Re: [microsound] how to use raw data?

[ndk <ndkent@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

on a more philosophical thread...

I've always felt that by taking a non-audio/non-music data stream and
somehow convolve it into audio/music then the result operates almost
entirely on the level of aesthetic curiosity, for better or worse.

In one sense anything that sounds half interesting in concept is almost
a sure-fire process piece. Like who isn't curious to hear what the data
from the Sun and Jupiter or Hurricanes sounds like. If for no other
reason but satisfy your piqued curiosity. 

Any results I suspect have the implementer/composer "let off the hook"
somehow and revolve around preconceptions the more I think about it. I
guess the goal is leaving the impression "thats far more
interesting/musical than I expected. It's hard to fail as completely as
one would deterministically composing a piece of music and the audience
considering it poor uninteresting. That's because even if the sound
generated is uninspiring there is a level of satisfaction in knowing "so
thats what that sounds like"

But there is a potential deceit in the process if it's not disclosed. In
most cases the data can be convolved into audio by using any of
inumerable strategies or techniques and even if disclosed many people
will interpret the audio as if they are _directly_ listening to whatever
phonomena is being presented. 

It's like rationalization. "It sounds musical despite deriving from some
phonomena". "It's not very compelling but that's okay, it was derived
from some phonomena" "This work is special because it was derived from
some phonomena"

Just like my opinion that "Seven Seconds" theories that apply to a
static image don't necessarily correlate to time based media, I also
think that since audio _is_ time based mapping data with no time
dimension to audio has a major degree less correlation. In other words I
think there is a huge gap in "meaningfullness" in for example
arbitrarily determining the x axis on an existing 2D graphic will be
time while the Y axis will be timbre. This can be remedied, for example
taking an image being drawn in real time to get that elusive time
dimension. 

By having many methods of convolving data at your disposal I'd think
that anything non-inert can be convolved into somthing with some
compelling aspect to it. I guess the asthetic potential is in that
initial presentation of the process. The output I feel has predominantly
a curiosity not an aesthetic value. That actual convolution method is
harder to call, I guess it is judged by how it ties into the
presentation and output.

nicholas d. kent
http://www.artcontext.org/music/artskool/jem/ndkent/

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.microsound.org