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Date:
Thu, 30 Dec 1999 14:24:07 EST
Subject:
Re: (idm) psychoacoustics
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<0.87621f7d.259d0b57@aol.com>
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idm.9912.gz
Accessed a Thomas Brinkmann interview from Urbansounds in which a Q deals with the particular aspect of acoustical/ space orientation. Q: You mentioned how your orientation in rooms is guided by your ears. When I brought home "x100" I put it on, turned off all the lights, and just sat there in the dark, listening, over and over. And somehow, it gradually came to define the space of the room. " We did a lot of funny things making this record. A friend of mine and I sat in front of the speakers -- my friend at the left speaker, and me at the right speaker -- and we just noted the beats on paper. For every beat, each of us would make a mark, so we could count the beats. I wanted to know if I'd made a mistake, because the number of beats was very precise. The track had to be exactly 20 minutes long, and in that 20 minutes, each channel had to have a particular number of beats. I don't remember exactly, but one channel had to have two beats more than the other. A very slight difference. It's very interesting to listen to those things, and also at the same time to be making a kind of introspection. It's very hard to figure it out, when you just listen to the sounds, that there will be two circles running [on the surface of the record]. Even if you know about it, it's not possible to see the circles in your mind. It's not possible to figure out the movement that is going on. And it is a movement, in an optical way and in an acoustical way. One is going a little bit slower, the other a little bit faster. The bass drums are moving [in relation to one another], on your screen, if you close your eyes." Taken from Urbansounds Issue 1. Vol 2 (1999) I would add to this phenomenon, the interaction which occurs between sound and visual perception. It seems that the frequency and intensity of certain music does have a significant effect on our visual processes; that which suggests a particular frequency/ intensity of sound may correlate with perception of visual stimuli. This of course, may occur at a subconscious or conscious level. Minimalistic music may effectively reduce certain aspects of visual stimuli whilst more complex polyrhythmic music may cause us to see more detail in our environment. Right now, the minimalistic rhythms of Brinkmann's Concept: Variations 96 are affecting my perception of the reflected colour of the walls in my room - reduction in sound particles >>> visual particles. :~) A Z --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org