Month: January 2021

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SONIC DOING AND THINKING SOUND COMPOSITION

My experience of the second lockdown has been primarily uncomfortable, to be specific my exposure to things that make me feel comfortable (being with loved ones) has been restricted and replaced by an artificial version ie. Text messages, phone calls, video calls. An important aspect of this experience is that the effect it has had on my mind, however impactful, has been very subtle. Although these circumstances have impacted me greatly, I didn’t notice the impact until very late into the experience. Personally, I have never experienced something like this, it’s a strange feeling. It reminds me of the boiling frog effect, where a frog will not notice a gradual increase in the temperature of the water it is immersed in, even if it is being boiled alive. A subtle transition from comfort and mental well being, to an uncomfortable, cold and artificial experience. This is the experience or feeling I will try to invoke using sound.

To do this I have to first determine what makes a sound comfortable, and what makes it uncomfortable.

Warm and cold sound- To me warm sound can be characterised by low and mid frequencies, they have a full sound perhaps because they resonate with your body. Cold sounds are characterised by higher frequencies, thin sounds that cut through a soundscape. This is not to say that higher frequencies can’t be used to invoke a comfortable feeling, this is just how I see it generally.

Harmony- I feel comfort is greatly effected by harmony. Harmony is an incredibly deep area of research and information, but for my project I think I only need to talk about a small part of it. Emotion and tension can be expressed through use of cadence, our brains like patterns, and within a musical phrase there is more often than not a resolution, this is where the chords return ‘home’ to the root note. I think the most comfortable cadence would be a perfect authentic cadence, going from the fifth to the first chord, where both chords are in root position and the ‘first’ chord ending the phrase would have the tonic note as the highest note. I will try to explore this concept to invoke comfort, but also tension by straying from this cadence.

Resolution- I think a good way to invoke discomfort is using Bit depth. People like what is real and tend to dislike poor representations, an example being the uncanny valley. I feel reducing the resolution of a sound will result in an uneasy feeling, I got this idea from Cristobal Tapia De Veer’s work on Utopia. Also this will re-enforce the presence of technology in this piece, this could remind people of connection failures in phone calls.

Stereo Field- I believe that I could use the stereo field as a representation of exposure. Mixing using the full stereo field will make the audience feel surrounded and immersed, while restricting the sounds to one area will result in the audience feeling separated from these sounds. To try and recreate my experience, I would like to play with the idea of restricting the sounds in such a way where it would sound as if it were coming only from a phone.

Sounds, instruments and techniques-

  • Synthesisers- I think important aspects would be low cut off, smooth waveforms and using portamento for a warm comfortable feeling.
  • Human voices, this is an incredibly familiar sound for people, and I believe a very comfortable one due to us being social creatures. I have some recordings of people talking about what makes them comfortable I can use.
  • Ebow- I have an electronic violin bow that I have been experimenting with for a few years, when places near a guitar string it creates a very smooth rich note, and when these are layered with harmony the result is like the auditory equivalent of being submerged in warm water.
  • Human voice- I believe the human voice is a very comforting and familiar sound. I think I can use this as a malleable tool, first used to induce comfort, then distorted to express a feeling of uneasiness. This hopefully will reflect the feeling of comfort being fragmented.
  • Field recordings- I recorded a couple of really useful sounds from our sound walk on the Thames. The first is a recording of me agitating a lovelock attached to a railing, I used a contact microphone to emphasise tactility in the sound. I was particularly pleased with the quality of frustration the recording had, it sounded as though something was restricted, unable to move more than a couple of inches. The second recording also used a contact microphone, I attached it to a suspension wire on a bridge, I then rubbed a key along the ridged wire. This had a very abrasive sound, and a feeling of rising tension as the key got closer to the microphone.

Reflecting on the work:

In conclusion, I’m pleased with the outcome of the piece overall. I think it sucessfully expresses a transition from comfort to a distorted, inadequate simulation of reality. Unfortunately December proved to be a very challenging time for me, and I became very unproductive as a result. I wish I took more time to make the piece longer, I feel it would’ve been beneficial to linger in the comfortable section for longer to make the transition more impactful. I also wish I had used ambient room sound, I think it would’ve been useful to create a specific soundscape to give a sense of space, so that I could then manipulate this space into something else.

