The enigma of Vitruvian resonating vases and the relevance ... - CEC

The enigma of Vitruvian resonating vases and the relevance of the concept for today - Rob Godman
Page 20 of 23
What might happen if we listen to these sounds under water? Or, what might happen
if we are inside a solid, moving through the molecules and listening to how they relate
to each other? Solid is an imaginary exploration of the resonance of a piece of glass,
heard from within, rather than outside in the air.
Godman, Programme Note for ‘Solid’ 2002
Again, a number of acoustic spaces were designed and superimposed with each other. Both inside the eye
of silence and Solid are algorithmic works and use a series of permutation tables to constantly change the
order of how these spaces are presented. This means the composition is likely to be noticeably different at
different times of the day, week, month etc. Solid was derived from the sound of glass. By using granular
synthesis it was possible to extend tiny fragments of sound and allow them to ride on the Vitruvian
resonances.
metro 70000
delay 7000
coll songs
p pulsed-chimes
p chimesamps
chimes
1.04
Solid
p phase-changer p High-Grans
high grans
metro 190000
coll one
conv
0.67
comb_chimes
metro 130000
delay 11000 metro 170000 metro 110000 metro 130000 metro 230000
None
coll five
p conv
p amps1 p amps2
granB
coll two
drones
© Rob Godman June 2002
revised version using quad soundcard 2003
1.8
granA
p comb-chimes
p amps3
0.7
-Signal levels-
-Programme-
coll three
p granA
p amps4
0.87
coll three
p granB
p amps5
Quad Mix
0.98
coll four
p drones
p amps6
1. Front left (floor)
2. Front right (floor)
3. Rear left
4. Rear right
open
0.35
dac~ 1 2 3 4
test (for audio 4 instructions)
information
speakers
-Control Panel-
activate audio
Kill current samples! (panic)
0 0 49
run time
Master Volume
0.93
-Master-
adstatus cpu
adstatus info
0
0
0
0. 0. 0. 0.
FIGURE 15 shows the Max/MSP patch used for operating Solid. The sub-patches [p pulsed-chimes]
through to [p drones] (shown in green) contain a number of pre-processed sound files that are selected
according to seven different permutation series. These series are derived from English Change Ringing
Patterns and are stored in the patch as [coll] objects. The variables for these permutation series function as
different sound files, no file (i.e. producing silence) and the ability to alter the phase of the signal.