Description
In composer Edgàrd Varese's words "music is organized sound". But what else can be organized from sound than music? Pleasant and annoying noises certainly, and perhaps time itself? And what æsthetic, phenomenological and political role do technical media such as software code and algorithms, Spotify, MIDI, and the MP3 play in this work of organization?
On this praxis seminar we will use synthesizers, recorders and specialized programming languages for sound (p5.sound, Pure Data) together with transmedial techniques like sound visualization, data sonification and frequency shifting to examine, explore and reproduce familiar sonic phenomena ranging from noise pollution to ASMR, from Zoom glitches to smartphone notifications sounds, from "the halfalogue" to vaporwave. No prior technical knowledge of music or software is required for this course, only open ears, laptop and headphones.
Broadly speaking the journey of this seminar is the following: we start from how micro-scale mechanics of sound operate in machinic and human bodies using FM synthesis, then stretch out in time toward meso- and macro-levels of meaning with drones and field recordings, and then returns back to microlevel with granular (re)synthesis.
Further use as Open Educational Resource (OER) is encouraged: This work and its contents are – unless otherwise stated – licensed under the Creative Commons (CC) BY-NC 4.0. Please cite according to the TULLU rules as “Software and the sonic subconscious of the digital” by Mace Ojala, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. Other licensed content, works and works are excluded from the license (see https://moodle.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/course/view.php?id=53702).