The main theme from Byrne’s TED Talk is that location heavily affects sound and more specifically architecture affects the sound. Rath aligns with him on this front. Byrne talks about how sound is meant for specific rooms. For example, he used to be in a band that played in very small, intimate, and yet rowdy settings. The method used in that rock band setting was that they would just turn the music all the way up and write songs that would overwhelm the noisy audience. However, once Byrne started to get more popular he played in other places and said that the sound did not fit the room. Byrne began diving into how different settings will affect the sound and perception of music. The sound theorist Rath wrote about how different religious places of worship will have a different architecture based on their music types and purpose. These two theories overlap heavily with each other since the driving theory is about how architecture affects sound. Blesser and Slater have a complementary theory to Byrnes. They believe in the earcon. Earcons are sonic events that have symbolic meaning beyond the sound wave. This complements the Byrne theory but also branches out because this is beyond the physical sound. The symbolism of music that is played in Church transcends the physical theory of Byrne and Rath. While architecture and setting heavily influence earcons, they do not completely compose them. The audience is also important as well as societal context. Yet, the overarching theme is that sound is very contextual and is acutely influenced by environment.
Blog 9
Douglas reflects back on his time as a slave in chapter 2. He speaks of all the horrid images especially of one cruel overseer, Mr. Severe. A man who took pleasure in the whippings and cruelty his job allowed him. We also get another image of the clothing and sleeping arrangements for the slaves, which is obvious to us to be less than humane. However, later Douglas speaks on slaves being able to work on the “Great House Farm” and how it was such a joy (as joyful as one can be in that situation), and this drove them to sing. However, Douglas made it clear that their songs did not convey happiness or contentment. Douglas said, “Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains.” Song was a way for slaves to express their anger and sorrow and this usually filled their tones. Their songs gave them hope and gave others hope as well. However, when did this start and how did it become a cultural phenomenon? Music has been engraved into the culture of black people all across the country and this seems to be it’s earliest origins. The evil and pain of slavery was carried through history by voice.
Blog 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn5tgLtMHUk(sample)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=378fPCWcOrs(Song using sample)
Drake samples Snoh Alegra’s song Time, in his introspective song, Do Not Disturb. Sampling is a common method in rap to form beats and are major pieces of production. However, sampling is not homogenous. It is often used in multiple ways. The main way is to add in samples of different songs to make the beat “harder.” Drake uses his sample to set the mood and therefore takes a little more from the sample than the most common method. This differs from Taylor Swift’s “cover” in more ways than the fact that it is a sample. In Taylor Swift’s instance she took a song and changed the lyrics as well as changing what made the song special. The uniqueness of the song was its energy and unconventional vocalization. While it is true she cannot replicate their multiple voices, it was apparent that she attempted to make the song her own. She changed pheno-song as well as geno-song, which would be stealing in Dolar’s eyes. Drake sampled a song so the application is minutely different. However, we can still apply the pheno-song and geno-song of the beat. As previously stated, Drake uses Snoh Alegra’s Time to set the mood and I would include that in the geno-song category. He adds a beat over her voice and background music to match the tone and energy, which further reinforces the mood he was searching for. His lyrics have little to no relationship to the sampled song. Seeing as he needs it for the mood he also allows it to maintain most of its individuality without infusing his own. In Dolar’s eyes this should distance him from what Taylor’s instance.
Blog 07
Crawford bringing up “voice” within the realm of social media provokes many thoughts and introspection about my social media interaction. Entering the age of technology one is bombarded by “voices” everywhere. I happen to be quite proactive on social media so this point is applicable to myself especially. Scrolling through comments on Twitter and Instagram seems purely observational and as much as you try to distance yourself the more you realize it is effectively impossible. I hear these voices whether I have closed my ears or not. Imagine a comment being one voice. For me, a person who enjoys reading comments, you start to read and it becomes more than observational. I hear different opinions and subconsciously contemplate their validity, many times infusing them with my own opinion. It is important to realize that social media amplifies the voice of some and amplifies the hearing of many. This phenomenon happens to the point where the voices are so loud they cannot be silenced. What type of effect is that? It brings a new definition to voice as well that differs from the likes of Aristotle, Barthes, or Lucier. The voice here speaks to the individuals that manifest themselves into comments. Captions, and social media posts. Behind all of these is an entire person made of experiences similar to how the voice is the manifestation of the soul. There is a soul behind every comment or post and that is what Crawford is speaking to. The definition of voice and the analysis are operating on a new type of voice made possible by the age of technology.
Blog 05
https://beta.myvoice.lyrebird.ai/
Contextualizing Lucer
Lucier uses his voice for an unconventional purpose in his “Sitting in a Room” video. Aristotle describes sound as one object striking another and thus creating the phenomena. When Aristotle speaks of sound he talks about it also moving air in a continuous manner as well as our ears being unified with the air. However, Aristotle also emphasizes that voice is an incredibly evolved and special gift that only some species, including humans, are capable of. To apply this to Lucier’s video we can understand that the voice holds the incredible power of conveying feelings and meaning without actually using speech. Lucier clearly demonstrates this point as well by showing us that we can still feel the same energy and mood coming from the voice without hearing his actual words. Lucier and Aristotle may agree on the uniqueness but Lucier also used sound to clash with an object to make a different sound. It is an interesting concept that Aristotle didn’t bring up, but it changes my perception of sounds physical and metaphorical properties.
Sound is the form of its own evolution and devolution
- One of the major sound experiences for me was actually walking the Davidson campus at night. It was an incredible blend of the noises of nature and those created by the nightlife of the college. While I will not venture to say that this has any narrative attached to it, I will say that the atmosphere definitely feels alive. The constant clicking that comes from the trees perpetuates energy in the air to tell me there is never a dull moment.
- The phenomena depicted in the video by Lucier has a totally different purpose than that of usual speech. It is interesting to listen to the hypnotic, ominous, and monotoned voice of Lucier and when I noticed this I discovered that the words were not quite that important. As the video went on I saw that the speech became more and more irrelevant and incoherent but what remained the same was the mood I felt from the sound. People perceive speech as a more manipulated sound to convey meaning, however, though this may be true, tone and sound are imperative in speech as to determine meaning and purpose. I don’t need to pay close attention to the words of someone just to know they are happy. Just as we know the mood when the beginning starts and how cold the voice is, I also venture to guess that if we listened in reverse order (incoherent to coherent) we would come to the same conclusion in the beginning.
