4 minute read

Deadline

Due at the start of Week 10: 3 Nov.

Introduction

In this short fixed-media study, your objective is to blend multiple sound sources into a single timbral percept — an evolving composite timbre — the perception of a single sound made of other sounds, without distinctive layers that can be heard apart from each other.

In other words, create a perceptual fusion, where several simultaneous sources sound as though they come from one unified sonic body, or one vibrating entity.

Begin with a clear, steady-state composite timbre made from your multiple constituents. Over the course of the piece, explore and reveal the individual sources — perhaps isolating or recombining them — before building up to, returning to, or transforming, the original composite sound.

As the timbre changes, the piece should maintain a sense of coherence and fusion throughout.

Learning Objectives

By completing this assignment, students will be able to:

  1. Design multiple sound sources that combine perceptually into a single emergent timbre.
  2. Manipulate spectral properties to guide the listener between blended and separated sound states.
  3. Construct a short fixed-media form based on timbral evolution rather than pitch or rhythm. In other words, try to develop your timbre, “the sound itself,” rather than developing the piece using conventional musical structure.
  4. Evaluate spectral balance and clarity through careful use of EQ, filtering, and reverb.

Listen Before You Begin

François Bayle’s Toupie Dans Le Ciel (“Spinning Top in the Sky,” 2009) is a beautiful example of timbral composite thinking in electroacoustic composition.

Pay attention to how the sound mostly behaves in aggregate sonority rather than in layers distinguishable from one another, and as the piece develops, how layers merge and separate, and how the sound field itself evolves while maintaining an overall sense of unity.

Assignment Instructions

Step 1: Prepare Your Materials

  • Collect or generate at least 3–5 steady-state sounds.
    • These can be synthesized tones, your own processed field recordings, transformed found sounds, etc.
    • Avoid highly transient or percussive material unless heavily processed. In this setting, it’s best to use steady-state sounds.
    • You can also time-stretch shorter sounds to make them longer, e.g., using PaulXStretch (as demonstrated in class). This might help you create novel sonic material for this study.
  • Each sound should have a distinct spectral identity for this to work effectively — that is, each sound you use should occupy a relatively different frequency range within the audio spectrum.
  • Play with different textures, or sounds with different patterns of movement, but don’t fight to make heavily distinct textures “merge.” Sometimes, the things that combine best will surprise you. If you can’t make two sounds “merge” or “blend” or “melt” together, don’t waste your time; sometimes it was never meant to be! Instead, keep searching… it’s often a matter of stumbling upon two or more sounds with the right character, and whatever that character is might start to reveal itself during your period of searching and combining new and unlikely things.

Step 2: Create a Fused Composite Timbre

  • Import all sources into a Reaper session.
  • Put them on separate tracks.
  • To help you with this exercise, you might find it useful to put Reaper into “loop mode” and cycle through a segment of your mix, working on the overall balance as you listen repeatedly.
  • Mix and balance the sounds using EQ, filters, reverb, pan, and other effects so they blend perceptually into a single, coherent timbre that seems to come from one source.
  • This composite sound should open the piece — think of it as the complex color made up of just the right, personal balance of “primary colors” you employ mixing your paint.

Step 3: Develop the Piece

  • Duration: 1–2 minutes. This is purposefully short. Don’t sacrifice the integrity of your overall blend for the purpose of making a longer piece. If you like this approach, use it in your longer, final piece later in the semester.
  • After establishing the fused composite, use automation to gradually:
    • Deconstruct the blend (reveal or isolate individual sources).
    • Recombine the sounds in new pairings or groupings.
    • Shift the spectral shape or spatial positioning (pan).
    • Return to or transform the original composite by the end.
  • Try to maintain a sense of fusion throughout, even as internal motion or changes occur, like Bayle.

Step 4: Rendering & Documentation

  • Render your piece as a stereo file: 48 kHz / 24-bit WAV.
  • File name: Lastname_Firstname_CompositeTimbre.wav.
  • Include all files in a dedicated Reaper project folder for this assignment, as you’ve been doing.
  • Create a .zip file of the entire project.
  • Submit your zipped Reaper project folder, including your rendered .wav file, via Lyceum.

Evaluation Criteria

Category Description
Timbre Fusion (40%) Degree to which sources blend perceptually into a unified composite sound.
Spectral Balance (20%) Clarity and complementarity of frequency ranges.
Form & Modulation (20%) Evidence of structure: opening fusion, exploration, and return or transformation.
Craftsmanship (20%) Quality of mixing, processing, and rendering; precision of fades and EQ.