Emma Rapaport | Sound Designer

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Multimedia Analysis - The Shining | Scene for analysis - As Wendy discovers Jack’s ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ writings - Music of Krzysztof Penderecki ‘Polymorphia’ (1961) 

The films of Stanley Kubrick are renowned for their innovative approach to the integration of music. In a move away from the commercial standardisation of Hollywood film music, Kubrick’s heavily relies upon more avant-garde styles for the characterisation, contextualisation and narrative aspects of his films, typifying a highly sophisticated level of interaction between music and film. This analysis will pay particular attention to the film The Shining, in which Kubrick’s reliance upon pre-existence contemporary classical music embodies the characters descent into madness, and projects a tone of horror and perturbation to underpin the film. In particular, the penultimate scene between Jack and Wendy is scored by composer Krzysztof Penderecki’s ‘Polymorphia’ (1961), a composer celebrated for his exploration of extended instrumental techniques.

Scene for analysis - As Wendy discovers Jack’s ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’ writings - Music of Krzysztof Penderecki ‘Polymorphia’ (1961) 

The Composer & Composition

“All I’m interested in is liberating sound beyond all tradition”

Penderecki 

In the period immediately following the devastation of World War II, a new era for music followed, characterised by an intensity of governmental support for the arts. Krzysztof Penderecki was a product of this era. Born in Poland (1933), Penderecki studied under Francieszek Skolyszewski, gaining international recognition in 1959 with the premier of his works ‘Strophen’, ‘Psalms of David’, and ‘Emanations’. Penderecki however was to make his mark on compositional techniques one year later in his avant-garde composition ‘Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima’. It was in this piece that Penderecki first made use of extended string techniques - quarter tones, bowing the instrument in many places, percussive effects, and various speeds of vibrato and tremolo - explored new novel textures, and made great use of sustained tonal clusters. It was during this decade that Penderecki made the focus of his works the extension of musical playing techniques to produce original sounds and colours.

Following in the footsteps of his previous work, Polymorphia, composed during the sonorisitic period,is a continuation of Penderecki’s exploration of sonic and instrumental techniques. The composition is for 48 string instruments - 24 violins, 8 violas, 8 cellos, and 8 double basses. Although the title of the piece literally means ‘of many forms’, Polymorphia is not a reference to the structure of the piece which is in straightforward ABA. Rather, the ‘many forms’ refers to the many tonal forms one instrument can make - “the broadly developed scale of sound...the exchange and simultaneous penetration of sound and noise, the contrast and interflow of soft and hard sounds”. 

This piece is a exploration of the composers understanding of timbre as ‘a function of the materials’. As explained by author Danuta Mirka, timbral categories are based upon the most common materials used in the construction of traditional instruments: mood, metal, leather, felt, and hair. For Penderecki, these common materials are there to make timbre, regardless of how they are played - “if a given body can be a source source -- that is if it made of one of the three materials capable of performing this function(metal, wood and leather) -- then it becomes a sound source regardless of whether it is hit, rubbed or plucked or itself hits, rubs or plucks”. In Polymorphia, while traditional symphonic orchestral instruments are used, Penderecki uses their timbral qualities in drastically different ways to produce his desired effect. For example, in section ‘B’ the score directs the performer to ‘strike on the stand with the bow, or the chair with the nut’, and ‘tap on the sound board with fingertips’.  

The work takes a very traditional ‘ABA’ form, with each section approximately three minutes in length. Both sections ‘A’ and ‘B’ take on contrasting timbres - section A characterised by arco and microtonal pitch clusters, while section B is teeming with extended string techniques and distinctively percussive. The piece opens from rehearsal 1 - 32 on a sustained ‘E’ note in basses, which is gradually accompanied by but the other instruments. However, Penderecki has moved away from the traditional pitching of notes, and has used quarter tones to create the effect of a highly dense sustained tonal cluster. The effect is that it is almost impossible to pin-point a tonal center, and can be likened to thousands of buzzing bees. From rehearsal 11 through 32, this tonal cluster is overlaid with high pitched ‘slides’ of indefinite pitch from the higher pitched instruments, giving an effect of ‘piercing screams’ or ‘whaling’. Rehearsals 32 - 44 are classified as section ‘B’ due to their percussive natures. Techniques such as; battuto col legno (striking the strings with the wooden bow), taps con dita (striking the strings with fingers, and pizzicato con due dita (plucked with two fingers) can be heard. From rehearsals 38-43, a shift occurs with Penderecki placing an emphasis on the timbral nature of wood. Performers are instructed to strike the strings with the palms of their hand, top on the sound board with fingertips, and strike the stand with the bow or the chair with the nut. Section A then returns with the style once again focused upon acro, but also including bowing between the bridge and the tailpiece. The piece closes with a sustained C major triad across the orchestra, almost as a ‘release of tension’ created by the microtones. 

As the composition uses a quite unusual timbral system, Penderecki has devised his own system of notation through an experimental score. The score is divided into sections, with each given a length in seconds. His predominantly communicates his timbral effects though a large range of symbols (explained at the beginning of the score). For example, the black triangle indicated that the performer should play “the highest note of the instrument”. Penderecki often uses thick black lines to signify tonal clusters, and a symbol resembling a number of intertwining sound waves to represent a glissando passage. Lastly, in section ‘A’, Penderecki uses ‘encephalographic’ pitch notation but upon actual electroencephalograms, which are representations of brain waves (recorded as patients listened to Threnody). The complete draft of he score is followed with a series of sketches, often notated in ‘cutout format’ and use red, green, blue and black ink.

Figure 1: Pendrecki’s Polymorphia - graphic score (bridged bridge and unpitched sounds)

The Film

The Shining (1980) directed by Stanley Kubrick, and based upon the novel by Stephen King of the same name, is a psychological horror film documenting one man’s descent into madness. A simple description of plot details Jack Torrence and his family taking a position of winter caretakers for an isolated hotel. Jack, a writer, soon develops strange characteristics, and becomes prone to violent outbursts. His son Danny likewise develops strange nuances, with the power of psychic abilities is able to see things it the future and past, such as the ghosts who inhabit the hotel. Influenced by a supernatural presence, Jack descends into madness, and decides that he must ‘correct’ his wife and child. In his attempts to murder them, he gets lost in the hotels ‘maze’ and freezes to death. 

