Exploring Indeterminacy

∆ Music Production Final Project Adam Filby c3356071

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Submission

Today I submitted my product along with the appendices. Below are pictures of the presentation of the submission. I feel relieved with the finished product.

This picture displays the two different folders that hold the main product and the appendices. Inside each folder, the contents are professionally packaged and organised accordingly to the project image.

These pictures display the CD casing packaged with the professionally designed artwork on printed gloss paper. This was submitted in the black folder labelled ‘Product’. I felt very proud with this standard of packaging as a lot of work was put into its presentation. 

Although I will not be marked on the quality of artwork and packaging, I still feel as if it was worth while. The creation of this product was not a quest for high grades, but rather an acquired interest in the exploration of indeterminacy. 

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All 3 Compositions Finished

I have completely finished all 3 of my compositions for my product. This means that they have been completely composed, mixed and scored accordingly. These compositions will be presented on a CD disc with professionally printed artwork for the front, back and inside of the jewel case, with the corresponding scores being presented in bound booklets. Along with my contribution statement, these will be submitted in a folder labelled ‘Product’.

I am satisfied with the overall completion of the compositions, but there are some issues I would have liked to have changed been given more time. However, most problems with the mixes were solved over time.

The first composition could have sounded better if it was less ‘MIDI’. The main problem with this was that it was hard to make certain types of MIDI instruments sounds ‘real’, e.g. woodwind, brass. No matter how much EQ was applied, certain phrases of the instruments stood out. The best approach to solving this problem would be to record some real live instruments, however, it was not possible to get hold of such instrumentalists. Overall, it still sounds good and displays a great process of indeterminate composition. Although sounding ‘MIDI’ and ‘muddy’ at times, the composition turned out well.

The second composition was one of my favourites as it included live recorded instruments. The main problem with mixing this composition was that trumpet and piano don’t necessarily complement each other in a duet. Although it was not my aim to compose for two instruments that typically complement each other, this did prove unhelpful in the process of mixing. Having said this, I did manage to make both sit quite nicely in the mix with not much work being needed as the raw recordings themselves were well done. 

The third composition mixing process consisted mostly of automation and leveling. The issue with this electronic composition was that there were many ‘pops’ at the beginning and end of many samples. I went through each sample that was played throughout the piece and volume automated the lead in and lead out. I also leveled certain samples so they had more presence in the mix and weren't drowned out by some of the more loud, textural sounds.

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These are the finished artwork designs for my CD. The artist and myself spent a lot of time discussing certain ideas and themes that should be included on the artwork. On the designs there are visible references to each of the three compositions and how they were composed: cards, shapes and numbers. 

I am very pleased with how these have turned out. I will be heading to the printing shop soon to have these prepared for the packaging of my CD. 

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3rd Composition Composed

I have completely finished composing my 3rd piece for my project. I took into account the thoughts of composed space and have ended with a clearer sounding structure in the piece. I will have this mixed in the coming days, along with the other two compositions for a final post regarding their progress.

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Tutorial Meeting 13/04/15

Today I had another meeting with my tutor where we discussed my project. I came into this meeting with a few questions:

What should the next steps on my three main compositions be?

How should I write my contribution statement?

How should I submit my appendix?

What should the next steps on my three main compositions be?

For my 1st composition (orchestral piece) we discussed that in order to avoid it sounding muddy and unclear perhaps I should work with the notation of the piece and create some space between certain notes. We also thought that EQ’ing some instruments would help clear up the low end of the mix. 

The 2nd composition (graphic scores) sounds nice as it is but could do with some finishing touches in the mix, by reducing the reverb and spacing out the piano recording. We agreed that the re-recorded piano sounds a lot better than the previous and compliments the scores and the trumpet more. 

With my 3rd composition (electronic), we both agreed that by composing some space within the piece, the composition will flow a lot better in structure and texture. I will have this composition finished before the end of today. 

How should I write my contribution statement?

The contribution statement is a short piece of writing where I explain what my product consists of and what I want to be marked on. My tutor and myself discussed the fact that I would need to change my aims and objectives from my research report I wrote last semester, as my project has changed a lot since then. I will do this by displaying my old aims and objectives and comparing them to my new ones, explaining why and how these have changed over the course of my project. 

How should I submit my appendix?

As I will be submitting an appendix with my product, I was wondering how I should do this and how to present it. The reason I was wondering was that my main product will be professionally packaged, however, the appendix will not be as nicely presented. As I didn’t want the two to be confused, we concluded that two separate folders will be submitted together with clear indications as to which is the main product and which is the appendix. 

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My 3rd composition is coming along nicely. The random number generator has determinate which order these samples are played and created a fluid motion of electronic music. The ‘uneasy’ nature of some of these samples are nicely contrasted by the more ‘bright’ gestural sounds, however, I am going to make sure that I have some composed space within this piece and make use of silence.

I will have this piece completely composed by tomorrow and will mix it soon after. This means that all three main compositions are now fully composed. The next step is to have them all completely mixed. 

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Here are the 10 completed miniature graphic scores that make the collective of my 2nd composition in this project. These graphic scores are the ones that were read from when recording and performing the 2nd composition. Compared to the draft graphic scores that were previously posted on this blog, I believe that these strike a more interesting characteristic of art, in which allowed for an enhancement in the performance of the composition. The decision to create these more appealing graphic scores was due to the advice I gained from contacting Dr Phillip Thomas, in which he stated 3 points: “1. does the score look inviting to play, 2. will it provoke me to do things I wouldn't necessarily do otherwise, and 3. is it going to produce significantly different results from me simply improvising”. 

The decision to compose 10 miniature graphic scores instead of one large graphic score came from the form in which they were written. I had chosen to compose my scores on A4 paper as this was most practical for this style of artwork. By composing graphic scores on A4 paper, the composition is limited to the duration of the amount of symbols that fit onto the page. Therefore, I decided to create a number of different scores and combine them to create a composition made of a collective. This direction of composing did not affect the end product but mostly likely allowed a larger creation of freedom, where each miniature could be organised to form a chosen structure of the full composition. 

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CD Cover: Casing, Printing and Artwork

As I will be submitting my 3 compositions in the form of a CD, I will be wanting to have it professionally packaged. This means that the CD I submit will include full original artwork, as well as being inclosed in professional casing. 

Casing

http://www.duplication.ca/printspecs/cdinserts.htm

This website displays templates for different types of CD casings. I think I will be using the template of a jewel CD case, although if I can find a printing shop that are willing to print my CD case in a ‘digipack’ case then I will do so. 

Printing

I will be searching into Leeds city center in the next coming days in order to find a shop that will be able to print the cover art for my CD casing. This printing will consist of front, back and inside artwork that will relate to some of the aspects of my compositions. If it is possible I will also try to print a booklet for the inside of the casing.

Artwork

Over the past week I have been working with an artist, discussing different concepts that I have envisioned for the cover art. Below are some different ideas that we have been working with. I may decide on using all 3 different concepts and organising them to the front, back and inside covers. 

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After reflecting on my graphic score composition, I have re-recorded the piano part on through MIDI and improved the performance. By using MIDI, the piano part has sounded nicer and clearer. Although I need to still mix the piece with the trumpet, I am confident that the finished product will be better then if I used my audio recorded version. 

A nice and interesting gesture of the MIDI data is how it beautifully resembles that of the actual graphic scores. 

The final mix of my graphic score composition (2nd composition) will be completed in the next coming days, and will be submitted along with the original graphic score notation. 

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I have been exporting the mixes and scores of the compositions for my appendices. Throughout my project I have practiced many of the researched techniques before applying the knowledge to the main compositions. 

The appendices will be in the form of a CD and shall consist of four short piano pieces and their corresponding scores, a short piano composition and its corresponding graphic score, and the sample map and samples from my 3rd composition.

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In order to create my samples I needed some audio files to manipulate. I decided to record some interesting objects in the studios and use them for granular processing. These are a few of the objects that I recorded, varying from balloons, keys, matches, bottle caps.

I will be using a granular processor called MacPOD to manipulate my recordings and develop them into interesting samples for my sample map. I will also make use of the GRM tools that are installed on the computers at university. From experience, I know that these programs will prove to support the creation of some diverse samples and help aid the electronic ambience of my 3rd composition. 

