Resonances can occur both naturally and artificially. For this project, I initially explored the materials commonly found in a church and thought about what sonic features they may produce.
Architectural resonances:
Places I have found sound to resonate include but are not limited to; bathrooms, underpasses, stairwells (specifically the one at the back of the sound arts department), and Churches. The resonances of churches have become fascinating to me, I have been considering the features of a Church that create this. Typically, Churches are tall long buildings with wooden floors, stone walls, and many glass windows. The features of stone are key to the resonances associated with churches, allowing for long reverberation to occur. When sitting in a church, it feels like the sound is being carried to the top of the room, potentially due to the often pointed roofs. The effects of this may leave one feeling as though they are connecting with a higher power. “In certain religious spaces, they can produce a reverberation that conveys a sense of awe and reverence. As with all sensory aspects of architecture, cultural values and social functions determine the experimental consequences of spatial attributes.”
– spaces speak: are you listening?
Artificial resonances in Ableton:
-Corpus
-Hybrid reverb
-Resonators
-Spectral resonators
Resonators in a DAW allow us to imitate both realistic resonances of spaces and materials and create sounds that are very unrealistic which would not be possible to create naturally. I find the hybrid reverb a useful tool when creating artificial resonances as you can choose the material and type of space you wish to create. Corpus is a good way to imitate specific material resonances, I used midi-mapping with corpus to modulate the radius and decay live but unfortunately did not record the outcome.
Material resonances:
In addition to considering resonances within space, I have been exploring resonances of certain materials such as metal. I found a metal dish in my house and started playing it as an instrument by using other metal (including spoons, metal pen lids, and rings) to hit it. The way it resonated, likely due to its shape and material, was very beautiful.
audio recording of metal dish – processed with eco and hybrid reverb: