A Journey through a Metallic Rainforest

Sheet music: www.scoreexcha...
Commentary:
The composition opens with a restlessly moving sound that gradually fades in until it is interrupted with a low staccato note on a piano. This unpredictable sound was created by using a sample of a clicking pen. Within Ableton, this sample was placed into a ‘Simpler’ and an unpredictable ‘LFO’ device was mapped to the frequency and resonance parameters on an ‘Auto Filter’ device as well as the balance parameter on a ‘Utility’ device. The frequency, resonance and balance were all directly proportional to one another so that as the frequency and resonance increased, the balance of the sound moved from the left to the right side of the stereo image. All of the MIDI clips used in this piece (apart from the pitched instruments) were created by converting the prime numbers into MIDI notes using the ‘Play a Sequence’ device on the ‘Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences’ with a pitch modulus of 12 (offset so that the number 0 would start on the 54th note in MIDI standard) and a duration modulus of 5 to create more unpredictability. Each track uses the exact same MIDI clip but this is allowed to be changed through doubling and halving the duration of MIDI notes.
Throughout the first section, the unpredictable sounds grow in volume and complexity before repeatedly being cut off with a low note on the piano. The low piano notes are derived from the pitch set of the prime numbers and changes note to match the bar number (for example, bar 3 would indicate that the note should be an E-flat) Around a minute into the piece, extra audio effects become more audible and are created through the use of a send channel containing a mix of delay devices and ‘Envelope Followers’ that change the amount of feedback depending on the volume of the input. These send channels create a water-like sound that continues to rise in pitch after the original sound stops. As the composition progresses, these audio effects become more prominent and add to the complexity of the overall sound.
The second section includes an improvisational piano part that uses the pitches of the prime number pitch set. Although this composition is not primarily a live instrumental and electroacoustic piece, considerations have been made in case of this scenario. Firstly, the piano parts could either be performed from sheet music or improvised. As Ableton allows performers to adjust sounds in real time, the piano could be miked and the pianist could be supplied with a MIDI footswitch to adjust the parameters on an ‘EQ Eight’ and ‘Reverb’ devices (just like in the submitted audio). Secondly, the string instruments could also be miked and the performers could be given MIDI footswitches to adjust their sound accordingly. Lastly, an additional performer could alter the parameters of the pre recorded material inline with the instrumental performers and adjustments could be made to the tempo or EQ of the various tracks.
The structure of the composition was organised so that phrases are sectioned between two bar numbers that are of prime numbers. Unlike the previous compositions within this thesis that used the Fibonacci numbers, there is no larger structural device (such as the golden ratio) because of this particular sequence. Additionally, to create the last sample at the end of the piece, the entire project was exported, reversed and sped up. Reverb was also used to elongate the last few seconds of the sample so that the composition gradually faded away. In the multichannel edit of this composition, each stem and send channel was exported separately and positioned in different positions in the virtual environment. The audio effect channels were positioned higher in elevation and the tracks containing the samples of marbles were positioned at the highest elevation so that it sounds as if the marbles are bouncing on an imaginary ceiling. As previously mentioned, ‘LFO’ devices were used to change the balance of certain sounds and by changing the width of the tracks, these sounds should appear to move around the listener.
(Composed for an assignment at the University of Birmingham)

[@angelaknebel4156]

Heeeeeey Robert, a fascinating composition and fascinating explanation notes too!!! You truly are multi music gifted 🎵🎹🎵🎹🎵🎹🎵🎹🎵🙂🙂🙂🤗🤗

[@arobertowen]

Thank you very much!

[@emmalynngilliland]

I find this extremely interesting. I read the description. Gotta be honest I couldn’t fully comprehend this but it’s very interesting. Definitely use headphones for full effect.

[@arobertowen]

Thank you for taking the time to listen to this! In essence, this was an experiment with using prime numbers to assist the compositional process. As an example, the piece is split into segments that correlate to these numbers (i.e. section 1 between bars 1&2, section 2 between bars 2&3, section 3 between 3&5), but this shouldn't take away from the overall effect.