NIME

EMIN – Pilgrimage

Project Description

    The Final project created by Ken and Me is a NIME music project incorporating elements from visual arts and dancing. The primary concept embedded in this project was to use the ideology of NIME, and the ontological composition of music to explore the area of religious music, which is conventionally considered to have little connection with various innovative music forms and experimentations. With the help of this final NIME project, I intend to encourage people to think about the contradiction and peace lying between experimental music and conventional serious music. The hope is that every form of music can be experimented, and translated into a language of a new era. 

    There are basically four different inspirations for this music project, two of which are actually from non-NIME artists. On the other hand, the two NIME artists, Steve Reich and Eliane Radigue have greatly inspired this project in different ways. To be more specific, I am largely influenced by Reich’s ideology of musical process, which serves as one of the basic inspirations telling us how to perform Pilgrimage and how the procedure should be. Eliane, however, interests me with her symbolistic minimalism, yet what impresses me are the direct feelings I get from her music piece. The sacred, intangible, peaceful, and hypnotic delivery from her piece has set, to a very large extent, the keynote and underlying tone of our final project. 

    The other two inspiration sources are Hans Zimmer’s What Are You Going to Do When You Are Not Saving the World? and Joel Corelitz’s Invitation. Frankly speaking, I have listened to these two pieces for at least 10 hours in total, and I have learned, respectively, a lot about composition and music delivery from Hans and Joel. 

Perspective and Context

    Discussing and sharing the connections and other interrelationships of ideas between our project and the course materials have really been rather easy because the entire development of this project has been based on some of these ideologies. 

    I didn’t mention Michael Nyman and John Cage in the previous section because their ideas didn’t give me much inspiration about the performance, but they remain those who have influenced me most in this performance. The composition of Pilgrimage is largely based on ideas in Nyman’s ideas in his article Towards a Definition of Experimental Music, where he talks about the concept of time in composing. He put forward the idea that time shouldn’t be linear in the performance, or at least we shouldn’t perceive time as linear. This serves as the ideology for the whole when we were at the first stage of the development and thinking about performing music that represents TIME.  (However, we switched to the idea of religious music because we all agreed to explore something new, instead of something that seems new and abstract but is really a bit cliche.) On the other hand, even if we didn’t apply time as the main theme for our final project, the concept of time and Nyman’s ideas still exist in the composition. In order to grant the audience the ability to perceive the music piece as a whole and to perceive time in a nonlinear way, we incorporated a lot of elements that constantly reoccur in the performance, like some of the bass and harmony. However, at the same time, we also would like to deliver the concept of linear time, and therefore we decided to make a decrescendo (a stop) in our music where only piano harmony exists. Such decrescendo would in a way, give the audience a feeling that the music is still proceeding in a way, but not always revolving around several components regardless of time. In terms of the composition, we would like to incorporate Nyman’s idea about time, but the would also like to deviate slightly from this idea. Therefore, the final result is that non-linear and linear components can be experienced at the same time in our performance.

    When I was looking at Tanaka’s expressive performance, I knew that I would definitely apply this kind of stage presence into our final project, and we did. We started to think about how can we impress the audience apart from the music, and Ken thought of the idea of dancing and soft circuit, which is probably the thing that he is most familiar with in NIME. He was thinking of wearing some of the soft circuits on his arms and wave to control the soft circuit, and this idea has been well illustrated in the performance at Elevator. However, it is not enough if the stage presence can only be called impressive. It should also be logical. Tanaka said in the essay that “In our art form, there is a balance between logic and intuition.” The presence should convince the audience that it is logical, apart from being intuitive. The connection between the presence and performance must be formed, and the interesting result was that Ken and I spent some time thinking of the proper postures he should hold to connect to the concept of Pilgrimage, and at the same time, precisely control the soft circuit. 

Development and Technical Implementation

    In this section detailing the construction and the development of our project, I would like to first discuss the choice of using breadboards instead of soldered PCBs to assemble the NIME instrument. The truth is that I have made quite a lot of PCBs soldered with complicated circuits, but every time I connected the soldered PCB to whatever a speaker or the audio interface, the input signal became rather vague, accompanying many electronic noises. (I really think that this was not caused by misconnection because I almost checked 1000 times and made the same circuits on the breadboards at the same time.) On the other hand, when I was checking the circuits connected using brass wires on the breadboard, I was surprised to find that it can make quite a clear sound and deliver less noise (which was really strange). In order to yield the best delivery, I chose to use breadboards instead of PCBs. 