Except for two original electronic compositions by Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind, the music used in the film belongs to the classical contemporary collection. The particular genre of film allows for crossover of dramatic audio-visual cinematic techniques, as the music can help shape characters and project an general atmosphere of fear and tension. None of the pieces in the film are used in their original form, and have been edited by Gordon Stainforth who worked to fit each piece to each sequence in the film. 

Figure 2: Stainforth’s rough music chart of reel 1

Music is often used as the principle means of communication in film, over dialogue, costume and setting. Kubrick himself states “I do not want to have any rationalising explanation of this story I prefer to use musical terms and speak of motives, variations and resonances”. He goes onto explain that “rationality takes you to the frontiers of these regions and then it remains for you to explore the poetic or musical level”. A broad interpretation of this statement can be taken that Kubrick does not intend to explain his film merely through conventional methods, but rather he strives to use music to explore the extremes of the film. This statement fits in well with the music selected, as the contemporary classical genre is characterised by the reversal of the classical practices of music production, and a reliance upon non-conventional methods to convey meaning. The music not only underlines each characters manic qualities, but foreshadows the unfolding madness well before the characters start to unravel. 

Scene Analysis

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6kngtAsZ81qcj1sro1_500.png

Bibliography

Books

Titterington, P.L, Kubrick and The Shining; Sigh & Sound (1981)

Wolfram Schwinger, Krzysztof Penderecki: His Life and Work, trans. William Mann (London: Schott, 1989)

Score (sections able to access)

Krzysztof Penderecki, Polymorphia for 48 stringed instruments (Celle: Hermann Moeck Verlag, 1963).

Recording

Krzysztof Penderecki, Te Deum; Polymorphia, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchesta conducted by Antoni Wit - Naxos (2007)

Film

Stanley Kubrick, The Shining (Two-Disc Special Edition) 1980, Warner Home Studio

Publications

Jeremy Baham, Incorporating Monsters; Music as context, character and construction in Kurbrick’s The Shining 

Christopher Meister, Varese Hyperprism and Penderecki’s Polymorphia (2008) - http:/www.ex-tempore.org/meister/MEISTER.htm

Valerio Sbravitta, The Music in the Shining (2010)

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The performer & new interfaces for  musical expression

Introduction

Traditionally, the live performance of acoustic instruments has been controlled by simple human gestures - blowing, striking, pressing. This enables the audience to appreciate a direct ‘cause’ and ‘action’ link between action and sound. However, as musicians rapidly embrace technology such as the portable laptop into their musical compositions, this link becomes less transparent. This performative complication has led to the design of new musical interfaces for musical expression, which can be classified into three categories: gestural interfaces, software interfaces, and abstract interfaces (not discussed here). While this essay is not an exhaustive analysis of the available interfaces, it gives a brief overview of developing projects in the field. 

A Brief History of Instrumentation

Traditional orchestral instruments can be traced back to the early 15th century, where their makers relied largely upon mechanical technology for the production of sound. The musical interface was an integral and inseparable part of the instrument, and the predominant point of sonification. Each uniquely crafted instrument produced different musical tone colours, often within a certain dynamic and tonal range, and heavily reliant upon the players physical effort for the production of sound. For instance, “the instruments of the string family share a mechanism for retaining the string, which sees the strings attached to the tail piece, run over the bridge which sits on the sound board, and run to the peg which holds in the scroll, and allows for variations in tuning. The performer causes the transfer of spatial and temporal information, through their physical and intimate interaction with the instrument, to produce certain tone colours.” (Garth Paine, Towards Unified Design Guidelines for New Interfaces for Musical Expression) 

In 1914, Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs (adoptng Mahillon’s scheme) published a new scheme for instrument classification in Zeitschrift fur Ethnologue. Hornbostel-Sachs classified instruments into four main groups; 

Idiophones, which produce sound by vibrating the body of the instrument itself (e.g xylophone, rattle)

Membraphones, which produce sound by a vibrating stretched membrane (e.g drums, kazoo)

Chordophones, which produce sound by vibrating one or some strings (e.g piano, guitar)

Aerophones, which produce sound by vibrating a column of air (e.g flute, trumpet)

With the advent of new means by which to produce sound, Sachs later added a 5th category; 

Electrophones, which produce sounds by electronic means. 

The auto-mechanisation of musical instruments first surfaced in 17th century Europe, with the introduction of the music box in hand-cranked street organs, and later with the enormity of the Salomon de Caus’s pegged organ.  This mechanical organ is based upon a series of pipes, by which wind moves to produce sounds. The pipes are divided and operated with the players hands or feet. This type of instrumentation still required a direct correlation between the human body and instrument during performance. The interface had a inseparable relationship with the production of sound, with the method of sound production located within the interface. 

The electrical automated instrument has a much more recent history, dating back to the late 19th century with Cahill’s Telharmonum electromechanical synthesiser. Instrumentation moved rapidly from electro-mechanical to purely electronic instruments. Dr Freidrich Adolf Trautwein was one of the first to explore instruments of a solely electronic nature with the trautonium. The trautonium assigns the left hand to the control of the of amplitude, and the right to the control of the pitch. Pitched  variation of notes is achieved through modifying the shape of the right hand. However, as the synthesis engine remains unchanged, the timbre remains fixed. 

The advent of electrical instrumentation required an expansion in the allowable musical sounds accepted by audiences. Electric instruments would not only simulate sounds made by acoustic instruments, but created harmonically and timberally complex sounds of their own. This type of instrumentation escaped the harmonic and locational restrictions of the acoustic interfaces of the past, and expected audiences to take on a more experimental approach to sound. 

The Laptop Musician

First developed in the mid 20th century, electric digital computers soon became not just a new force behind mathematical and office efficiently, but a new interface for musical expression. Musicians first begun to use computers for musical production in the early 50s, with mathematician Geoff Hill programing the CSIRAC to play popular musical melodies, and later as controller instruments for external components, such as MIDI controllers. Computers were used for sound synthesis, sound design and digital signal processing, amongst other things. With the advent of personal computing, and the wide availability of audio-synthesis programs, musicians begun using computers in their live musical performances, for a myriad of audio techniques such as live playback, looping, processing, and external MIDI components, etc. The computer is mapped to speakers to project the sound. 