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SOUND RESEARCH: TOUCHING THE ELEPHANT

This BBC radio segment was inspired by an Indian folktale about perspective. The story consists of 6 old men who were all born blind, they are very curious about the world and get their information from passing travellers. They have a specific curiosity with elephants, they are told wondrous stories about how they could trample forests, carry huge burdens and frighten people with their trumpet calls. Contrast to this image, they also knew that the Raj’s daughter rode an elephant when she travelled across her fathers land. They argue day and night about whether an elephant is a giant dangerous creature capable of killing men, or a graceful gentle giant. The men arrange to go touch the elephant in the Raj’s palace. When they get there, they all touch different parts of the elephant and declare the animal to be different things. One touching the trunk declares it to be a giant snake like creature, another touches the side of the elephant and declares it to be smooth and solid like a wall. They have a noisy argument which awakens the Raj from a nap, he asks “how can each of you be so certain you are right?” He then says “The elephant is a very large animal, each man touched only one part. Perhaps if you put the parts together, you will see the truth.” 

The BBC recreated this story. A group of blind people describe what they believe an elephant to be, their descriptions are based on very little evidence. They then are given the opportunity to touch an elephant, they can then talk about their misconceptions.

I think this piece is really interesting as it highlights elements of the blind experience sighted people would not normally know about, it is also a very effective lesson in perspective. Listening to the blind people feeling each part of the elephant expresses the fragmented nature of their experience, having to perceive the animal in small parts, and attempt to stitch it together in their mind for a complete ‘picture’. To equate the piece to radio itself, the blind people are listeners of radio, and sighted people are viewers of visual media ie. Films. There is a certain creative licence afforded to listeners, without the definitive visual to cement the subject in context, the mind can create its own visual accompaniment and the subject is not so rigidly defined.

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VISITING PRACTITIONERS: KATE HOPKINS

Kate Hopkins is an accomplished sound editor based in Bristol who has worked in all genres of TV and film. Due to Bristol being the home of the BBC’s natural history unit, she has specialised in sound for natural history films. Hopkins has been awarded 2 Emmys for outstanding editing for non-fiction programming, this was for work on Plant Earth ‘Pole to Pole’ (2007) and Frozen Planet ‘Ends Of the Earth’ (2012), she has also been awarded three BAFTAs. Kate has a long list of projects she has worked on, some of which are Disney’s ‘Monkey Kingdom’ (2015), National Geographic’s ‘Great Migrations’ (2010), Apple’s ‘The Elephant Queen’ (2018). More recently she has worked on David Attenborough’s ‘A life on our planet’ (2020) and Apple’s ‘Earth at night in colour’ (2020). 

Kate began her career as a receptionist for a small post production company in Bristol. Her boss Nigel, she says, was a picture editor, and while fulfilling her receptionist duties (making phone calls, answering emails and ‘making endless cups of tea’) she would also assist her boss in the cutting room organising trims from 16 and 35mm film. Hopkin’s believes that the small nature of the company allowed her to experience many different fields, working alongside Aardman animation studios, and syncing up picture and sound for dramas and natural history films. After 3 and a half years working in this company, Kate received her union card allowing her to transition to freelance work. 

At this time, there were a lot of 35mm drama’s being made in Bristol for large American companies such as Universal. Kate moved from Nigel’s practice to Universal and started working on these dramas as a freelance assistant editor, eventually moving into the role of assistant sound editor. Hopkins credits this moment as the birth of her passion for sound design, in her own words she ‘realised what impact a sound edit could have, if you put different atmospheres, if you put different effects in, they move on a story and add drama.’ Kate names some of her influences as the Cohen brother’s films, The godfather, Apocalypse now and Raging Bull. She says ‘these are all films which had very distinctive sound tracks’. ‘Raging Bull’, she adds, ‘was particularly good because all of the punches used a combination of real punches, but also had Lion roars and stuff put in. So it sort of illustrated how much you could do with sound design with it still feeling real. It was just adding power and drama.’ 