    The choice of incorporating the table into our performances was actually decided in the first stage of our consideration. However, after we received the table from Taobao, we discovered that it would be rather hard to DIY the table into part of the instrument because it was so firm. (We then switched the plan and decided to perform on the table because 1. It was convenient to put everything related to the instrument part onto the table and 2. We thought this can deliver an eye-catching effect because the table can be folded in a really creative way. 

    At the start of the instrument construction, I decided to use the instrument to create a hypnotic frequency. Therefore, the primary components of the NIME instrument include a pitch-tracking circuit controlled by soft circuits and a pitch division circuit. The sound of the NIME instrument has, I think, met my expectation. In terms of the parts concerned with the input signal, I used ten different echoes to create the desired effects. Actually, a lot of things in the Max 8 patch include echoes or such effects to connect with the concept of Pilgrimage, and I think such an attempt to deliver a feeling of religious music has succeeded. 

    As discussed before, I decided to use breadboards instead of PCBs because of ht sound quality. However, this doesn’t mean that there would be no soldering work. Different components like potentiometer and switches need to be first soldered individually with the wires. To avoid electronic interferences, I connect every soldering point with a heat shrink. (I even bought all of the tools needed for this project, say, the soldering iron, heat gun, heat-shrinks, etc. The result is that my dorm looks like a tiny fabrication lab and I am actually able to do anything related to the construction job in my dorm.) 

Documentations Here: 

    Now let’s talk about something that retaliated to the general Max patch building. The final patch and all of the data in the effects in the performances look like this. 

Documentations Here:

    In terms of these data, I specifically spent one hour and a half to adjust different effects to make sure that everything in the Max 8 patch works together under similar tones. The way to control the Max 8 patch during the performance was to use the live agin~ item, which has the ability to separately change different volumes. (The item gain~ changes all the volumes together and similarly, the item ezdac~ will control all of the sound output together.) 

    The patch includes five different b-patchers. (Actually, there were six, but I don’t like the sound of one patch and deleted it.) 

    The one that relates to the signal input lies in the bottom left corner. The logic behind this patch was actually very, very simple because it only included different echoes and effects. However, after the construction of the Max patch and the performance, I felt that simplicity might even be better. This part accounts for the general main theme existing in our performance and I was actually quite satisfied with the result it delivers. 

Documentations Here:

    In terms of the harmony generator on the bottom right corner, I have to give credit to Kparker830, who is the original creator of the patch. I always wanted to incorporate some well-generated harmony into the final project that continuously alters and sounds very peaceful. However, I always failed to get the desired effect and I was surprised to find this harmony generator created by Kparker830. 

 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2LZdXUO_zo 

Documentations Here:

    The only thing I changed in this patch is to include two new ways to control harmony. There are two different choices. I can either let the generator randomly generate different pitches or use the signal number to control the pitch. In the performance, we used the first way in the first half of the performance and the second way in the second half of the performance. 

    However, I really feel uncomfortable when I was able to generate such beautiful music using other’s tools. Therefore, I decided to always make the existence of the harmony vague, and only sometimes use it to be the background music. 

    The patch on the top right corner is actually also a harmony generator learned in the makenote and kslider tutorial. However, I wasn’t quite satisfied with the initial effect because it sounded too simple, without too many alterations. I was inspired by David Farrell’s way to control different notes. 

    Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXlBpC_DLC0 

Documentations Here:

    I used his method of using a random dual gate to make the general music more diverse and deliver a feeling of different layers. 

    The beat/frequency generator stands next to it. This part is actually using the course materials (Class 10) to create some background music that always exists. 

Documentations Here:

    I made 8 different beats with different frequencies and effects. Honestly speaking, I made a guess that the bass system in Elevator would be rather powerful and therefore made a lot of low-frequency beats. This turned out to be a wise move (Yes!). The beats coming out of the sound system in the Elevator were very, very strong and I could literally feel the vibrations of the table, floor, and ceiling during the performance. 

    The last patch stands for the choir machine, which has been used in the last performance and learned from David Cooper, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYAwtRxZiAY&t=311s. 

    I used four different buffers here to control four different machines. To be more specific, one buffer is a piano note, which is recorded with an electronic piano for echo effects. One of the two choir buffers is made by multiple samples recorded with my voice and integrated and altered together in Adobe Audition. The last two buffers are found in the sound library in GarageBand. 

    I was very careful with the use of the choir machine because I thought it would catch most people’s attention and therefore, let them overlook the NIME melody and other interactive sounds. As a result, I decided to only use the choir machine as the introduction and climax of the second half of the performance. 

    All of the patches are controlled via bpatchers and used presentation modes. In the performance, everything is controlled by live gain~ and the audio interface to make sure the input and output levels are correct. Personally speaking, I think different objects interact harmoniously with one another during the performance. 

    In terms of the individual, I was in charge of the Max 8 patch construction and part of the instrument construction, and Ken was in charge of some of the instrument production and the part of stage presence. To deliver the best of ourselves, we worked together for a day to think of the best composition and visual presence.

    

Performance

    Most things went well in Elevator. In other words, the instrument normally functions and my computer didn’t crash. However, during the class rehearsal, there was something wrong with our NIME instrument, that a disconnection occurred and we had to move aside a whole to fix our instrument. 

    In the performance, the best parts are, I think the expressive beats that almost turn the ceiling of the Elevator, the working NIME melody, and the kslider harmony between the two music parts, which really delivered a sense of quietness. 

    My part in the performance was to control the Max patch using the MIDI mix and the overall volume using the audio interface. Ken was doing his “contemporary dance” and controlling some of the harmonies. In the performance, I was 100 percent focused and really nervous, and luckily there was no major accident. 

    However, there was definitely something that can do better. For instance, I need to look away from the computer screen for a while, maybe close my eyes to fully immerse myself in the performance, instead of being this nervous. On the other hand, I think Ken can probably also do better with the soft circuit expression because some of the postures and moves in the performances were actually meaningless and didn’t change the signal number. Nonetheless, he has made everyone at Elevator remember us. 

Conclusion

    What did I learn in this performance or this semester? I was also asking myself this question when I finished my performance. As said before, the intention of the final project presented by Ken and I was to present religious music in a NIME way and put forward the relationship between experimental music and conventional serious music. We would like to try something new in something old, and what I have learned from this process is that music and actually an art form without a form. 

    It doesn’t depend on how we create and present the music, however, it’s about selection and integration. Any attempt to create music and perform it is an attempt of selecting different music components and integrate them together. In some ways, we are just choosing to deliver the final piece in one way, from infinite choices. This is probably the essence of music, and via this performance, I have managed to discover a clearer idea of how things are integrated and selected. 

    There are definitely things to be celebrated after a semester’s learning. I think Ken and I both improved a lot in the knowledge of Max, soldering, and music. Our abilities to tolerate stress are also improved. The biggest success, on the other hand, is the whole performance. Despite all of the minor mistakes, I would mark the performance given by Ken and me, and everyone’s performance, as a huge success. 

    However, there are definitely things that are not that good but can be improved in the future. The first is the soldering stuff. In the summer vacation, I would probably try to figure out a way to solder every component onto PCBs aiming for a solid connection. Even if in the case of this performance, the breadboard made better sounds, it was also more vulnerable and fragile, as the situation shown in the rehearsal. 

    The second thing to improve is probably the stage presence. Maybe there is a better way for Ken to use the soft circuits to control different sounds in a more stable and clear way, and this will be further explored. 

    After all, I would still regard this as a generally successful experience and a great, unforgettable memory. 

    The legendary journey of Pilgrimage ends, but also starts from here.

The last performance has finally, yielded some desired effects. 

The development of this performance was actually a bit dramatic because when we were about to start to work on the materials for this performance, Ken’s computer went into an explosive hazard, and I started to be in 99 percent charge of this performance. 

In terms of the performance, I always wanted to do something about the echoes after the lecture, and therefore, the main part of the Max patch was centered around this idea. I used ten different echoes with the same distance between each of them to make the general piece sound more integrated. About the generative drum machine part, I learned the idea from David Cooper’s YouTube tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYAwtRxZiAY&t=309s. It can randomly trigger certain buffers at a certain tempo, with the help of groove and metro. Initially, I didn’t know that the buffers files would disappear after I close the Max Patch and I didn’t save them. With such experience, we saved the file. The four buffers were made completely by ourselves, recorded in the piano practice room. The four results were two human voices and two piano notes.

The patch looks like this. 

The NIME construction was actually, the most time-consuming part of this performance. When I finished soldering everything onto the PCB and managed to send the signal to my computer, it sent out significantly high electronic noises, and I have to remake the NIME as well as changing the idea of making it. My final choice was to use the breadboard and wires (not the jump wires) to finish the NIME, or at least make a prototype in this performance. The constructing jobs actually, still huge because still a lot of wires need to be soldered and heat-shrunk. 

