At the moment, the major question that leads my project is whether sound can affect the practice.
I this project I'm focusing on the practice of drawing, although I want to explore many others.
In order to test that I have conducted an experiment in which I've asked the users to draw 2 similar drawings. In one, there was a complete silence, while in the other - movement depended sounds has been produced - according to the movement of the pen.
The outcomes (presented in the short film) were fascinating, and the differences were extremely visible. I was also very interested in the participants experience and sense of awareness to the additional dimension added to the drawing. The answers, same as the drawings were interesting and stimulating and are being used to further development of my project.
Throughout the year I have been collecting a vast amount of information about music and sound and its affect on us humans.
I was then eager to use it, to create something productive out of it, but didn't know what. I have been referred by a friend to the book 'The Design of Future Things' by Donald A. Norman.
In his book Norman is talking about the importance of sound in the communication between man and object. When reading the book I found an interesting quote by the psychologist J.C.R Licklider who attempt to determine how people and machines could interact gracefully and harmoniously:
“We need more natural form of interaction, an interaction that can take place subconsciously, without effort, whereby the communication in both directions is done so naturally, so effortlessly, that the result is a smooth merge of person and machine, jointly performing a task”
I decided to adopt this quote as my new brief. I tried to think how can I implement brief using the knowledge I acquired. I have come up with three main propositions for design, Each of the propositions are unique and has its own advantages and disadvantages:
Object communicate as humans: I wanted to explore how well we communicate with our objects and vise versa if they were to sound like people.
Objects communicate through music: Design object, which will communicate with music. In this proposition I can use the voluble information I have been collecting about music and implement it on the man-machine interaction. This proposition will force the design to be well considered in terms of form, material and especially function. The object will be added another use, which is to communicate with the user through music.
Amplified Objects: There is so much information held within the soundof an object. What would happen if we could hear the way the object function better?Would we understand how it works better? Would we know how to operate it better? Willwe design it differently? I believe that listening to the object will allow users and designersunderstand the object better, its materiality, its function, its strength and weaknesses.
After exploring music and its qualities, I have decided look at sound and the way we are concisely and unconsciously affected by it.
I have conducted a test, in which I asked people to identify 13 sounds I recorded while also describing any feeling and/or memories it arouse. Some of the sounds reminded people of personal experiences that the sound was related to, but there were a few interesting similar results.
The sound of a boiling water in a kettle was identify either as a kettle or as rain or the sea. The natural sound of the water made everyone (!!!) feel calm and relaxed.
As for an iphone ringtone/alarm, all people found it annoying, stressful and disturbing.
The data I've collected relates to the data Julian Treasure presented about sound. Treasure gives 4 main ways in which sound affects us: physiologically (can change our heart rate, breathing, hormone secretions and even brain waves); psychologically (affecting our moods and emotions); cognitively (changing how well we think); and behaviorally (we move away from unpleasant sound if we can). Most of these effects are non conscious: we have become used to suppressing sound because we’re commonly surrounded by noise in the modern world.
I have found out that Sound has a fundamental part in enhancing communication between people and objects. I wanted to explore the associations of sound by implementing well known sounds on human and social interactions.
The sounds are so embedded within us that we can actually make sense of this video.
I am thrilled to announce that I have 'Discovered' the inspiring man called Julian Treasure. He is the chair of the Sound Agency, a firm that advises worldwide businesses -- offices, retailers, and hotels -- on how to use sound. He also runs a blog which I highly recommend reading.
It is as if he looked at everything I researched about, and put it into well-articulated words. I have started to read his blog, watched videos of 'Ted Talk' he gave and listened to interviews with him, and found out i completely admire his appreciation and attention he gives to sound.
He recorded a show for the BBC World Service called The Forum. In the show he quoted hermann hesse's opinion about Music- "Time made aesthetically perceptible", which I really liked. I believe we should look at sounds in the same way- they should (together with their other functions) make time aesthetically perceptible. Just walking on the street, or getting into a typical London office- we can experience endless amount of unpleasant sounds.
In the Ted Talk video I've attached, Treasure is describing the 4 ways in which sounds effect us; Physiologically, cognitively, Psychologically, Behaviorally. Understanding the great effect of Sound and Music on us, I aspire to (somehow) implement the idea that sound is a material for design and NOT a 'design side-effect'.
Looking deeper into sounds and its effect on us, I have been referred by a good friend to this lovely Sesame Street Video:
Besides being nostalgic and lovely, this short video demonstrates another form of communication. Objects have names and function and structures, but they also produce sound. For most objects, it is enough to listen to the sound it makes in order to understand what they are.
We sometimes underestimate the importance of the sounds objects produce. The obvious example will be the kettle or the toaster, which alerts us when they have 'fulfilled their task' by sounds. The sounds that they make, which are so obvious to us, are not only 'aftereffects' but also a vital part in the product! These sounds are not electronic programmed sounds, but sounds made by the physical process that is happening.
Not too long ago I found the 'Breville Professional 800 BTA840 Toaster’, which doesn't make the toasts jump. The design is very slick and sophisticated but it seems like, to me, the toaster lost its use and meaning completely.
In his book "The Design of Future Things" Donald A. Norman writes about the importance of sound in automobiles. He explains how, with no sound, the driver is being detached from the feeling (and responsibility) of driving a car, and in result to that- he may be less aware of the dangers and risks.
What I aim to investigate is the importance of sound in the design of everyday, and future object. I believe that I should start by exploring the sound that already exist- and try to make them heard, rather than ‘inventing’ new ones.
This post is aimed for you: the reader. I need your kind help for my research.
All you need you to do is take a few minutes, get your headphones and listen carefully. I have attached a few audio files to this post. For each file you should write: -What is the sound -Whether it makes you feel any kind if emotion, and is so, what emotion. -Whether the sound arouses any kind of memory, and if so, which memory.
example: -Sound of water fall -Happy -Reminds me of a place in South America.... (give details of the memory) You don't need to identify yourself, only whether you are a male or female. *please don't look at other people's answers, and go with your instincts!
After exploring much about music, I have decided to look more into the amazing and mysterious world of SOUND.
The definition of sound is: a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations. This is the physical, and rather boring, definition. I want to explore what effect does sound have on us humans. I started by Looking at auditory illusions and how they can help us understand the workings of the human brain.The most exciting one I have experienced so far is 'the Barber's Shop Illusion'.
In order for this to work you'll need headphones. Make sure there is no noise around, close your eyes, turn the volume up a little bit, hold and press headphone on your ears for better hearing, play it and enjoy this impressive illusion.
The Barber's Shop Illusion is a demonstration of the stereo effect. Listening to it, you feel as though you are in a barber's chair, with the barber moving around you, clipping away at your hair. As the barber "moves" to your right, the volume increases slightly in the right channel and decreases in the left. Similarly, increases in the volume of sound from the clippers give the impression that he is bringing them closer and closer to each ear. The illusion demonstrates our ability to locate sounds in space; by comparing the inputs to the two ears, we can work out where a sound is coming from.
Looking into this, and other illusions made me want to learn more about sound. sound journey begins, Hope I won't be disappointed...
While writing my dissertation i came across this painfully beautiful video.
Looking at the different areas I have been exploring, I would define this video as a subjective, artistic translation of music into visuals.
This video is showing, to my opinion, how the sound would look like, if we could actually see it. The film is made so well which makes it easy to get 'sucked' into it!
Exploring the area of musical gestures had led me to an investigation of the effect of music on our brain. We don’t need to read academic studies to know that music has an effect on us. Whether it affects our emotional state (makes us happy or sad), assist us with performing physical or mental tasks or bond us with other people, music have a great effect on us . I didn’t think of expanding the research into the area of the music therapy, and the effect of music on people with mental and physical disabilities up until last month when I was encouraged by my mother to visit a school in Israel called “nitzanim”. The school is a regional school for people from the age of 3 to 21 with special needs. Besides the intense effect of the visit in the school, I have been extremely fascinated by the music therapy classes, which ware talking place during my visit.
I kept on asking questions, trying to understand better the methods of treatment and the effect on the children. Coming back to London, I have decided that as a part of my project I want to research more about music and its effect on people with special need and perhaps aiming the project towards this group. There is a huge amount of information concerning musical therapy and the effect of music on people with different disabilities, but I had to start somewhere.
Today I’ve met Pam Heaton, a Professor of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Pam’s primary research interest is in developmental disorders, especially autism. She has completed a PhD on musical cognition in autism and she is now investigating remediation of sensory abnormalities, pitch and colour discrimination and memory, and colour categorisation in autism. Pam is also trained as a classical singer and retains a strong interest in the cognitive neuropsychology of music. I find Pam’s field of exploration extremely interesting, and today we tried to understand whether there is any potential for design within that area. The following video gives a better description of Pam's work: http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/50
I’m hoping the exploration of this field will assist me with developing my project. But even if it isn’t, I am happy I had the opportunity to meet Pam which is, besides being a lovely person, is intellectually inspiring.
When discussing my project with my tutor I have been asked whether I want the project to deal with Sound or Music? I immediately answered Music- without even taking a minute to think about it.
