Enriching Music with the Sound of Life, Enriching Life with the Music of Sound: Synthesizers, Nature and Listening

Jimmy Schaus

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Freedland, Barry

Keywords

Synthesizers, Electronic Music, Sound Art

Area of Concentration

Humanities

Abstract

This main purpose of this project was to develop electronic musical systems that generated sound based on environmental changes (light exposure and temperature) rather than the preferences of a human performer, and then to use these systems to create sonic environments in both natural and gallery settings. The work addressed the usual emphasis on the self in the artistic process and sought to open this process up to factors beyond our immediate control or understanding. The project was important to me as a musician accustomed to prioritizing my creative control in artistic creation. I felt a stronger connection to the world outside of my own ideas rather than the usual reinforcement of self that accompanies the art making process. By distancing myself from the actual generation of sounds and focusing more on establishing systems to unfold sound in their own ways, I ironically found my control to be stronger than ever. I felt more like a gardener and less like an engineer, and realized that both of these roles entail great amounts of control. In a way, striving to reduce my presence amplified it, though in a different form. The project also emphasized the benefits of listening carefully to the world around us. The recordings were made in natural settings and picked up on natural sounds. The instruments were designed with feedback and unpredictability in mind to mimic the chaos that defines the sonic world around us. I sought to emphasize that music is in the ear of the beholder, that to hear does not require CDs or concerts, but careful listening to our lives. In addition to discussing these issues and describing my processes, in the paper I also contextualized my work as sound art, discussed what sound art means and examined how it developed in part out of experimental and avant-garde music traditions.

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