The computer laptop has been widely embraced by live musician as an additional or solo instrument. While there are numerous reasons for embrace, predominately they focus around the portability and multi-functionality of the laptop, its ability to perform a vast number of instrumental tone colours from the one device in real-time, and the new and exciting tonal possibilities of audio-processing. Rather than accepting the costs of instrument transportation, or the plight of keeping four musicians in the same room long enough to practice, computer musicians will often be seen as the sole performer on stage, accompanied with nothing more than their laptop, a powerful audio-synthesis program, and a library of samples.

While the computer as an instrument may be sonically impressive to the blind listener, audience members and academics have widely criticised the laptop as an instrument for live music performance, due to the loss of human agency, its relatively passive gestural requirements, and the dislocation of sound created by the removal of the interface as the position of sonic output. While arguments have been made that audiences will become accustomed to the laptop instrument, efforts have been taken to create a more seamless interaction between performers and their audience. 

The loss of human agency is interrelated with the gestural and physical effort audiences are accustomed to in acoustic instruments. They expect a particular musical ‘effect’ to be the result of a gestural ‘cause’ made by the performer, e.g blowing air into a flute will produce the sonic and tonal qualities of a flute note. With a computer, this same ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ is not as obvious, not only because the audience cannot see what is happening clearly on the computer screen, but often sounds that come out of a computer emulate those of an acoustic instrument, which the audience does not appreciate the same as if the performer is actually playing the instrument. Rather, the audience sees the laptop as performing much of the ‘cause’ and the ‘effect’, which renders them unappreciative of the talents of the performer. 

While it can be argued that laptop performers shouldn’t strive to make their computers more like acoustic instruments, and embrace the glow of the laptop screen to make an inevitable evolution in contemporary, computer performances, counter arguments have been made that that the traditional notions of gesture should be maintained by laptop performers, and the same technology should be used in a more communicative manner. In an acoustic music performance, musicians use their gestures to engage their audience, communicate authenticity, and as an expression of their emotional interpretation. Gesturally, the acoustic performer gives the audience a sense that there is an immediacy in the music making, that they may have a chance to witness something extraordinary that they can’t get on off a CD, that there are some risks taken by the performer, and that the performance has an element of physical prowess. While the best laptop performers may put on an exciting sonic performance, they will struggle to be as physically engaging as a great saxophone player as there is little transparency of the mapping between the input to the laptop, and the corresponding output. This had led to the development of the controller, which creates a new external interfaced to control the laptop, giving the laptop performer more gestural capabilities. 

A New Approach to Musical Interfaces for Live Performance

“Invention is the mother of necessity” 

- Thorstein Veblen

Moving into the 21st century, musicians are not only rapidly embracing technological developments into their music, but designing a whole new type of interface to best communicate their music. Rather than the static laptop performer, designers are creating new musical interfaces which allow musicians to independently move around the stage, and communicate counterintuitive gestures which audiences can appreciate. Alternatively, musicians have embraced more portable technology for their instruments, such as the iPad, designing software specifically for its touch screen capabilities. Lastly, as scientists learn more about the brain, musicians employ this technology for new methods of compositional practice, using the brain to control and generate musical ideas (not discussed here).

Although this field is still in its experimental stages, with each new development it is rapidly becoming common musical practice for the 21st century performer.

The Gestural Performer

Drawing largely on the performance practices of acoustic instrument musicians, external laptop controllers have become a popular method of electronic music performance. A study undertaken by University of Western Sydney professors Paine, Stevenson and Pearce (Garth Paine, Towards Unified Design Guidelines for New Interfaces for Musical Expression), sought to define the fundamental control parameter utilised by expert musicians on traditional acoustic instruments, in order to help define how electronic controllers should be designed. They sought information through interviews about how many discrete control parameters trained musicians consciously exercise in normal performance conditions. An analysis of the results led to the identification of four primary physical controls used by performers;

Pressure

Speed

Angle; and

Position 

Using these results, the study outlined a model for interactive electronic music performances, containing a control surface, processor and effector mechanism.

“The parts of the instrument that are directly controlled or manipulated by parts of the body, and to which information is directly transfered, are called the control interface.The parts that actually produce sound are called the effector mechanism. Intervening between the control interface and effector mechanisms is often the processor of some kind that converts information in control format to effector format.....Interaction between the person and the instrument takes place through the aural (visual) feedback loop an the performer makes decisions on that basis in real time.” (Garth Paine, Towards Unified Design Guidelines for New Interfaces for Musical Expression)

3.1.1 Case Study 1: Thomas Mitchell & Imogen Heap, ‘The SoundGrasp: A Gestural Interface for the Performance of Live Music’ (2011)

A paper presented at the International Conference of New Interfaces for Musical Expression (Oslo, 2011) by University of West England professor Thomas Mitchell, and recording artist Imogen Heap, introduced the ‘SoundGrasp’, a data glove for the purpose of musical performance, which responds to gestures and body movements. It was their intention to “enable a performer to manipulate digital music processes without having to defer audience engagement to undertake subtle interactions with machinery”.  The glove incorporates “clear sound producing or ancillary gestures into performance” to enhance audience engagement and performer communication. 

The data glove was first developed in the late 1970s to enable a database of files to be searched and played back using simple hand gestures. To date, the glove has been programmed to enable musicians to ‘freeze’ single notes when the finger and thumb are pressed together (VAMP),  to modulate harmony and amplitude through the flexion and accelerator sensors attached to the glove, and to hold the incoming audio. 

Mitchell & Heap propose to expand on this technology, and design a highly intuitive glove of their own. Their device is represented as a three part system: the gestural controller, the audio processing unit, and the mapping that exists between the two (via C++). Also connected to the glove (gestural controller) is a wireless lavaliere microphone to enable the recording of live input. 

