RESEARCH
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Preserve and enhance the sound properties of historic and cultural places: Architectural spaces as an extension of sound.
PhD - University of Greenwich - London - On going
Abstract:
Sound and architectural spaces are two elements that are so closely linked that they affect each other. The timbral properties of sound are influenced by the space in which the sound is reproduced. On the other hand, the way we perceive and experience an architectural space changes radically depending on the sounds that we hear within it. Moreover, each architecture has specific acoustic characteristics that make it unique.
According to UNESCO, sounds are a part of our cultural heritage and deserve to be studied, even as “intangible cultural heritage”. Sounds stand for practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognise as parts of their cultural heritage.
The research aims to create a sonic map of architectures of historical and cultural interest to preserve and enhance their sonic properties. The two main goals of the research are to preserve and catalog the acoustic properties of the architectural spaces through the creation of an archive of Impulse Responses, and enhance and use the acoustic properties of the architectural spaces writing site-specific musical compositions, installations, and Audio-visual works. Space thus becomes an extension of sound, capable of modifying and defining its timbral qualities.
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Developing an electromagnetic system to create infinite sustain from strings instruments combining solenoids with MAX/Msp
Mmus Electronic Music Composition - University of West London - London - 2018/2019
Abstract:
This essay aims to explain how, the practical and compositional research that led to the development of my electromagnetic systems and, consequently, to the production of an album of electroacoustic music, was addressed. I am going to analyse the fundamental steps that led me in seeking an answer to the research question “How can I create a system that puts strings into vibration without them being touched?”. To answer this question, I am going to analyse the various systems that have tried to address the same question from a musical and technical point of view, addressing their compositional and philosophical implications derive from them. Furthermore, I am going to explain the two systems I developed through the use of surface transducers and electromagnetic solenoids. These systems allow the creation of unusual environments and reverberations, in the case of transducers, and textures with synthetic and electronic sounds, in the case of solenoids. Finally, the analysis of the tracks I composed will allow us to better understand what was the creative use and what are some of the sonic possibilities that systems like these allow.