Kate began to learn about signature sounds used in dramas, for example if you wanted to portray poverty you would use distant dog barks and the sound of a baby crying, sudden silence being an excellent way to create drama. Eventually Kate would have to transition from film to digital as a freelancer, which meant no training, she remembers the process as very much ‘learning on the job’. At this time some of Kate’s colleagues from the past were setting up a production company named ‘Wounded Buffalo’, she began collaborating with these colleagues on natural history films such as ‘Natural world’. Continuing with the theme of learning on the job, Kate recalls accepting a job in Idaho (US) which was a 90 minute documentary about wool, the studio had protools which at the time, she had never been exposed to. Hopkins read the manual on the plane journey over, and thankfully produced the 90 minute soundtrack. 

Hopkins began work on ‘Blue Planet’, she says this was a fantastic job as the show being underwater allowed for many creative opportunities in the sound design. Hopkins recalls enjoying designing sound to emphasise movement of organisms, and also the feeling of depth by changing ambience. She believed this work pushed sound editing further forward in the production process, sound became more important and her work became more of a collaboration between sound design and music. From ‘Blue Planet’, Kate went on to work on ‘Frozen planet’, ‘Blue planet two’, ‘Life’, and ‘the dynasty series’. She was then asked to work on Disney’s ‘Nature’ series, mixing feature films for large theatres with her colleague Tim Owens. During this time Dolby atmos started arise, which Kate believes helps sound designers achieve their goal of placing the audience in the environment on screen. One thing Kate stresses the importance of in her work is using accurate sound, she says you can layer up as many sounds as you want but It will result in a muddy mix if the right sounds aren’t used. 

Hopkins describes working on horror films to be ‘an absolute joy’, due to the creative freedom. Using whatever sounds you like as long as it results in a scary sound. This contrasts heavily with the practices of natural history sound, where she is required to meticulously find specific animal calls and sounds. Kate fondly recalls working on a low budget horror films called ‘Hardware’ (1990), but states something that I think might stick with me ‘there’s nothing like a low budget film to put pressure on a sound editor.’ This really highlights the impact and importance of sound design, in the absence of high budget visuals its up to the sound to immerse the viewer. 

Scene from Hardware 1990

Hopkins describes how she starts the process of working on a film or tv program, specifically in natural history. She stresses the importance of recording wild sound onsite, and says this can often get overlooked as directors can often be focused purely on visuals. Kate remarks on a moment in her career where a project was allocated a small budget for sound editors to go out on location, which she describes as a rarity. She talks about being driven around the Maasai Mara in a jeep, recording Lions very close up and wildebeest hooves among other things. 

Kate describes the collaboration process between sound editors and composers, finding the balance between effects and music. This involves agreeing which scenes are going to be music drive and which are effects driven to avoid overlap and unnecessary work. They also have to work around each other to not overcrowd a mix, for example if there are a lot of bass heavy effects the composers have to avoid bass in the music. 

It was at this point in the lecture where Kate showed a Protools session for a clip about meerkats from the Dynasty series. Watching this I was struck by the amount of audio files and the organisation of them. I find the idea of sculpting a believable soundscape very interesting, specifically the subtlety of the mix, doing just enough to immerse the viewer but little enough so as not to distract from the scene. 

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SOUND RESEARCH: SOUND THERAPY

Tibetan Singing Bowls and Vibroacoustic Therapy

Tibetan Singing Bowls/ Standing Bells

Tibetan singing bowls are metal bowls used by Tibetan monks in spiritual ceremonies, they are usually made from a combination of alloy metals. The bowls produce sound when someone strikes it, or when a mallet is rubbed in a circular motion around the outside rim, this produces a consistent sustained tone. 

There is evidence to suggest that these metal ‘standing’ bells originated from the Shang Dynasty in China (16th-11th Centuries BCE), they are believed to have developed from grain measures. Singing Bowls are used in prayer chants in Buddhist and Taoist practices. The bowls are also used as a meditational tool, as they produce sustained consistent tones that are pleasing to hear. The singing bowl can be found in temples all over Asia, and is used for spiritual and ceremonial purposes. The bowls have been adopted in the West as a sound therapy tool, and have been shrouded in mystery and legend. Stories of secret alloys, monks chanting as they are being made and hammer marks representing mantras recited are all fictitious and probably originated to sell them to uninformed buyers. They are made with bronze by metal smiths.