Exploring music and sound as concepts made me wonder what makes the sound become music, or perhaps I should be asking when is that happening. There are certain combinations of different sounds we automatically identify as music, but what about those sounds which are not that simple to read as music. Can we train our mind to 'read' music within the different noises around us?
In the next song from the film "Dancer in the dark" Bjork is using the industrial noises to create an exiting musical experience.
This is not the first time Bjork is using 'everyday sounds' for her music, in her song 'in the musicals' she is using sounds from a basketball court to create music. I'm wondering whether she was looking for those sounds while writing songs, or was she inspired to write the song when she herd the random sounds.
I have mentioned the Harmonograph in a different post a few weeks ago, when I have just discovered what its all about. Since then, I have managed to make an actual two-pendulums harmonograph. It took a while but it was defiantly worth it.
I've never been a big fan of classical music. I found it a bit boring and lack of meaning . It is only the last few months that I started listening to classical music and I already became adicted to it.
Listening to Wilhelm Kempff playing Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Opus 31 No.2 made me so moved by it that I felt obligated to share it with the world.
Find the time to listen to the music- no background noises, no disruptions- just you and Beethoven.
It is hard to say precisely what a musical gesture is. Some may say that it is the actual action of playing, like pressing the piano keys or blowing the trombone. Others may say that musical gestures are the additional movements, which are not necessary for the production of the sound- but take a fundamental part of the musical piece.
An interesting definition of musical gestures given by Francois Delalande's is described in the book 'MUSICAL GESTURES-sound movement and meaning': "Francois Delalande (1988) defines musical gestures as the intersection of observable actions and mental images. He further argues that musical gestures may be studied at various levels, ranging from the purely functional to the purely symbolic, using the terms effectiveaccompanying and figurative gestures. The term effective gestures denotes what we would call a sound- producing gestures, while the term accompanying gestures is used for the movement that supports the effective gesture in various ways. Delalande suggest the term figurative gesture to refer to a mental image that is not directly related to any physical movement, but which could be conveyed through sound."
Watching three hours of different pianists play Beethoven I must suggest that whichever of the musical gestures described by Delalande, they all play a major role in the musical piece. Whether it is the way the musician presses the keys on the piano, the way he moves on the chair, his facial expression or the actual musical composition- they all take part in differing a good musical piece from an extraordinary one.
An interesting question that arises is: Are these musical gestures being taught? and if so, is there any guidance to the musician while he plays (like a musical score for gestures..)?
I chose to finish off with an incredible comedy bit by Rowan Atkinson.
In the chapter 'Music on the brain: Imagery and imagination' from his book 'Musicophilia', Oliver Sacks describes a situation when the music is played in our mind in the same way an image will appear in our head- without actually seeing it: "With music I know well, such as Chopins' mazurkas, which I learned by heart sixty years ago and continued to love ever since, I only to glance at a score or think of a particular mazurka (an opus number will set me off) and the mazurka will start to play in my mind. I not only 'hear' the music but i also 'see' my hands on the keyboard before me, and 'feel' them playing the piece- a virtual performance which, once started, seemed to unfold or proceed by itself."
This phenomenon of playing music in our mind is very common- and we can all remember ourselves playing a musical piece in our head. Sacks claims that "Professional musicians, in general possess what most of us would regard as remarkable powers of musical imagery." This claim makes me wonder weather being a 'better' musician makes your imagery clearer and more intense and weather practicing in some way the imagery might improve ones musical skills.
Not too long ago I came across a project by Finn Peters, who is practically exploring the connection between music and the mind. Inspired by the brain-mapping experiments of Dr Mick Grierson at Goldsmith's University, composer Finn Peters has translated brainwaves into notes and tones. The result is an album called 'Music Of The Mind' - a literal transcription of Peters' brainwaves, as well as improvisational compositions.
Last week I went to see "Shadow catchers": Camera-less Photography presents the work of five international contemporary artists, at the V&A. The exhibition is exiting and inspiring, but what intrigued me the most was a series of pieces made by Susan Derges, called 'Chladni'.
This is one image from a series of 8 photograms which were made by recording the vibration patterns created when eight sheets of photographic paper were vibrated by eight different sound frequencies of different pitch. Carborundum powder on the surface of the paper formed into configurations printed onto the paper by exposure to light. The light areas are where the powder has settled. The regular and creative pattern which is formed seems almost unbelievable, because of the lack of human intervention and the unpredictability of the pattern formed.