Posture identity is an essential part of the design, requiring the user to learn the positions, such like a guitar player will learn the position of chords. Each gesture is mapped to a particular audio process, which affect the sound in real-time and increase visual transparency for the audience. The gestures are summarised below:

Mode

Audio process

gesture

Record

Record/overdub, clear

(h)

Play

Play, stop, reverse

(a)

Filter

Low-pass cutoff

(c)

Reverb

Reverb time

(d)

Delay

Delay time

(e)

Lock

None

(b)

3.1.2 Case Study 2: Garth Paine & the Nintendo Wii Remote. ‘Encounter’ (2008)

The Nintendo Wii Remote & Nunchuck (WiiMote) has been a major focus of attention as an external music controller for live performance. The WiiMote can be controlled using an OSC bridge in various software applications (e.g Max/MSP, Quartz Composer). Musicians have been attracted to the technology due to the large amount of control it affords, containing eleven buttons, and three-dimensional accelerometers. Additionally, all buttons on the interface can be used in parallel, meaning that actions can be performed independently and simultaneously. 

The WiiMote interface also allows for the two primary goals of a gesturally based electronic instrument:

Increased performability; and

Increased communication with the audience

Paine illustrates the capabilities of his interface in a composition entitled ‘Encounter’, which comprises of a large number of synthesis variables. Some of the variables are automated in real-time while others are pre-set. The parameters under real time control are:

Filter center frequency

The control of buffer recordings (4 separate buffers)

The rate and density of granulation

The playback of a single sample

The control of two frequency/pitch variables

The same-and-hold rate of two oscillators; and

The delay feedback

The composition itself draws on influences from John Cage and Terry Riley (in C), and the idea that musical decisions are determined through structural improvisation. The piece is made up of of staccato and legato phrases, as well as pitched and noise tones, in order to have a wide range of musical possibilities for the WiiMote to control. The composition also uses non-linear control of events, so that the performance has a wide range of compositional potentials, and is not confined to a distinct structural form. 

3.2 The Software Performer

Advances in portable, handheld computing hardware & software have hastily been received by the live music performer. The technologies portability, multi-functionality, third-party software application development, and touch screen capabilities, have made items such as the iPad and the mobile phone a highly attractive interface for musical expression and performance. Devices also often contain ‘add-ons’ such as microphones, bluetooth enabled page turning foot pedals, accelerometers, and touch screen velocity sensors, which are made use of by music software developers. 

The portability and large accessibility of the devices, means that performers can make their performances more interactive, exploring the concept of using the audience as a source of sound. G. Levin’s ‘Dial Tones’ (2001) was among the first works to use the audience as an interactive sound source. Tanaka and Gemeinboeck’s installation piece ‘net d’erive’ (2006) used GPS and wireless communication to trace and display position information of moving audience members in the streets. Yamaha’s ‘au Design Project X) explored transforming the iPhone into a musical instrument, creating mobile phones that can be split into two for two drum sticks (Sticks in the Air). 

While still in development, these portable software devices are allowing for new and unheard of ways of musical expression and live composition. By not imposing a ceiling on allowable software, developers are open to any musical possibility, only limited by their own creativity. 

3.2.1 Case Study 1: Milne, Xambo, Laney, Sharpe, Prechtl & Holland, ‘Hex Player - A Virtual Musical Controller’ (2011)

In a paper delivered at the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression (Oslo, 2011), various members of The Open University UK showcased a new software application for the iPad 2 - ‘Hex Player’. Their interface take the general keyboard interface, and transforms it into an array of virtual touch-sensitive buttons. The spacial locations of the buttons are transformable by shears and rotations, and their colour can be change to reflect their musical function in different scales. While developed to aid beginner piano players, the application can assist composers and musicians “seeking to explore the universe of unfamiliar microtonal scales”. 

Rather then traditional piano keys, the interface consists of a lattice of hexagonal buttons. Each hexagon send a MIDI note which is mapped to; software, or external hardware, or a synthesiser. The blank sections either side of the hexagons are a control surface used to control a number of expressive parameters, such as timbre, volume, vibrato and tuning. This means that an expressive lead part can be played with one hand, and a bass line or chords by the other (rather then one hand to play the melody, and the other to operate the pitch-blend on a keyboard). 

The Hex Player also offers a large array of possible pitch arrangements, with not just conventional western scales, but a variety of microtonal generalised diatonic scales. When a user choses a scale, the hexagonal buttons will automatically re-arrange themselves so that their spatial height corresponds with their pitch. Within a scale, the most useable scale steps run along row, the notes within the scale are light-coloured, while those outside the scale are dark or removed. 

This application retains all the possible capabilities of a large, bulky keyboard in a small tablet device, but provides many more functional and practical tonal and structural capabilities. 

3.2.2 Case Study 2: Oh, Herrera, Bryan, Dahl & Wang, ‘Evolving the Mobile Phone Orchestra’ (Sydney, 2011)

The Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra, formed in 2007, is an ensemble of musicians with iPhones and wearable speakers. Taking advantage of the mobility and interactive capability of smartphone technology, the orchestra offers a new software interface design in a move away from the ‘laptop orchestra’. 

Originally performed on Nokia N95 smartphones, the orchestra has moved to Apple iPhones due to its superior computing power and on-board sensors. To provide amplification, each member has wearable speakers, tested as a necklace, jacket or glove design, finally deciding on the glove speakers. The glove speakers allow each performer to “easily change the directionality of the amplified sound by making simple hand or arm gestures”. The close distance between the speakers and phone also allow for the interface to be viewed as being more acoustic, as the dislocation of sound is less apparent. 

The software for the iPhone uses an Objective-C programming language (XCode), and a graphically designed simple user interface.  

Their first concert in December 2009 showcased the possibilities of the Mobile Phone Orchestra, performing the software instrument ‘Colours’ by Jieun Oh. Rather than structurally setting up in a traditional concert formation, the orchestra (due to the mobility of their instruments), surrounded the audience, and performers walked around in the performance space, “making various physical gestures from bouncing an imaginary ball to swinging arms”. 

Performers triggered polyphonic sounds by touching the screen in five different locations, moving in both horizontal and vertical directions, and given visual feedback through coloured rectangular markers. During a performance, the players may also walk up to another player to carry out a ‘sonic conversation’, conveying different emotions through physical interaction. 

