In this assignment you will be creating a 60-120 second long stereo composition.

In this assignment you will be creating a 60-120 second long stereo composition. I know some of you will be tempted to go longer – please do not – I would prefer that you spend more time crafting a shorter piece. You can build and use the pieces you created in Assignment 2 – or you can create a new piece from scratch. For this particular composition I do not want to hear a typical pop tune. I do not want to hear drums, keys, guitars, layered. I want you to play with sound creating a soundscape or audio collage – be creative and see what you can make! Voice/story/poetry is absolutely fine if you so choose but not necessary. The emphasis is on a clear concept, careful editing and processing, and creating a vivid experience for the listener. Please look at the rubric to see what elements you need to have to do well on this assignment. You can use Audacity or any DAW of your choice.
Method:
Begin by creating a graphic score for the piece. This can be done using any media of your choice – pencils, pens, crayons, digital tools, collage/manipulation of photos – but make sure it has a clear way that you can read it and use it to help guide you to create a music composition or as Varese says “organize sound in time.” Check out the module on Graphic Notation for inspiration. Please do spend time on this and make a score that is more complex than the simple doodle I create in the video showing the principles of graphic scores. (I would only give the score I make in the demo a 1/4 – I was showing concepts not doing the work). I recommend starting with a graphic score and then creating the sonic portion instead of the other way around.
Next select your source files – as many as you like. Use your graphic notation score to help guide you in choosing how many sounds you need and what kinds of sounds they should be. You can use sounds from ANY source, (including sound you used for assignment 2 or ones you record yourself, freesound.org or youtube etc.), making sure the quality is good, and that you layer them so that they form a continuous soundscape, with background (long & softer) and foreground (short & louder) sounds, and clean transitions — no clicks, please. If you are uncertain whether a sound is suitable, just ask!
Process and arrange these sounds to make a composition. Make sure to play with panning (left right) and reverb (A sound with no reverb will sound like its close to the front and a sound with lots of reverb will sound like its farther back). Take the time to make something you are proud of and you will do well on this assignment. Remember the final piece should be a soundscape – not a song – although musical elements are absolutely allowed.
You can use simple sound fx to create a soundscape – but I want to hear some processing. One easy way to do this is to use the same sound multiple times – each time applying different processing so that it is continually transforming. You can use all of the effects that Audacity or your DAW offers — stretching, speed and pitch changes, adding reverb, reversing, panning and equalization, and anything else goes. When you are finished you should export (or bounce if using a different software than Audacity) your final file into a wav, aif or mp3 with the file name: YourName-Exercise4.wav. When you are finished creating your composition remember to take some screenshots of Audacity or your DAW so that we can see all the layers of your composition.
Submit:
You will need to submit at least 4 files via Canvas. Once again use your name in the file name please.
1 – jpg of the graphic score you created to inspire your composition.
2 – wav, .aif or .mp3 audio file between 60-120 seconds in length
3 – Screen shots of the tracks you have layered and created in Audacity or other DAW. (On the mac use command-shift-4 to do this. On the PC use – Ctrl + Print Screen (Print Scrn). You can use as many screen shots as needed to capture all of your layers. Please shrink the tracks so you can just see the volume and pan indicators on the left side. Individual sounds do not need to be documented.
4 – A pdf with a simple listing of the source of all of the sounds you have used – Name of sound, website link, or the fact that you recorded it yourself.
Video Links:
Lecture on Graphic Notation
Assignment 4 Video Instructions
Also on the home page – scroll down to the bottom below class videos, weekly pdfs and readings and at the bottom you will see Cage’s book filled with graphic scores as well as two other graphic notation resources. This should give you many ideas of the vast possibilities of graphic notation.
Tips:
Make sure to try out all of the effects in Audacity or your DAW. Try changing the different parameters in the effects as well – don’t just use them the way they load up. Make sure to save multiple copies of your composition so you feel safer experimenting. Paulstretch is a great tool for stretching a shorter audio clip and transforming it into a drone if you are having troubles making a background sound. Have fun and be creative in exploring the tools.
The time-shift tool () will allow you to shift a ‘clip’ on the track. To use create a clip, select the part of the track you’d like move with the cursor ( I ) and then choose Edit/Clip – Boundaries/Split (command i ). You now should be able to move the newly created clip with the ( ) tool. You can also move only the Left channel of a stereo track this way but it’s tricky.
Volume control is very important. Use the envelope tool to adjust the track level. (You can watch my assignment 4 video to see how to use this as well) You must click to create a point. You can then move that point left, right and up and down. This is great for creating swells or making sure you can hear your foreground sounds. To effectively fade out or fade in a track the Fade In/Fade Out commands under Effects work best. To use these simply select where you want the process to start and end with the cursor and then select which one you wish to use. Make sure the end of your piece fades out nicely and does not just cut off abruptly.