For this series Derges used process called photogram- 'A photogram is a kind of photograph, although made without a camera or a lens by placing an object or objects on top of a piece of paper or film coated with light sensitive material and then exposing the paper or film to light. Where the object covers the paper, the paper remains unexposed and light in tone; where it does not cover, the paper darkens. If the object is translucent, midtones appear. After exposure, the paper is developed and fixed.' Gordon Baldwin, 'Looking at Photographs', J. Paul Getty Museum, 1991.
Derges work was useful in two aspects-
1. Throughout my research and process I've been looking for way to translate the 'music language' into a 'visual language'. My challenge was to find a way to do it objectively and not subjectively. The process Derges use visualises a physical reaction to the music and its not effected by human touch, motion or felling.
2. Photogram is an amazing process of producing photograph- without a camera- a process I wasn't aware of. weather I will actually try to produce the same images or not- I found a new tool to communicate my ideas and developments.
On the 26th of October I was at the design museum's "LONGLUNCH WITH UNITED VISUAL ARTISTS". The Design Museum hosted a talk by Matt Clark of United Visual Artists.
As a part of the talk we were introduced to 'Chorus', an array of motor-assisted pendulums, which are suspended from the roof of the Boiler House. Mounted on each of the pendulums are a light and a speaker. Together these pendulums form a single instrument that explores the relationship between performance, sculpture and installation.
The way I see it, 'Chorus' is not aiming to connect light and sound in a logical way, nor to give it a deeper meaning. It is a great example of a well-made combination between visuals and sounds, which gives an intense impact on the viewer- even without being there. This is definitely something I would want to accomplish!
Throughout the exploration of my project, I constantly try to identify the user and purpose of my design thesis. The (currently) abstract activity of visualising music is not linked directly to a certain need or a problem that needs to be solved. Looking at Jean Tinguely work makes me wonder whether the 'useless object' still have reason to be.
This is an amazing video- showing the amazing connection between people and music- as if we've got the music within us and we only need to express it. The more I look into the music- the more i realise how big it is.
Exploring the notion of visual music suddenly remembered the amazing classic Disney's movie- Fantasia. The movie is beautifully presenting the interpretations of music- in a visual way.
At some point the host is inviting the soundtrack to come and show himself. The soundtrack is presented visually and then the host says: "watching him, I discovered that every beautiful sound also creates an equally beautiful picture."
I have officially begun my journey in search for the link between music and visuals. I'm not quite sure what it means yet- I just know that the connection exists. Many people have referred me to digital artist that interpret sounds into digital shapes and colours. I find the digital medium somehow detached mechanical and I aspire to explore the physical mediums of communication. Just like how Gondry made a connection between Bjork's playing and the colours (previous post)- I'm looking into the physical connection between what we hear and what we see.
Which brings me to introduce the amazing tool called the Harmonograph. The Harmonograph is a mechanical setup that employs pendulums to create a geometric image. In his book 'Harmonograph: a visual guide to the mathematics of music', Anthony Ashton is writing: "from the first moment I saw drawing of this kind I was hooked. Not only because of their strange beauty but because they seemed to have meaning...". I identify very much with what Ashton wrote- and I've decided to look more into this amazing machine.
Looking into the Harmonograph and its abilities- opened a new world of signs, symbols and meanings related to music. Hopefully, It'll be a useful tool in my journey..
I've first discovered him in Bjork video, 'bachelorette', which he directed, and i have been following him since. The thing I love about Gondry's work (except it being painfully beautiful) is that he is creating a completely new realities, surreal and magical.
My favourite 'Gondry Work' is (with no doubt) the film 'Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind' which he directed. I think that this film is an amazing piece of art, which challenge the viewer to confront the film, and himself.
This short video is a quick glimpse at Gondry's way of working and thinking. He makes me want to get up and start making things! He makes me want to be French!
This guy is amazing. Not only that he is one of the best presenters I've ever seen, he is also looking into an interesting issue in a lovely way. I'm very much inspired by how he presents the way our brain work. At first it's a bit tempting to dismiss what he is saying, but then- when you really think about it, it kinda makes sense.
A little jump back to my 'love/hate' list, one of the things on the hate list is dilemmas. The situation of choosing is always making me uncomfortable. The possibility of being wrong or making the wrong choice can drive me mad. The quicker my decision is being made- the happier I am. It takes me 3 minutes (tops) to choose a dish from the menu because I can't cope with the variety and choices.
It is interesting to think about Gilbert's ideas in terms of life choices and reactions, but also in terms of design process. Makes me wonder about the decision making and how it is sometimes good to limit ourself towards a certain design. It happen to me not ones that i have been overwhelmed and paralysed by the amount of ideas, materials and process I could use.
This video is an inspiration not only towards how to design but perhaps towards what to design.