The orchestra also showcased ‘interV’ by Jorge Herrera, which uses the iPhone accelerometer as its principle method of control. “Two axes of acceleration are mapped to the volume of two notes simultaneously play”. The players controlled the sounds using gestures, allowing the audience a visual understanding of the playback mechanism. 

Conclusion

While the amalgamation of music and technology is not a recent partnership, efforts to develop new and more effective ways of communicating electronic music to audiences are still in their early stages. Audiences are known to appreciate grand gestures, a direct coloration between ‘cause’ and ‘effect’, physical effort and raw emotion between a performer and his/her instrument. Research into new gestural and software interfaces has produced a wealth of new designs for best communicating electronic music, and the field is growing. With each passing year, new interface design is being presented to the music community, and implemented into live music performance. 

Bibliography

Garth Paine, Towards Unified Design Guidelines for New Interfaces for Musical Expression, Cambridge University Press (2009)

Thomas Mitchell & Imogen Heap, ‘The SoundGrasp: A Gestural Interface for the Performance of Live Music’, NIME’ 11 (Oslo, 2011)

Milne, Xambo, Laney, Sharpe, Prechtl & Holland, ‘Hex Player - A Virtual Musical Controller’, NIME 11’ (Oslo, 2011)

Oh, Herrera, Bryan, Dahl & Wang, ‘Evolving the Mobile Phone Orchestra’ NIME’ 10 (Sydney, 2010)

E R Miranda, Brain-Computer Music Interface for Generative Music, Plymouth UK (2006)

Paul Doornbusch, Instruments from Now into the Future: The Disembodied Voice, Journal of the Australian Music Centre (2003)

Collins, d’Escrivan & Rincon, The Cambridge companion to electronic music, Cambridge University Press (2007)

Holmes, Electronic and experimental music: pioneers in technology and composition, Routledge (2002)

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Claude Bolling - Suite for Flute & Piano (Cover) - Recorded at Trackdown Studios

Cover of Bollings beautiful fusion of Baroque and Jazz Blues styles - Suite for Flute & Piano (Baroque & Blue), recorded at Trackdown Studios in Sydney, Australia. Piano - Emma Rapaport Flue - Nicky Gluch Double Bass - Oscar Grossy Drums - Zac Seidler

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Debussy - Arabesque (Cover) - Recorded at Trackdown Studios

Cover of Debussy's Arabesque, recorded at Trackdown Studios in Sydney, Australia. Piano - Emma Rapaport

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Chick Corea - Children's Song Number 6 (Demo)

Inspired by Chick Corea - Children's Song Number 6 - I composed a jazz interlude section which I inserted into the middle of the piece. The new section allows for vocal improvisation, drawing on the root key and chords of the original piece. I felt often with this piece (composed for piano and marimba) that it could lend itself to a more jazzy, upbeat feel, especially due to the complex harmonies and intricate relationship between the piano and marimba melodies which I hoped to draw upon. 

While it's still a work in progress, hoping to record the whole piece when I get access to proper recording equipment, I created a demo using logic as a starting point.

Instrumentation:

Piano

Vocals (female) - overlaid

Double Bass (comes out much stronger when good quality speakers are used)

Drums

Using Logic & Native Instruments - Vocals recorded using a SM58 microphone

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Chick Corea - Lenore (Cover) - Recorded at Trackdown Studios

Cover of the incredible yet somehow unknown Chick Corea piece, Lenore, recorded at Trackdown Studios in Sydney, Australia. Piano - Emma Rapaport Guitar - Guitar - Marc Malouf (Black Diamond Hearts) Bass Guitar - Adam Stern (Lemongrass Jam) Drums - Zac Seidler

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The many sounds of Annie McKinnon | Manning Bar

By Emma Rapaport 

The avocation ‘Annie McKinnon Live’ has become a staple event in my calendar over the past year. While I wouldn’t go so far as to refer to myself as a groupie, as the term evokes a somewhat unsavory image of a half naked Kate Hudson following Stillwater on their ‘magical mystery tour’ - I have been present at enough performances to speak with authority on the band. From the Crooked Mountain Festival in Warrumbungle National Park, to Tone Bar in Surry Hills, the Annandale Hotel, and most recently the final of the seminal Sydney University Band Competition, I’ve witnessed the band grow from a couple of timid performers, to an exciting group with a striking new sound. Singer/songwriter Annie McKinnon, together with a powerful group of young, talented musicians, has brought the warm, hearty tones and conversational style of folk music, into partnership with a more traditional rock structure, ensuring that the phrase ‘heard it before’ will never accompany her performances. 

Marching from performance to performance, from small darkened rooms to thousand person open air festivals, I cannot help but notice faint, yet distinct musical changes in each performance. While the instrumentation does not change, and the songs vary only slightly, I cannot say that each time I would attribute the band with the same musical qualities. As a musical reviewer I naturally take into consideration characteristics such as musical ability, attention to tone and texture, and scrutinise instrumentation and structure. However, after gaining a profound understanding of the bands desired timbre, I cannot help but introduce a term for analysis that is more often than not overlooked - acoustics. In a live music setting, the acoustics of that particular space can dramatically effect the musical quality of a performance - what frequencies can be heard, whether or not the lyrics are audible, a defined sense of structure etc. In conjunction with a study conducted by Niels Werner Adelman-Larsen, Eric R. Thompson & Anders C. Gade, ‘Suitable reverberation times for halls for rock and pop music’, this review will focus upon the effect a room’s acoustical treatment has on the musical quality of each performance. 

Historically, there has been a long tradition of published studies and acoustical design for concert halls, with a focus predominately on western classical music. From Roman style amphitheaters, to the Italian opera halls, rooms are specifically designed for acoustics which suit orchestral music. This is largely due to the acoustic properties of orchestral instruments, which rather than being electrically amplified, are reliant upon on the acoustics of the space to carry the sound to the audience - the theory that sound can continue to reflect for a period of time after a source has stopped emitting sound. These halls are usually tall, a little longer than wide, and have balcony seats running on the two side walls and the back wall. When empty, the hall would have a reverb time of approximately 4 seconds, and while full the reverb time would drop to between 1.5 - 2 seconds as an audience are highly natural absorbers of sound. 

