project proposal: garlands.

Putting to use my abilities and interests in sound design and electroacoustics, I will be curating a unique soundscape involving two separately recorded instrumental improvisations which will intertwine and orbit around each other for my Integrating Activity project.

 

The project, tentatively entitled Garlands, will effectively tie into our group’s overarching themes of connection by taking two unrelated, stream-of-consciousness musical trains of thought (in different keys) and then cutting, pasting and reorganizing the raw material to show the hidden connections between them. The harmony created by this synthesis of musical ideas will result in a balance which reflects on themes mentioned in my artist’s statement as well, creating a space where these two moments can coexist and evoke a sense of mutual nostalgia or yearning for one another.

 

This project ties into many classes I have taken within the Arts & Culture profile, including those concerned with the appreciation of music, and will allow me to reflect on curatorial practices I have experimented with or learned about within my classes as well. Additionally, I have produced work using this method in the past to explore similar themes as a personal project and was fascinated by the results; this project will, then, also respond to my own musical ambitions.

 

From a technical standpoint, the piece will be about 3 minutes in length. The sole instrument used to produce both tracks will be my acoustic guitar, and the tracks will be recorded directly into Ableton Live 10 using a single condenser microphone. From there, the only editing techniques used will be trimming, chopping, fading and perhaps some equalization or normalization. The process will be uncluttered in order to leave each recording as plain as possible, so each note can be observed. In general, one recording will be panned slightly to the left and the other slightly to the right, although they may come together elsewhere in the mix at times.

 

Schedule:

April 9 – April 16: Recording the two improvisations to present as WiP

April 16 – April 23: Mixing, equalizing or compressing the tracks as needed

April 23 – April 30: Editing a rough draft of the piece

April 30 – May 7: Trimming the piece down to the target length

May 7 – May 14: Finishing touches before presentation

 

Required Materials/Software/Permissions:

- Acoustic guitar (Martin 000-15M 2010)

- Ableton Live 10 software

- Condenser microphone (Audio-Technica AT2020), audio interface, XLR cable

 

I already own the above equipment. Nothing will need to be procured and no special permissions are needed.

 

Link to relevant work created by me: https://soundcloud.com/astralcheeks/sets/octobers