This is a recording of the tunnel under a building with the sound of the vent on school campus. In this recording there are some interesting sounds coming from the vent and the wind, which creates an echo in the space. I think it can be better if there are a little more variation in the sound.

Exterior Vent

This is recorded in a space surrounded by buildings on school campus, when a helicopter is passing by. In this recording I hear the echo that is bounced around the walls of the buildings. I think the sound of the helicopter is interesting, but would be better if the recording started from or ends with just the background noise.

Exterior Helicopter

This is a recording of a long stairway on school campus. In this recording I hear sound of birds, as well as some interesting background noises. I think the sounds of the birds are successful in the recording. However, because the recording wasn’t done in one go, I X-faded two tracks together, which can be heard if listened carefully.

Exterior Stairway

Disintegrate is created using software instruments in Logic Pro X. My plan for this piece was originally to play a classic piano piece and break it apart with electrical music through using the synthesizers. However, after playing around with the synthesizer in Logic Pro X, I began to change my direction. I struggled for some time trying to figure out the best way to record the piano piece that would allow me to easily manipulate it. After trying to separate it by sections, or by melody and harmony, I decided to change my method. I first recorded the complete music, and fixed the length and velocity. Then, in order for a more original soundtrack I  changed the pitch in sections of the music by moving notes around. I made sure that all the changes I made would allow the piece to sound smooth. When I was finally satisfied with the manipulated music piece, I added many different sound filters to different duplicated layers. Finally, I use automation to bring out the sound I want throughout the piece. My goal for this piece is for a classical music to transition into an electronic music piece. I like the futuristic sounds from this current draft, but only about 60 percent done. To complete this piece, I plan to edit it so that it would have a distinctive introduction, climax, and ending to it. To do this, I would like to explore around the drums in Logic Pro X, and attempt to use it to create bass for the piece.

Disintegrate

Transformation
Transformation is created based on the goal of expressing the process of a feeling being transformed, by having a classical piano piece (Love Story) turn into digital sounds. As a first draft of the piece, I played Love Story on the piano and manipulated it, by changing the pitch of the notes and adding on different sound filters from the instrument software library. For my final version, I manipulated the in-stock filter sounds to the exact sounds I wanted. To do so, I added and took out effects, adjusted the EQ’s and the synthesizers, and mixed together different sound filters by playing with automation. Lastly, I added drums to create a beat for the piece.
There are weaker aspects in this piece that needs further improvement. First, the piece lack in density. Although many layers were made, the piece sounds very mono toned because they are layers of a single track (with different sound effects) played at the same time rather than different tracks played on top of one another. This could probably be fixed if the melody and the harmony of the piano piece were played separately. Second, even though the drum beat added a layer to the density of the piece, the tempo may not have worked as well. A slightly misplaced beat can easily be picked out by the listener. And, the drumming could have been more naturally brought in if there were more than one layer of the drum beat sound. Lastly, since the focus of this piece is “transformation,” the process of the piece changing from one style to another is too fast rather than slow. The piece could benefit from having a longer introduction instead of jumping into the electronic sounds so quickly. However, some of the stronger aspect of the piece are the the contrast in rhythm and volume. Having the piece start from single notes, to a fade out of multiple notes, to a reentrance with a blast in volume and density, and end on a short note, creates dynamic to the piece. And, since this piece is derived from another music piece, there are automatically repetition of music patterns built into it. Not only does the music patterns plays a part in building predictability, the drum beats also helps in giving the listener a sense of anticipation. Mainly seen in the pause before the reentrance of the piece, where an increasing volume of the drum sets up the anticipation for a climax.

Transformation

For my final project I was inspired by Nick Koenig, aka Hot Sugar, to record sounds from my surrounding and turn them into music. I originally planed to put different sounds I recorded and assign them to different keys on a scale and create a music composition that way. To do this, I recorded a good number of object sounds and environmental sounds. I spent a long time doing experiments with putting different sounds together, imitating different instruments with the recorded sounds, dissecting a sound and re-organize them into a rhythm. However, none of that sounded pleasant. I ended up using a selected list of my environmental sounds that shares the same theme, and by seeing each track as a musical piece on its own I layered them and organized them into a bigger musical composition, which ended up serving more as a story told by sounds rather than a musical piece. I plan to create two 2.5 minute audio piece as my final project. For my draft, I finished my first audio piece. I would say I am about 60% done with my final project, the 10% being the amount of time I spent on recording and experimenting. Now with already recorded tracks and experience gained from creating my first piece, I plan to make my second piece in a similar manner. The theme of my first piece is transportation, I plan to make my second piece another 2.5 minutes about sea food. I have recorded sounds of seagulls and seals near the ocean, and sounds of cooking. Learning from my first piece, my goal is to go for either a more musical piece or a more story telling piece rather than in between.

TransportationDraft

Public Transportation

Daydreaming About Cooking at the Beach

For my final project I was inspired by Nick Koenig, aka Hot Sugar, to record sounds from my surrounding and turn them into music. But instead of composing a musical piece that focuses on rhythms and melodies, I created a story with some rhythmic elements and focuses more on the sounds of my recordings.
In my first piece, Stylized Movement, I recorded sounds of my surroundings inside a bart station, the airport, on the airplane, in the car, on the streets. I also recorded the sound of an ambulance, a street performer, voices of a crowd, and heartbeats. I reorganized my recordings, layered them, and manipulated them in a way that indirectly represents what public transportation means to me personally. My second piece, Daydreaming About Cooking at the Beach, is put together by environmental recordings of the beach and the cooking process, along with object recordings of rocks, plates, the microwave, vegetables being cut, meat being sauteed, etc.. Again, I organized, layered, and adjusted the recorded sounds to illustrate my daydream about cooking at the beach. For this piece I experimented with cutting out sounds and turn them into drums to create rhythms. The sound of the microwave at the end is to portray waking up to the reality of being a college student, cooking ramen with a microwave.
Some of the stronger aspect of Stylized Movement are the sound quality of the recordings after editing, and the way this piece is introduced. I also paid attention to the dynamics of this piece, which directs it to its climax, where the piece becomes more complicated. The sound of the street performer drumming in the background is also a strong element that pulls the whole piece together. One of the weakest aspects of Public Transportation is the ending. I attempted in making the piece end with the announcement saying, “boarding is complete.” However, the words are too muffled to understand due to it being a bad recording of the announcement to begin with. The attempt in making the clock ticking was not obvious enough and could be confusing. But I have taken out the sound of the train that sounded too fake.
The stronger aspect of Daydreaming about Cooking is also the clear recordings. Also, the structure of this piece, going from introducing the sounds of cooking, then slowly create a rhythm with the sounds, finally ending it by the disappearance of sounds one at a time, adds to its dynamics. The weakest aspect is the beats. The rhythm was not strong enough for the listener to pick up to it. It lacked a musical element that would be pleasant for the ear and would pull the piece together. Also, this piece can be confusing, with the sound of the microwave at the end, without reading the descriptions.

JW's Audio