It is clear however, that in the 21st century there is a need for study to be undertaken into the most appropriate acoustical design for rock and popular live music. A survey of popular music venues conducted in Denmark revealed that;

“there had been approximately 12,500 live concerts with about 2 million spectators. 

During the same time frame, the Danish Arts Agency (Kunststyrelsen) estimated that 

there were 2000 classical music concerts. This means that there were at least five times

more popular music concerts than classical music concerts, and a corresponding

 ratio of spectators...”

One might first pose the question, ‘why is there a need for acoustical change?’. In answer to this we turn our attention to the many factors which make up a live music performance. Firstly, popular music is usually performed on electrically amplified instruments - bass, guitars, keyboards etc. These sound sources must be controlled by sound engineers, to create a desired mix of sound levels for both the audience and the performers. Sound sources may also use processors such as; EQ, compressors, delay, artificial reverb, which effect their timbre. Secondly, the audience rather than being seated in a auditorium, are often standing and more densely packed. For example, a seated audience has the density of 2 people/m2, which a standing audience has the density of 2.7 people/m2. Lastly, unlike an orchestra in which most of the sound energy is in the mid-high frequency range, popular music has a high amount of acoustic energy in the bass (20-30dB higher SPL in the bass), which means that we must consider frequencies below 125Hz when testing the acoustics of a space. 

In order to determine how the acoustics of a hall should be designed to achieve the best experience for the audience and musicians, a research team in Denmark conducted the perceived acoustics of 20 rock concert halls. Administering both objective and subjective tests, they began to construct a list of desired acoustics for popular music. Firstly, the best rated halls have a flat reverberation time across frequencies - while the worst rated halls had significantly higher reverb times in the bass-frequencies. Secondly, the general acoustic impression of a rock concert hall is strongly related with the perceived clarity of the hall. Therefore, it is critical to consider the bass acoustic, including the 63Hz octave bands, in the acoustic hall design. Lastly, standing audiences at a rock concert will absorb x5 as much energy in the mid-high frequency hands than in the low-frequency bands. Therefore, if an empty hall has a long reverb time in the bass, then the addition of an audience will only make the bass ratio even more unbalanced.

But what does this all have to do with Annie McKinnon? In her most recent performance at the Sydney University Band Competition - Manning Bar, it was clear to any devotee that this performance was not up to the same flawless, ear-catching quality as we’d become accustomed to. The songs were the same, the musicians just an enthusiastic, and the crowd just as inviting, but a certain spark was missing from the sound. While many chalked it up to an ‘off-night’, it was clear to this audience member that it was the acoustics which were letting down this musical performance. This night was clearly proof of what the Danish researchers had uncovered - that rock and popular music must be played in spaces specifically designed for their acoustical qualities. 

Manning bar is one of Sydney’s seminal spaces for popular live music performance. Catering not only to the mass number of students at Sydney University, but to Sydney’s youth population at large, Manning Bar has played host to bands such as Cloud Control, The Vines, Iron and Wine & The Presets. The space has an inside capacity of up to 1000 people, and could be described as a ‘mid size’ venue. The room could be described as ‘dome-like’ in structure, with one slightly raised level in the back section. Like the Roundhouse at UNSW, Manning Bar is notoriously known for poor acoustics. Issues arise from the ‘round’ space as sound reflections create concentration of sound that result in unnatural-sounding acoustics -reflecting and amplifying off the walls. Round rooms also ensure a significant buildup of sound energy in certain tonal ranges. This room would benefit from absorption panels, but the walls are only covered with glass frames of previous acts and windows.

Kicking off the set with ‘Plug-it’, a pre-recorded sample was played over the sound system. Barely audible were the words of the politician “political parties are saying we no longer think you’re stupid enough to buy to idea that we can just hand out billions and trillions and that it....” Rather, coming through the speakers was a ‘mush’ of sounds - a real shame as the sample provided Annie’s lyrics with context and meaning. As the song progressed, greater acoustical problems presented themselves. The vocal line and fingerpicking were barely discernible over the drums and bass, and the violin lost it what only can be described as a ‘wall of sound’. Structurally, the song came across as haphazard, as chord changes were imperceptible to the audience, and all musical contrast lost. 

The next song ‘Toast to Time’, experienced similar acoustic issues. Opening with a beautifully slow,  mournful duet between the acoustic guitar (fingerpicking) and violin, inaudibility soon became an issue for the vocal melody. At large were the bass and drum kit, which accounted for the majority of the sound the audience experienced. Texturally, while it was clear the song contained multiple intertwining layers, the audience strained to identify them, clinging onto short bursts of resonance in the violin harmonies, struggling to be heard over the ensemble. 

Their final song ‘Endless Run’ seemed to save the performance. In the last moments, a great textual build up of all instrumentation worked well with the extended reverbrance of the room. Rather than relying on fingerpicking to carry the melody, Annie violently strummed the guitar with ascending chords over a slow textual build up in the bass frequencies and bowing in the violin, so that by the end of the song, the audience was swept up in a wave of harmony and polyrhythms. 

Being witness to ‘Annie McKinnon Live’ at Manning Bar, has made it clear that acoustics play a major role in the review of any popular music performance. The acoustics not only effect the music, tonal and rhythmic qualities of each piece, but can leave a negative mark on the listener who has a very different impression of the music than what was desired. As Larsen, Thompson & Gade have shown, vital research must be untaken into the optimal acoustic design for popular music performance, as the style does not lend itself to the back corner of any old bar. Rather, if a space wants to ensure accuracy of it’s live performances, the acoustical nature of the room must be taken into account, and acoustic treatments employed where necessary. 

Sydney University Band Competition - Manning Bar  

1/09/11

[emmarapaport-blog]

How the Phil Spector's ‘Wall of Sound’ approach can overwhelm otherwise beautiful melodies - Review | Miss Little at 505

Walking up to club 505 is an experience in itself. This hidden gem in Surry Hills, although recently becoming a licensed bar, still has an underground flavour and the feeling that you are about to experience something that only a select few have enjoyed, let alone heard rumblings about. The number 505 scrawled across the door opens into a dimly lit, secluded, lounge, reminiscent of the New York jazz scene. Small candle lit tables, a disco ball spinning, and walls plastered in  paintings of exotic, half-naked women greet you. A modest stage looks out onto eighty or so, eager mid twenties, sprawled across lounges, tapping their Doc Martins, or quietly sipping glasses of wine in darkened corners. There is little doubt in anyone’s mind. Tonight they are going to witness something special, a unique contribution to Sydney's contemporary music scene. 

