The Tuning of the World

-Keynote sounds can be considered the 'fundamental tone' of the world
-Sounds that have dramatically affected the fundamental tone of the world:
Traffic- depending on speed, density and mass, traffic will create different, constant fundamental tones
-Forestry/Farming- Clearing of forests and flattening of landscape reduces barriers to sound. Sound carries further, less reflection
-Electricity- is an oscillation- it has a set pitch. In America this is 50hz and in the UK it is 60hz. We can hear this almost everywhere we go
-Habitation- Ability to stop hearing sounds as we get used to them
-Familiarity- tactical response to foreign sounds- higher state of alert for unfamiliar sounds
-Proximity- Ability of brain to group similar sounds happening in close proximity together- even if they come from different sources

Adobe audition practice

To familiarize myself with the adobe audition software I decided to create a short practice sound-walk using downloaded sounds. I used three different sounds and added them together to make sense of them. This was the first time that I was using Audition on my own and so I wasn't completely comfortable using the software. I decided to try and create the sound of a person getting in a car and driving off. I used three sounds that were added one after the other, these were the sounds of a door shutting, an engine starting up and a car driving. I simply added them one after another in order to make the feel of a car driving off. I learned to shorten sounds and add them to each other to create a sound-walk. I am now feeling a bit more comfortable using audition but feel that I need to work a lot more on my skills and learn how to add effects to make my work sound better. In order to do this I need to watch more tutorial videos and continue creating practice pieces.

https://soundcloud.com/jsheehan-405881438/audition-practice-2

Reading notes: Soundscapes by Sonnenschein

-Stories happen in a time and place, and these parameters are characterised by their acoustic environments or soundscapes.
-A soundscape is composed of several types of sounds: keynote sounds, signals, soundmarks, and archetypal sounds.
-The KEYNOTE is equivalent to the tonal centre in music in that it represents the anchor and reference point to all other sound. Indispensable to the environment, it serves as the ground for the figure.
- The SIGNAL is considered the figure or foreground sound to be consciously heard. These include sounds that demand attention, like sirens, whistles etc. which can also transmit more complex messages like the number of bell chimes in a clock tower.
-A SOUNDMARK establishes a particular place, as does a landmark, possessing some unique quality for only that location
-ARCHETYPAL sounds stir out ancestral memories, bringing us into an environment through a universal emotional reaction.
-The natural soundscape can create not only a wide range of emotional spaces, it can also link with our human environments through analogy or simply because of our tendency to seek meaning in all stimuli.

Microphones

There are a range of microphones that are available for me to use for my project which were introduced in class. The three types that were discussed were dynamic, ribbon and condenser microphones and are effective for certain types of recordings and not so much for other types of sounds.

Dynamic Microphones:
Advantages:
-They are durable and can withstand a lot of volume before they distort
-Doesn't require phantom power
-Designed to colour sound at certain frequencies, e.g. making human voices sound stronger
Typically used:
- Live situations, but also sometimes used in studio
-Close mic situations
-Recording loud sounds
Disadvantages:
-They often miss subtle sounds as it takes a lot of sound pressure to move the coil

Ribbon Microphones:
Advantages:
-Captures a smoother sound than Dynamic mics
-Doesn't require phantom power
Typically used:
-In the studio because they're very fragile
-Close mic situations
-Delicate sounding objects, particularly quiet sounds
Disadvantages:
-Colours the sound by adding a high frequency edge
-Fragile
-Will only pick up sounds that are very close

Condenser Microphones:
Advantages:
-They respond to fast attacks and transients more precisely than other mics
-They can capture sound from a greater distance
-Record a sound whilst capturing the ambience of the room
Typically used:
-In recording studios
-Can be used to record almost any sound except extremely loud ones
-Very effective with quiet sounds
-Used very often for vocals and acoustic guitars
Disadvantages:
-Fairly fragile
-Require phantom power to operate
-Can pick up extraneous sounds easily

Once I have decided on what I am going to record for the sound-walk and interview I will have to pick which microphone is most suitable for recording each piece of work.

The Fundamentals of Sound

-Sound happens when a moving object causes the matter around it to vibrate, resulting in sound waves
-We hear sounds when sound waves travel through matter and cause our ear drums to vibrate
-A sound wave can be thought of a periodic movement through space over time
-The nature of that space determines a sounds amplitude
The speed at which a wave vibrates determines its frequency
-The most basic form of sound wave is called a sine wave. Sine waves are a fundamental tone, meaning that they contain no harmonics
-Different materials produce different types of wave forms, all of the following determine the nature of the sound an object produces:
How dense is an object?
What is it made of?
Is it rough or smooth?
How different is it from other sounds?
What space is it sounding in?
-By adjusting the frequency, amplitude, wave shape and envolope of a sound you can make entirely new sounds from existing material.

Presentation: Ben Burtt

As part of the course we were put into partners and told to do a presentation on an existing sound designer. My group did our presentation on Ben Burtt, screen shots of the slides are below: