Introduction to sound notes

-modes of listening:

1)Reduced- abstract, pure, uncultural/non-judgmental

2)Casual- clue, relational, non- abstract, narrative sense

3)Semantic- code, about language not sound, sound as a carrier of meaning

4)Referential- extra sonic, defines context, utilizes cultural meaning

-R. Murray Schaffer:

-keynote sounds- anchor or fundamental tone, the reference from which all other material takes meaning

-Signals- foreground sounds, listened to consciously. Warnings, direct messages, intended to impact meaning

-Soundmarks- unique sounds. Possess qualities that make it especially regarded by the community, define place

-Hi-fi Soundscape- rich with clarity, sounds have room to be fully percieved

-Lo-fi Soundscape- Cluttered, overlapping sounds, dificult to differentiate between sources 

Soundwalk Practice

In Session 2 of the course, as well as continuing to further my abilities of editing sound, I was able to go out and record the sound that I was going to use. In the class we were put into groups and given a Marantz Digital Audio Recorder and told to go out and record a sound-walk (A recording of the environment and what is going on around you). We did exactly this, we recorded sounds such as us walking down stairs, through co-op and the noises of a lift. After we had all of our recorded footage we headed back to class to edit different sounds from the sound-walk together. My group and I chose to edit different sounds into a song; we used the sound of steps as a build up, which then lead into a bleeping noise from co-op into a drop that we created of various other noises. After we had finished editing it sounded quite professional and we were very happy with what we had created.

Adobe Audition Tutorials

As I struggled whilst using Adobe Audition in the first session, I decided to look at some tutorial videos to help with my understanding. As I am beginner with this software I have looked at basic tutorial videos like the one below. Throughout the course I will continue through more tutorial videos that will help me with more complex things on the software but for now this video was very helpful;

Introduction to Course

In week one of the course I had an introduction and insight into the work that I will be doing over the following weeks. I was informed that for my portfolio that I needed to hand in two practical pieces.Firstly, I am required to plan, research and produce a two to five minute ‘audio soundscape’ or ‘acoustic portrait’ of a geographical place of your choice. Secondly, I am required to submit a three-minute edited interview with a single individual of your choice for presentation on local radio. After being informed what I was going to be doing over the course, I had an introduction to Adobe Audition- the first sound software that I have used. I downloaded 4 sounds and attempted to put them together to create a piece where the sounds sounded relevant to each other. However, as I was new to the software I found this very difficult and so I decided to just work with the sounds I had and try to put them together whilst using basic effects such as fades at the beginning and end even if the sounds didn't fit together properly. This session helped me to get used to Adobe Audition, however I need a lot more practice in it and so will research some tutorial videos and keep using the software to further my abilities on the software.