Week 3 Forum

Today we were back in Studio 5 for our improvisation. I came up with the idea of doing some turntablism on the Technics decks. I plugged everything into the mixer and set them out perfectly only to find out that the set up didn’t reach any sound source. So I had to move the table closer and try find a longer RCA cable and also an adapter so I could plug that into the mixer. When I finally did this, I couldn’t work out how to get sound to the speakers. I spent the whole class trying to get sound with no luck. It was very frustrating. [1]
Studio 5 has a lot of gear but seeing as though I never use the studio it’s very hard to get any sound going. Dragos had the same problem with his synthesiser. I guess the highlight of the session was listening to Ben on his microphone and David on his guitar, as they were able to get sound through their own amps.

Our student presentations today were by Adrian, Dragos, David and Vinny. Adrian went first and played his Creative Computing piece he composed in SuperCollider. I thought this piece sounded very eerie with some interesting percussive sounds throughout. There were also some pitched tones throughout which sounded like some kind of bell. I thought it was well put together and I especially enjoyed the eerie wind-like sounds. This is the kind of sound scape I would imagine in a movie. Nice one. [2]

Dragos played a piece he composed in Reason because he didn’t want to play any of his assignments (which is fair enough because I did the same). The piece was called Induced and I was really amazed as to how awesome this piece sounded with using just Reason. I asked Dragos if he used any host sequencer and he said he didn’t. The image he was trying to portray was a troubled teen on drugs, I think that’s right, and I could definitely feel that the music was portraying that well. I think that this piece also suits a video game sound track. I’m not sure if anyone would agree with me. This piece was awesome, great job! [3]

David played his Audio Arts assignment, which was a band recording. I thought his recording was very professional and it sounded close to a commercial release. Great job! [4]

Vinny was next, and he played a piece he composed on the Piano. He had his laptop playing a Harmonium sound in Reason, and also a visual animation on the projector screen. The visual on the projector looked like a spiritual/fire-like image. I thought this piece was really relaxing and I enjoyed the journey it took me on. Great job Vinny! [5]

[1] Clipart and Freebies. 'Corel', Photospin.com http://apps.corel.com/freebies/graphics/full/July2-5/PI002093.jpg (Accessed 8th October 2006)

[2] Adrian Reid. 'Music Technology Forum Presentation - EMU Space'. Lecture presented in the EMU Space, Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 10th August 2006.

[3] Dragos Nastasie. 'Music Technology Forum Presentation - EMU Space'. Lecture presented in the EMU Space, Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 10th August 2006.

[4] David Downing. 'Music Technology Forum Presentation - EMU Space'. Lecture presented in the EMU Space, Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 10th August 2006.

[5] Vinny Bhagat. 'Music Technology Forum Presentation - EMU Space'. Lecture presented in the EMU Space, Electronic Music Unit, University of Adelaide, 10th August 2006.