The NIME looks like this: (Yes, I made a switch!)

The result appeared to be surprising, with only a little electronic noise. However, When sending the signal to my computer, the NIME signal was too loud because there were literally ten different sound signals combined together, we adjusted the audio input volume to let the NIME signal work well with the drum machine. 

In terms of the performance delivery, I think it was definitely better than the previous few times. When we were trying to figure out the composition, we found that using the four buffers to begin and end delivers a sense of sacredness and a religious feeling, which was part of the reason why we chose to name ourselves Hallelujah. In the middle part, where the NIMME sound came in, it actually sounded rather well-rounded with the help of ten different echoes.

 

    This week’s performance definitely needs a lot of improvement. 

    I started by doing our individual work and didn’t spend enough time together, which caused slight chaos in the general performance. For instance, the tempo of our own sequences and not consistent with one another, which caused the problem that the beat parts didn’t work well. One more thing is that we didn’t fully agree on a general theme to perform our work, and therefore our music didn’t sound harmonious together. These are the problem during the group performance. 

    In terms of the individual patch, I started by thinking of the idea that I can really control or create sequences myself, maybe even during the performance. Therefore I found an online tutorial by David Cooper, teaching people how to make step sequencers using envelopes. The link is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiAkx69efHs. After completing the step sequencer using the matrix controller, I was thinking to see the results of altering the input, say, using saw and rect to replace the cycle. However, the first two didn’t deliver the result that I was looking for and I changed back to the cycle. 

    The patch looks like this: 

 

    In order to synchronize with Ken’s deep beats, I set the tempo to 120, but it turned out it was still a little bit fast and didn’t yield the desired result. After this performance, I found out that what my music part coming out of the PA mixer sounds a lot different from my own laptop. It was rather difficult to get the sense of layers. The sounding system makes a lot of differences and this should be taken into consideration. I learned that complicated music or sequences are not always better coming out of a large sound system, and this will be paid attention to in the next performance. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kwJOOEKR625uYSTprs-DGIj1ZDBO7WI5YW9AYU3C0dQ/edit?usp=sharing

 

NIME Final Project Proposal — The End of Eternity

• Perspective and Context

 

Inspiration for Final Project (Ken): Alvin Lucier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAxHlLK3Oyk 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIPU2ynqy2Y 

    The texts and listening materials throughout the semester revolve around the development of sound in various expressive forms. From the beginning of the semester, there was an emphasis on sound production as well as the relation between artist, sound, and stage. For example, artists Dewi de Vree & Jeroen Uyttendaele created an instrument that was based upon creating electric connections during the performance to create different variations of sound. Later, the performance and theories were based on minimalism and creating gradual developments of sound to create music rather than creating fluctuating sounds. 

    Alvin Lucier’s I am Sitting in a Room (link above) provided me inspiration in utilizing sound throughout time to create sound resonance to map out a room. This type of repetitive style provided me inspiration in the sense of manipulating sound with feedback and utilizing times of feedback as the primary source of sound change. While the technicality of this piece and the style of articulating sound isn’t precisely difficult, the development of the relation between time and sound was the key takeaway that informed a style I wanted to be presented within my final piece. This also relates to Marshall McLuhan reading regarding acoustic space and visual space distinction and the cultural distinctions of perception of space where it mentions that the Japanese focused more on the space between objects rather than the objects themselves. 

    Other pieces of Alvin Lucier include “Music for Solo Performer” (1965) where he utilizes the installation of electric components in the performance itself and uses hands as conductive apparatus to create the frequency beats. Firstly, from his practice of utilizing live performance installations, it is similar to the prebuilt installation we proposed. While it’s not connected directly, the practice of creating that connection during the performance is something that struck me where I wanted to also create this visual – audio relationship within the final project. Furthermore, his practice seems like a pre-Tanaka electromagnetic wave transmission to create the sound which connects to utilizing different apparatus for a musical production that’s uncommon to play. 

    Why is this important to my final project proposal? I personally believe that while the physical presence of feedback played in I am sitting in a Room may be lackluster, the acoustic presence that the final project incorporates is one that is able to fill the room through the development of sound resonance and sound feedback where possible playback loops may be incorporated within the composition. This creates a dynamic nature within the piece where the physical/visual is secondary to audio. If “Music for Solo Performer” was considered, I think that the relation between performer and sound would be much richer in that the brain waves resonation is much more hidden, but dynamic control of the instrument can create depth within the piece as the sound qualities aren’t standardly created.