The night kicked off with New Zealand born singer, Sarah McCallum and her unusual take on the pop/rock trio. From a background in classical oboe and choral music, Sarah boasts an impressive record in composition. Her piece “The Moon’s Glow Once Lit” featured on the Voices of New Zealand CD, and in 2007, she received a silver medal at the New York advertising awards for her composition featured in the All Blacks “Black Blood” campaign. However, as I was to discover, this seemingly accomplished classical background was to have little presence in her new mash-up pop, rock, country, blues, classical and electronic band, Miss Little. Despite the evidence of beautiful harmonies and melodic ostinatos, a cluster of genres and overly dense texture served to distort what could have been a breathtaking performance.

Miss Little’s experimental musical style, is a direct result of of contemporary Australian music. Sarah McCallum draws on various musical genres, her website describing Miss Little’s style as “Pop, Rock, Jazz, Country, Blues, Classical and Electronic influences into a song setting”. However, historically this allowance to experiment with genre has not always been possible. Throughout the 18th century, the dissonance ‘tritone’ was said to be associated with satan, “Diabolus in Musica”, and was frequently avoided. Even in the past century, political change has had major influences on musical genre, some governmental bodies going so far as to ban a certain genre for the messages they believed it to promote. In Geoffery Robertson’s ‘The Justice Game’, he outlines an instance in Czechoslovakia, where jazz music was banned as it “encouraged socialist ideals”. 

However, in recent years, we have been privileged to witness the rapid progression of differing styles and mixed media. At the Juilliard Festival of Contemporary Music, teachers drag their young virtuosos away from their Techaikovsky and Mendelson, to sit them down momentarily, with the music of their own time. Questions such as, ‘does the splintering of styles continue?’, and ‘are strong new directions emerging?’ attempt to be answered through a series of five concerts given by the Julliard Orchestra.

Social and historical influences have also been at the forefront of shaping Australia’s contemporary music scene, including bands such as Miss Little. Although largely imitative of trends from the United States, Australia has developed its own sense of style. Its genres span across a broad spectrum, due mainly to multicultural influences, and the impact of indigenous culture. The nature of post-war Australian society has allowed for the emergence of ‘Pub Rock’, popularised in the 1980s. As a result of several interconnecting factors, including the liberalisation of the liquor laws, smaller establishments started to promote local artists in the hope of drawing young people into pubs. Gradually, small bands, who were previously confined to garage spaces, were being heard and spoken about by a large cross section of Australian society, the movement peaking in 1982 with Men At Work’s single “Down Under” reaching number one in the United Kingdom.

More recently, Triple J’s unearthed program has further promoted small bands performing in university bars, to commercial success. The initiative not only encourages new talent, but promotes the new music on their radio station. This dramatic shift in the Australian music scene can be seen as a direct result of popularisation. Suddenly people aren't blasting The Fray’s latest hit, but excitedly sharing the new Temper Trap single, or rushing to the Soundwave festival because they heard rumors of a Wolfmother’s surprise appearance. Why reminisce about Woodstock when you can actually be part of the scene ‘in your backyard?’.

But, the question we must now ask ourselves is if Australian contemporary music is becoming more accessible, and genres becoming less defined, does this allow anyone to be a ‘musician’? Is the encouragement to push the boundaries, going to take us to new and wonderful heights, or leave the door open to just anyone to set the tone for 21st century music? As I was to discover on Tuesday night, a cluster of genres and an usual take on pop/rock instrumentation, does not necessarily make for good music.

The first thing that stuck me about Miss Little, was the odd combination of instruments. Customarily, with a small pop/rock band, one would expect vocals, guitar and drums, maybe keyboard or synthesizer too, if they were feeling particularly adventurous. But Miss Little walked on stage with a combination of electronic and acoustic instrumentation; vocals, keyboard, tenor saxophone and drums. Miss Little’s style also came with its own uniqueness. Jazz improvisations, pop chords and heavy rock, all characterised their music, switching between each with little warning or build-up. 

However, when the band is under rehearsed, and the vocals runs just shy of the pitch, eccentricities within the style aren't going to mask the dearth of necessary technical elements, common to all musical ages. In the opening piece ‘Renegade Landslide’, the saxophone did not seem able to muster anything interesting to replace a much needed bass line, which had been done away with. Frequently the saxophone seemed lost within the complicated piano melody, and instead fell to doubling the melodic vocal line. The drums shouted and pounded its fists, but was rhythmically unstable and often missed the non-existent queues from the vocalist. The various instruments couldn’t even pull themselves together during improvisation, not feeding off each other, and producing a stilted, awkward sound. 

Texturally, the piece was to suffer from its odd arrangement of tone colour, and despite the fact that our ears were kept busy, gratification was not the end result. It was painfully obvious that the music was written for piano and voice, and the saxophone had been added to the homophony for some unneeded colour. The penultimate piece concentrated heavily on textural density and the manipulation of tone colour. Taking her inspiration from a local experimental band, Dub Scouts, a grossly unnecessary layer of electric guitar was introduced in the final minutes, its sound put through with so much distortion that it was rendered virtually unrecognisable. Although there were undoubtedly threads of beautiful melodic motifs underlying the music, the piece cried out for a finer detail of execution.

This whole experience led me to wonder about the state of musical integrity. While the encouragement of experimentation in style, instrumentation and use of technology should be commended, does the popularisation of unknown bands allow, if not promote, mediocracy? With programs such as garage band enabling just about anyone to become a musician, is this going to add flair to the music industry? Fifty years ago, the sense of freedom evident in post-war society to experiment with music, saw thousands heading down to Blue Note to sit in awe of Ella belting out Summertime, or down to a dance hall to twist to Glenn Millers latest infectious swing beat. Talent will always out, but in the meantime should our Tuesday nights be left unfulfilled by unexceptional performers? An amateur photograph wouldn’t appear in a high class magazine, yet our music venues are sporting acts that wouldn’t make it through the auditions to a high school battle of the bands. If contemporary society is going to continue to encourage experimentation, the presence of some musical constraints may serve to preserve musical integrity. 

