archeoacoustics

resonant frequencies and silence: how do formal sound elements exist in a social dimension, how have they been effected by the notion of a global sound. sound existed at the origins of the universe – the big bang. the big bang was completely silent as all particles were moving away from each other at a rapid speed. the only way we hear sound is through friction, which creates a wave which is what we hear in our ears.

history: how does sound influence our understanding of history? Richard Cullen Rath is a historian and author of ‘How Early America Sounded’

archeoacoustics: the study of sound at archaeological sites and how it influences our understanding of the past, by studying the sonic frequencies at these sites. e.g. if you clap your hands at the base of the steps of the pyramids in Yucatan Mexica you will hear the sound of a bird. Form the very beginning of history people have been creating and engineering sound.

tuning: at the start of an orchestral piece, the orchestra tune and come together as a collective and place themselves in space. tuning does not just set the harmony it orientates oneself in space. to be in tune means to be a decided/valued pitch or creating the same level of pitch but every object in the world has a resident frequency and pitch. Alvin Lucier’s piece ‘i am sitting in a room’ was inspired by listening to someone test speakers where a voice says i am sitting in a room, this is recorded and played back, the recording is recorded and played back on repeat until the voice is removed from the voice that made it.

silence: John Cage’s ’empty words’ where he took the words from thoureaux’ journals and took out all the silences and redistributed them. sounds like they have no meaning, the audience get restless and start shouting. this becomes a 2 hour recording piece – a happening, of a mounting riot.