 

Inspiration for Final Project (Ken): Eliane Radigue 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwHIsZKrZhM 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RrsiGmLp_E 

    I was also inspired by Eliane Radigue, particularly her audio relation for time, sound, and feedback in her pieces. Rather than succumb to a definitive melody, Eliane Radigue utilizes fluidity of tones that slowly transition to ambient frequencies in which the melody isn’t clear. Due to such a style, it has also become a philosophy of her work as a whole. Even in her own writing, she describes her style of continuous modulation to be “a state of uncertainty, of being and not being” which can be seen in her piece where there is no definitive pattern of sound, but rather a continuous motion without boundaries. 

    This contrasts with the style of Alvin Lucier’s I am Sitting in a Room which is more definitive in terms of sequence but indefinite in terms of sound quality. While the quality of sound from Eliane’s work can change and adapt according to the frequency modulator oscillator that she utilizes. Of course, when she modifies such a device, the change may be subtle but also very noticeable. It is without a doubt that this type of articulation of sound through uncertainty throughout time creates resonating effects. It is what can be described as flux within staticity. 

    Some pieces that inspired me can be seen in the links above which develop a sonospheric atmosphere within the composition, utilizing panning, frequency panning, among other techniques to inscribe such relation. From her Jetsun Mila piece, she utilizes the instability of a frequency to create a moving texture that allows the listener to follow it in a fluid manner. This type of instability is paired with the gradual development of subsequent tones that aren’t too clear to create depth within the piece. 

    Such usage of frequency modulation and synthesizing informs the final project for our piece in the sense that we utilize distinct electric installations which build upon each other to create depth within the noise, but still distinct to create a harmonious pattern. In utilizing depth and variance of sound in our piece according to Radigue’s instrument with multiple controls, we hope to create sound qualities that can exhibit our theme of time manipulation.

 

Inspiration for the Final project (Bruce): Atau Tanaka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-ZcsAHVn6A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8CKjmE7zys

    The development of the theme embedded in the weekly reading and listening materials is quite clear. The main theme has adapted from the relationships, conflicts, and coexistence between visions and sounds, to the expressive ability, logic, and further philosophy of the sound. The weekly materials then went on to talk about the minimalism, composition, and stage performance, the relationship between the performer, instrument, and the audience. Now the theme has been the relationship between the computer, the music, and the performer. 

    In this sense, Atau Tanaka was the first artist who gave me some inspiration on the general NIME understanding, as well as how to come up with the final project. He is famous for his use of the muscle electricity sensor to create electronic-like music. I found two videos (attached above) which I think can best describe him and his ideology for NIME performance. 

    In his performances, the sounds and the sounding experience are not that outstanding. DON’T get me wrong. What I was trying to say was that they are not the parts that would refresh your mind when you are listening to his performance. However, the visual part, or to be more specific, the smart and perfect integration of the visual part and the sounds is something that is definitely impressive. He has perfectly solved the long-lasting conflict between the vision and the sound, but he has also done something more. In the course materials, he and his works are also given as examples to illustrate the stage performance and delivery. During the performance, it seems that he isn’t himself anymore, but a part of the performance itself. 

    Tanaka said in an interview that there is a balance between logic and intuition in his art form. When he is performing, I can get the feeling that he is not actually performing the instrument to make it sound. Rather, he is expressing himself using the media of music. In this way, he has successfully made himself a part of the performance. The genius part of the whole process is that there is always a CONNECTION between the audio outcome and the expressive media in the general performance. 

     This part is extremely important in our performance. I said before in my documentation blog that this part was also the key idea in my last semester’s interaction lab final project, and the realization of this idea yielded some good results. This idea, the connection, and the balance between logic and intuition will also be included in my NIME final project, and this idea will mainly influence the analog part, or in other words, the instrument part of our performance. When Ken and I are designing the instrument, we are consistently drawing ideas from this ideology, that it must include the balance, connection to make the performer a harmonious part, but not the dominator, of the performance. The design of the instrument is still at the initial stage and will be discussed later. 

 

Inspiration for the Final project (Bruce):  Steve Reich

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgX85tZf1ts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXJWO2FQ16c 

    Well, Steve Reich has already definitely become one of my favorite artists, and one of the reasons is that I have gained a lot of inspiration from him. Minimalism is the main theme of Steve Reich’s artworks, but there is more of it. Honestly speaking, if I were to define minimalism, I would say that Eliane Radigue’s masterpieces are definitely minimalism. 