I am not interested in the Western mystical side of Tibetan singing bowls, relating them to Chakras and energy fields. I am interested in the fact that for thousands of years humans have been attracted to sustained consistent tones, and that these are predominantly found in places of worship or meditation. I think the question I am interested in is, Why do long consistent tones relax humans? And there is evidence to suggest that this is the case. An observational study on the effect of singing bowl mediation on moods published in 2016 found that 60 minutes of sound meditation using Tibetan singing bowls reduced depression, anxiety and tension in people of ages ranging from 21-77. Strangely they found that previous experience with singing bowls effected the results of the study. Specifically they found a significant change in the mean tension sub-scale from baseline to post meditation for participants between the ages of 40-59 who had no previous experience with singing bowl meditation. 

Although there is no clear explanation as to why this happens, there is a theory that includes the potential effects of binaural beats. Binaural beats are when the right ear and left ear receive slightly different frequencies, the brain processes this information to perceive it as one single note, it is believed by advocates of this therapy that this process can cause relaxation, reduce stress and anxiety, and induce deeper sleep. However, research into the effectiveness of binaural beat therapy is inconclusive and it is not recognised as a part of standard care for any condition. 

Vibroacoustic Therapy Chair

During research on singing bowls I came across vibroacoustic therapy. This is a practice created by a Norwegian man named Olay Skille in 1968. Vibroacoustic therapy is the practice of applying vibrations directly to the body in the form of low frequency (between 30Hz and 120Hz) sinus tones in combination with selected music.’ The impulses emitted by the vibroacoustic equipment are perceived not only through acoustical receptors in the body, but through vibrotactile receptors.

Some observed positive effects on patients symptoms are as follows:

Autism- Contact-defying autistic children would become so engaged with the sensation of vibration, that they would permit people to give them more physical contact than in other situations.

Rett Syndrome- Some symptoms of Rett syndrome are unusual repetitive jerking movements of the muscles, irritability, stress and difficulty sleeping. Skille found that during vibroacoustic therapy, people with this condition would be able to sleep, and he noted a muscle relaxing effect.

Cerebral Palsy- A significant reduction in spasms.

Insomnia- Sufferers of insomnia often fall asleep during vibroacoustic therapy, also the duration of sleep would be longer than normally experienced.

Circulatory deficiencies- People with this condition have found effective relief through vibroacoutsisc therapy as the vibrations encourage circulation in the body.

I have only provided 5 examples but the list is 24 items long. I think the medical use of sound is very interesting, and I would like to explore the idea of inducing relaxation through sound, and how this could be used as a compositional tool. I think I will keep Olay Skille’s three ‘universals’ of therapeutic use of vibrational sounds in mind when making a piece of sound art.

1). High pitch (high Hz values) gives stress; low pitch (low Hz) induces relaxation.

2). Rhythmically strong music increases energy; rhythmically neutral music decreases energy.

3). Loud music (low dB values-high amplitude) activates; soft music (high dB values-low amplitude) pacifies.

Bibliography:

Goldsby, T., Goldsby, M., McWalters, M. and Mills, P., 2016. Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being: An Observational Study. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22(3), pp.401-406 [Accessed 17 January 2021]

Soundtravels.co.uk. 2021. Singing Bowls – Separating Truth From Myth. [online] Available at: < https://www.soundtravels.co.uk/a-Singing_Bowls__Separating_Truth_from_Myth-732.aspx > [Accessed 17 January 2021].

Medicalnewstoday.com. 2021. Binaural Beats Therapy: Benefits And How They Work. [online] Available at: <https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320019> [Accessed 17 January 2021].

Olav Skille, VibroAcoustic Therapy, Music Therapy, Volume 8, Issue 1, 1989, Pages 61–77, https://doi-org.arts.idm.oclc.org/10.1093/mt/8.1.61 [Accessed 17 January 2021]