[emmarapaport-blog]

High Tea with Jackie Marshal

On a quiet Thursday night, in the undisturbed darkness of Sydney’s residential streets, a savvy sydney-sider knows all too well of the gatherings that happen behind closed doors. They pick up on the hints; the sudden appearance of foreign bicycle, the faint booming of drums, and the sound of youthful laughter echoing down the street at 2am. They know that as the cars pass overhead, many are completely unaware of the counter-culture movement that is flourishing below. 

Through a hole in the wall, up a winding graffiti printed stairwell, the words “live”, “love” and “life” screaming out at you from all angles, swing left across the metal gangway, head down the faintly lit passageway, past the antiquated book shelves and a faint smell of melting wax, a small yellow door looms ahead.

Given these directions, I knew that I could have only stumbled upon the life force of Sydney’s underground music scene. 

Held in a Surry Hills loft apartment, ‘High Tea’ is a night of intimate music held by the anonymous ‘High Tea Crew’. Boasting the likes of Ray Mann, Leroy Lee and Elana Stone, the evening is synonymous with exclusivity, showcasing unique, upcoming and outstanding Australian talent. Away from poorly attended bars and beer stained carpets, High Tea is a not for profit sell out event, where playful fighting over couch space is not at all uncommon. The audience awaits with genuine anticipation, the artists knowing that they are not going to disappoint, an unparalleled experience about to be had by all. Grab your closest friends, a mug of hot milk tea, and a seat around the microphone, this is a musical experience not to be missed. 

On this particular evening, High Tea attendees were lucky enough to hear the likes of the multi-talented, Australian vocalist Jackie Marshall. With her roots in rural NSW and dilapidated Brisbane breweries, Jackie has packed a lot into her twenty nine years. After hitchhiking down Australia's east coast, busking across Eastern Europe, and crewing a radio-less 30ft sailboat down the coast of Albania, this singer-songwriter finally settled down enough to write two juxtaposing albums, spouting songs of her adventures, life, love and lust. She is also a regular performer at the famous Tammworth music festival, establishing a name for herself as one of Australia’s most talented country/folk vocalists. 

Sure enough, Jackie’s performance on this night was nothing short of the positive reviews that accompany her name. As the heavily pregnant singer took the stage with only a nylon string guitar, her high energy and warmth immediately infected the small room. Kicking off with a song off her new album ‘Lady Luck’, her voice instantly excited the ears of every listener, bouncing seamlessly from angelic to boisterous to spoken work - sometimes within a single breathe. Almost operatic in its style, Jackie creatively manipulates her wide vocal range around simple, yet very effective lyrics, conveying that her music is filled not only with beautiful melodies, but a strong sense of history and identity. 

Breaking for a healthy dose of banter, Jackie’s warm and charismatic personality shone through the stories she shares about the adventures her musical life takes her on. She manages to take the audience on a journey around rural Australia, with anecdotes about the inspiring people she meets weaving in and out of stories and songs, so that by the end of the performance each audience member not only feels a connection with her as a performer, but with a sense of Australian culture that is rarely found in the city. It is clear that for Jackie, music is not just about inspiring her listeners with unique and beautiful melodies, but a way for her to express herself, her history, and her honest emotions through music. 

Moving into the second half of her act, Jackie takes on a more comedic approach. She tells tales of her past loves accompanying upbeat chords and a variety of exciting vocal techniques, each song characterised by a quirky sense of humor and a refreshing “no bullshit” attitude. ‘Headn South’, starting with the lyrics “They met at the country fair/He didn’t like her flaming hair/She didn’t like his blatant stare/They got it on, right then and there”, seemed to strike a chord with many of the women in the audience, laughter and knowing smiles spreading across the room. Ending off with a jovial sing-a-long, Jackie exited the stage for another cup of tea, to a rowdy applause.

Having been privy to Sydney’s avant-garde music scene, one can only be left with feelings of deep respect for the collective instigators of these gatherings. From the outside, it may appear to society that this scene is for the au courant amongst us, where young trendies flock to unknown performances because its “alternative” thing to do. However, I was quick to discover that this is not what this event is about. Met with a crowed of 40-50 smartly dressed, seemingly well-educated individuals, sipping tea as a revolutionary move away from alcohol and huddling outside around a lit cigarette, it became clear that this community of people were here in the eager pursuit of raw talent. Placing their trust in the co-creators of High Tea, the attendees keep returning with the knowledge that they are going to be introduced to a new and inimitable strain of Australian music. I can only hope that ‘High Tea’ remains the unique gathering that many boast it to be, exciting the ears of every listener who stumbles across it.

[emmarapaport-blog]

Tori Amos - Cornflake Gil (Cover) - Recorded at Trackdown Studios

Cover of the beautiful Tori Amos song Cornflake Girl, recorded at Trackdown Studios in Sydney, Australia. Voice - Rebecca Barter Piano - Emma Rapaport Guitar - Marc Malouf (Black Diamond Hearts) Bass - Jesse Emsalem  Drums - Zac Seidler

[emmarapaport-blog]

Rated Comedy - Lipstick

Working with the guys from ratedcomedy.com/

“Is that lipstick on your collar?”

Director: Jeremy Brull Actors: Paul Ayre & Jules Walsh Sound Design: Emma Rapaport Cinematography: Daniel Christie

[emmarapaport-blog]

Rated Comedy - Give me back my son (Ransom parody)

Working with the guys from ratedcomedy.com/

Daylight savings proves too much for upcoming actor Mel Gibson…

Performed by Rene Russo, Paul Ayre and introducing Mel Gibson. Directed/Edited by Jeremy Brull Sound Design by Emma Rapaport

[emmarapaport-blog]

Rated Comedy - Sonnet

Working with the guys from ratedcomedy.com

A typical RatedComedy writers meeting. How anything gets done amazes us all.

Featuring David Collins, Paul Ayre, Jeeves Verma, Madelin Tomelty Directed/Edited by Jeremy Brull Sound by Emma Rapaport