    However, Reich’s a little bit different. In Reich’s minimalism, I can always find some static beats, sequences, and their variations. On the other hand, I would also get something else when listening to the whole piece. It is a sense of numerousness. When I listen to Radigue’s pieces, I hear the simplicity, get the idea of the simplicity, and enjoy the simplicity. When I listen to Reich’s piece, however, I hear the well-controlled and managed simplicity, get the idea of the minimalism, and enjoy the feeling of the numerousness. It is a strange feeling. 

    I found two videos of Reich’s works that can best describe this kind of feeling. The primary sequences and feelings in his performance rarely change. However, the frequency, amplitude, and filter constantly change. The overall delivery is well-rounded and gives the audience a feeling beyond minimalism. 

    The biggest connection from Reich to the overall course theme is composition. Since his primary components are largely unchanging, his choices and design for these unchanging sequences and beats are rather elaborate and well-controlled. Therefore, this results in the overall harmony of the music process.  

    I firstly wrote another impression Steve Reich gives me by his music, that the note-note details and the overall form are well integrated. In other words, the individual style from the single notes is consistent with the general style delivered by the music process. This is realized by perfect control over every aspect of the piece and as a result, a perfect harmony has been created. This even creates a state that wherever the music starts or ends, it sounds like a whole and harmonious. 

    This ideology will largely influence the design of the Max 8 patch. Max 8 provides many possibilities for music design, and it can easily adjust frequency, amplitude, and filtering effects. The design of the Max 8 patch is still at the initial stage and will be discussed in the following section. 

• Project Description

 

    The name of our project is The End of Eternity.

    Our theme for the final project revolves around the broad concept of time, specifically creating time manipulation through analog control of clock hands, interpreting the sound of time fluctuation, and exploring temporal loops of time. The physical presence of our project will be an 80 cm circular table that’s hacked to include our electronic installations for playing. We will be utilizing bought metal clock hands in the center as a basis to create the connection with the electrical installations that are throughout the piece. 

 

     

    These electronic installations include the frequency modulator, oscillator bus, conductive sniffer, etc. This will be created by buying a premade table that will be deconstructed by utilizing the fabrication lab’s woodworking material. There will be a hole drilled in the middle of the table in which our clock hands will be implanted. On the areas that display the numeral for time, we plan on engraving or painting the time with materials such as conductive paint. We will 3D model, 3D print and laser cut components that hold our electronic installations which will be drilled to the table to ensure a stable connection, in which the wires for such components will hopefully be underneath the table for clean performing with the instrument. As we will be utilizing multiple installations, the electric components will be bought from the electronics market and attached to created containers from 3d printing.

    This instrument will be played by manipulating the direction of the clock hand to connect with different electric installations in which sounds will be fused from various sound combinations. Moreover, Max8 will be utilized to convert some analog readings of the electric installations into fused beats as well as supersonic motion sounds. There may be potential sounds that are created from the distance of clock hands to one another which will be controlled by the two performers. As we will be utilizing both digital and analog modes of musical production, our composition may begin with the digital modes of time expression in which sounds will be distorted through our analog performance means of manipulating sound. From the initial distortion, we plan on creating our interpretation of time fluctuations through extreme movements of the time in which we enter our climax. After time reaches an extreme in terms of interpreted movement, we will slow down the pace of our piece gradually to fabricate the control of time. Afterward, the piece will incorporate slightly rapid movements to escalate the scene of time to a pendulum state where it will conclude with an infinite loop to portray the eternalness of time. Throughout this process of exerting control over time, we want the audience to experience our interpretation of manipulating time as flux. We want to create the impression that the end of eternity, of time, is a state of constant change in which the end is indeterminate.

• Production Schedule

• 04/20: Final Project Proposal Due            

• 04/21: Proposal Feedback / Discussion + Working out the general plan of the purchase of materials

• 04/22-04/29: Analog parts production and installation + Working out the basic sequences and background music needed in Max 8 (Including researching information and exploring Max 8 )

• 04/29: Update on Project

• 04/29-05/06: Working on the synthesis part, paying special attention to the Max 8 patch + analog instrument installation. In this stage, the fabrication process should be done or at least worked out a plan

• 05/06: Review + Work Day

• 05/06-05/13: Keep polishing the Max 8 patch and the analog installations + Completing any kind of leftovers from the last stage. In this stage, the Max 8 patch, and the analog instrument installations need to be done. 

• 05/13: Rehearsal and debugging (In Class) – Final Project Show (~21:00 @ Club Elevator)