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Here are some examples of the samples I have created for my sample map. The map consists of many different samples that vary between gestural and textural sounds. I have made sure that there are both gestural and textural sounds as I am aiming to have some control over the structure. The random number generator will randomly determine which samples will be played, where the structure is more likely to be randomly determined by myself. 

Above is a screenshot of the sample map edit window. I have labelled each sound so that they are organised by such characteristics of gestural, textural, higher pitch, lower pitch, ‘attack release’ and ‘gradual continuent’. This will help me to perform and record the piece when using the random number generator. 

The sample map is still a working progress but will soon be ready for the recording day of the composition. 

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How to Create a Custom Instrument with Logic's EXS Sampler - Tuts+ Music & Audio Tutorial

It has been a while since I last created a sample map on EXS24 so I took the liberty of finding a nice and short tutorial to explain the basics of creating a custom instrument. 

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3rd Composition

I have come to a decision that my 3rd composition for my project will fit into the category of electronic music due to the fact that it gives me a wider diversity between my 3 indeterminate compositions. 

I am confident that this composition will make use of a random number generator, in which numbers will determine such rules as the pieces’ tempo. The idea is to use random numbers to determine the order in which associate samples are played through a sample map that I have made from my own electronically produced sounds. Much like my orchestral composition (1st composition), this piece will be composed in a similar fashion, where each electronic sound (note) is associated with a specific number (card) and then played correspondingly to the previous selected sound (note). 

https://www.random.org/

Above is the website I will use in order to generate random numbers.

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Visit Original Link

On Monday I recorded the piano for my graphic score. I used two Neumann U87′s, one 5 inches from the hammers on the low end, and another 5 inches from the top. I also set up a Rode NT2 1 meter above the piano, in order to capture some ambiance and natural reverb. Above is a sample of the recording.

Although the recording was nice and clear, and the articulation of the score was interesting at parts, something didn’t quite fit. The main problem was that the recording sounded very strong and heavy when compared to the trumpet. It felt that there was a large amount of low end on the piano, which the trumpet wasn’t able to compensate for. Although I originally wanted the graphic score composition to consist of complete audio, I have decided to record the piano as MIDI through an electric piano with weighted keys. This way, I will be able to mix the composition to sound clearer, whilst at the same time keeping the human and natural feel of the piano. 

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Recording Trumpet

On Sunday I recorded the trumpet for my graphic score composition. The recording ran very smoothly and I managed to capture a nice, clean sound. 

I place the player around 1 meter, slightly off axis from an RNR ribbon microphone. I placed the player off axis in order to avoid attracting too much top end and leaving the recording too bright. The RNR worked really well to precisely capture the sound of the trumpet, which was an idea I picked up from previous research.

I was impressed by the trumpeter’s precise interpretation of the scores, where he came up with an interesting style of ‘blowing air’ during his performance. However, after a meeting with my tutor, we agreed that it may have been nicer to have seen some more exciting tones and articulation being played. Perhaps the fault lies in my own composition, or maybe by not explaining to the trumpeter the eccentricity graphic scores can impose on performance. 

Despite this, the recording went well and the trumpet sounds great. I am impressed with the interpretation of the score, and for what unconventionality the trumpet part may not have, the piano part can always make up for. 

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Issues with MIDI data

Whilst trying to mix my orchestral piece, I realised that there were a few irregular issues occurring:

The volume of the first 3 instruments in the piece would suddenly raise before quickly lowering to my specified volume automation setting.

I wasn't able to adjust the panning of any instrument, as they were fixed on certain setting already.

For some strange reason, only the 1st instrument (Flute) would work on Kontakt, all the other instruments would not.

Volume and Panning Issues

Using the forum question in the link below, I was able to figure out a way to solve the first 2 issues. It was quite obvious that the issues were occurring due to some fixed data, that was encrypted into them from Sibelius. I had to go into the event page and select each instrument track, where I could delete each initial setting that was controlling the volume and panning.

http://www.logic-users-group.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6100

This picture displays the event page to the right, which shows the unwanted volume and panning settings.

Kontakt Issue

The third issue was a lot more complicated to solve, as there wasn’t any help online. I figured out that each instrument had to be exported separately from sibelius and then individually imported into Logic. This would then allow for Kontakt to recognise the data. On top of this, some instruments had to be raised by an octave in order to play sound.

Finally everything is now working in Logic and I can continue to mix my piece.