- Develop one of the pieces begun in today’s session to be played in next week’s session.
- Add the piece, or a part of it, to your blog. Add some annotation to this e.g. what tools and techniques did you use? What type of textures did you achieve? What the emotional or intellectually stimulating effect of your approach or the piece itself?
- Reflect on notes taken in today’s session. Consider what aspects of it may be useful in your personal practice.
- Prepare for Milo’s class here https://learningsynths.ableton.com/
The history of digital synthesis traces its roots back to the pioneering experiments with computer music in the 1950s and 1960s, such as the MUSICOMP and MUSIC-N programs which paved the way for early commercial digital synthesizers like the Fairlight CMI and the groundbreaking Yamaha DX7, which popularized FM synthesis. As laptops and digital audio workstations (DAWs) became more powerful, software-based synthesizers and virtual instruments emerged. Modern digital synthesis techniques have further expanded the possibilities for sound design and musical expression, revolutionizing the way music is created and produced in the digital age. In order to further understand the evolution and changes in the use of synthesizers through time I researched and listened to popular synthesizer songs from the 19th to 21st century ranging from Take On Me by A-ha (1985) to Fireflies by Owl city (2009) to Save Your Tears by The Weeknd (2020) and although these pieces are from different genre and different style they do have a lot in common which are Loops and Sequences, Layering, Call-and-Response, Builds and Breakdowns, Modulation and Automation. For the planning of my piece to experiment these techniques I am going to record a vocal sound, using a simplier I am going to manipulate it into a note then using a similar homophonic structure I am going to create a four note looped melody as well as a main melody. Next I am going to create contrast such as climax and change in dynamics with the use of alternating subtractive techniques with drift, lastly with the use of a physical modeling with collision, I am going to create a percussion supporting rhythm to manipulate the flow of the piece.
While experimenting with the drift, I found that this is a perfect tool for me to use as vibrating sound effect as alternating the oscillator mix for the second oscillator creates a perfect sound of vibration, I also found that alternating the noise oscillator mix is the perfect tool for creating the sound of disrupted radio as well as waves which could be very useful for my final product
After experimenting with the collusion feature, I have concluded that as the dot is under the object it resonates the most
Since i have had a general idea of the theme i want for my final project, I then looked for combinations that i would use that that would be useful for me to create a creepy theme and this is the perfect combination for me
(note that tune can be manipulated from -6 to +7)