Project 1 September 19:
Process paragraph -
The process for this track was a very informative and fun one. I've never used Ableton before or made any kind of audio project like this. I thought way too hard about what possible contrasts I could make before recording any more sounds, so I just recorded during my down time, and figured I would try and learn how to use effects to try and convey those contrasts. I honestly remade this track like five times, just trying to come up with something I liked and something I actually understood how I made it. I tried to transform the sounds of my cat purring and the clicks of an old fan completely, while trying to keep the sounds of my girlfriend smoking and coughing as recognizable as possible, even though I still used some kind of delay effect. I attempted to try and understand Ableton's function for slowing or speeding up, and I think I managed to get a grasp of it, but I am still a little confused on what warping means in general, but it is something I learn more about the more I just mess around. The final contrasts I attempted to achieve were duration (short, fast noises versus longer, slowed down ones) and space (attempting to make different sounds appear closer or farther away.) I enjoyed cutting up and raising the volume of random noises I didn't think I could change much, like my cat purring or a simple click of a button. Overall, I really enjoyed this project and am glad I'm able to learn a bit of Ableton, although most of my school projects will probably just require me to use Audition, instead.

Project 1 September 19 - "bad trip"

The process for making this track was pretty interesting. I started off with a series of water noises, one long track recorded by me at a waterfront weeks back and some water foley I've collected for different projects. I then went into the analog MIDI clips and used "Soft vibes," "E muted piano," and "Aqueous pad" to make different simple patterns, that I attempted to subtly change as the track progressed. It was fun to change the frequencies of different tracks when I could figure out how to, and using the oscillator to change one sound drastically proved to be very powerful. I thought about a contemplative walk I took back in May when I took a visit to Cape Cod, and how astounded I was at the beauty, and how sad I felt thinking about the sinking of Cape Cod in my lifetime. At least I have that moment in my mind forever.

Project 2 October 10 - "Cape Cod is going to sink"

The process for the creation of this track was probably the most frustrating thus far. I spent so many hours just trying to find sounds that sounded good together, and spend countless hours just messing around in Ableton. However, I do appreciate all the knowledge I was able to gather from my time messing around, even if it just amounted to a ~minute long clip that I still feel like could be stronger. I had fun learning how to use the Simpler splicer feature, and how I could weave different sounds in and out to make it sound like there was a gradual progression. I am proud of my final track, because I consider myself to be terrible when it comes to creating any kind of music due to lack of knowledge and understanding of concepts like rhythm and note harmony. This project really forced me to spend a lot of time just trying to learn these basic ideas, but I do feel like I have come out with a bit more understanding on how music creation functions and how to try to hone your ears when it comes to making a sound that "sounds good."

Project 3 November 7 - "Attempt"

What a fun try at attempting to make narrative work with a broader understanding of DAWs. I used Audition for this project, which I found much easier to use for building a "mixdown" such as this one, but I still think Ableton has it's strengths. With the help of "Parametric equalizer," I knocked off the bass of the recorded vox to make it sound like it's coming from a radio (as well as a pitch shifter, to make me a "brother," haha.) I also played with volume to try and make it sound like different sounds are located in different "places" in the imaginary space I carved out with this narrative.

Project 4 November 28 - "A broadcast for Mariella"

16mm

A first time project with VCV rack made for my synthesizer class. One patch overall, some real time modulation, a very "controlled" sound with the sequencer!

Project 1 September 11 - "A long time ago"

Intro to Sound @ MICA // Currently enrolled in Synesthesia

Jo Jovel

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