a lot on a tuna melt the week before) and we were, for once, silent.

After filling our bellies and quenching our thirst, we got on with the meeting and, no surprises when I say, it was still called “Swan Song”. We listened to a few more sound ideas, and chose which sections each of us would be covering when delivering our presentation. It was quite a simple task, considering we’d all kind of focused on particular tasks anyway (I was given the task to discuss the research that we’d done; the geek inside me roared with joy). We decided that we would spend the following week before we once again met to individually create scripts, each one lasting between forty and fifty seconds (roughly), but during the meeting, we wrote our introductory and conclusive scripts. Basically, we decided our introductory slide was the time to “geek out”, as it was, and brag about what we had each put into the project. Of course, we experienced the hilarity that erupted when, during the introductory slide planning, we each introduced ourselves with “Hi, I’m _____…” and it very nearly resembled an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting…

We also finalised our self-composed brief; this being important as it will now dictate our soundscape, as our final idea must fit this brief. We left the meeting, each with the task to continue our personal research, and write our loose scripts for our presentation in week 7.

As part of my continual research towards this project, I found a particularly interesting website about Psychoacoustics and meditation music. It explains that Psychoacoustics is the science that deals with the perception of hearing and sensations produced by sound. Below is a passage I found particularly interesting from the site:

The fundamental reason why we enjoy listening to music is because it is mood altering. Music can stimulate or sooth you. It can relieve stress and it can induce stress. It can elevate you or depress you.

Music can be extremely powerful in this regard. The tones, textures, melodies, harmonies and the tempo of a piece of music can affect you psychologically, emotionally and even physically.

Have you ever been so touched by a beautiful piece of music that you cried? Have you ever cringed at the sound of fingernails being dragged down a chalkboard? Most people answer “yes” to both of these questions.

So if sound can have such a strong effect on us, then how can we use this to our advantage? What can the study of psychoacoustics tell us about the most effective types of music and sounds for meditation and deep relaxation?

–  Dr Christopher Lloyd Clarke from www.The-Guided-Meditation-Site.com , http://www.the-guided-meditation-site.com/psychoacoustics

 

Ps, Sorry this blog post is slightly late, I have been moving house and have had no internet and very little time!

 

Vashti

On Wednesday 26th September, Timmie, Josh, Max, and myself, met for our initial meeting regarding our first soundscape project. We settled down with our pints, and let the creative juices flow, and the outcome is what I am going to present to you today.

Before we really began, we decided every team needed a good strong name. After much deliberation, most of which discussing whether the plural of “mongoose” is “mongeese” or “mongooses”, we settled on “Fighting Mongooses” , and then after a few more important points (“Rule number one: we must only meet in pubs” and “You drink lager? But you’re a girl!”) we began sharing ideas that we could work on to create our masterpiece… ahem… Soundscape, I mean.

We drew up a list of ideas, mainly one word or phrase that any of us thought would be a good sound to include, or a good general idea. Timmie kicked things off by saying we should record the wind, and swan song, which we all liked the idea of, particularly the idea of swan song, as a recording, and as a title. From this stemmed many ideas; we could record the sound of water, or the sound of animals. We could record a day in Lincoln (swans are a massive part of any university student’s life, for some reason). We liked the idea of trees, leaves and bushes, and the noises they made in the wind. And of course, what audio-based idea would be complete without suggesting a visit to the cathedral and recording the bells?!

After piecing together the sort of samples and ideas that we wanted to include, we all came to the decision that we would attempt to create a reflective soundscape; perhaps one that would be suitable for one to meditate to. From the ideas that we drew up, and the sounds that we liked, we realized that we could create a strong soundscape based on reflection and relaxation.  We left the initial meeting with a provisional idea, and a good one at that. Who knows, it may be subject to change in the next week or so, but for now this is the idea that we intend to build upon.

The phrase “Swan Song” refers to a farewell, or final appearance, due to the symbolism created by the old belief that a swan sings only one beautiful song during it’s lifetime; right before it’s death. This symbolism, and poetic idea, could potentially heavily influence our soundscape, as reflection stems from an idea that one can reflect upon.

 

The silver Swan, who, living, had no Note, 
when Death approached, unlocked her silent throat. 
Leaning her breast upon the reedy shore, 
thus sang her first and last, and sang no more: 
“Farewell, all joys! O Death, come close mine eyes! 
More Geese than Swans now live, more Fools than Wise”. – The Silver Swan by Orlando Gibbons

http://www.litscape.com/author/Alfred_Lord_Tennyson/The_Dying_Swan.html – The Dying Swan by Tennison