I started researching by looking online for articles and pages that explained the fundamentals of sound itself, I found several good summaries as well as one very complex article dissecting how specific instruments are calibrated to produce the intended sound. I learned that sound is all vibration, which I did know about, what I did not know about were elements of sound like frequency, tone, pitch, timbre, harmonics etc. all of which affect the way an object makes sound (these factors are normally controlled via shape and material e.g. wood gives one quality, metal another).
I also did a lot of research into ways of making your own instruments, which were mainly targeted at children, but the results are still very effective for home built instruments. This included things like a shoe box guitar and paper harmonica , as well as other complex instruments rendered from domestic/craft materials.
I experimented with some of these concepts with some success but I also wanted to try and retain the objects original qualities without too much editing or change. This was to elevate the objects not through colour or pattern or by re-dressing or re-assembling them, instead I wanted to elevate them by giving them a different purpose.
My desire was to create an interactive installation that transformed everyday discarded objects into instruments intended to be played by the audience. This is for many reasons but mainly for the work to act as a community space, instead of a piece that is solely my own that I share with others. I also had some feedback that playing the objects in a physical and percussive way was liberating, in a sense interacting with the installation somehow let them express or offload something.
I watched this video on the fundamentals of sound design, which is synthetically making sounds and used in man genres of modern music. On reflection the video focused more on how to understand and create sound digitally using certain software, although it was incredibly helpful for understanding sound as waves and visualising the way sound functions within a space.
This video was on the basics of music theory and focused on understanding notes, chords and the pattern behind what forms melodies and moods within music. This video was more about electronic and formal sound/music, played with specific repeatable notes, which differs from my more exploratory approach to instruments and sound in my practice.
However these resources helped me to understand sound and its significance on a deeper level, I had always known of its immense complexity but never really studied or appreciated it. On reflection I can see that expecting to be able to solidify an understanding of sound in time for degree show is not realistic, but the prospect of a longer term learning curve and further explorations excite me, and I am interested to gather feedback on my Degree Show.
After reading the information linked below I have decides on 4 General Areas I will try and experiment with to create my acoustic sounds with my found objects.
- Strings
- Air (flutes, horns and reeds etc.)
- Thinly stretched stuff (drum heads or fabric over cans)
- Solid stuff (xylophone bars, cymbals, anything etc.)
https://www.bashthetrash.com/how-instruments-work-easy
https://www.dkfindout.com/uk/science/sound/making-music/
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/music/how-do-musical-instruments-produce-sound