Ok, Let's Go With It!

With the semester over and a few small projects winding down, I wanted to give a sneak preview of some of the audio that's been taking time away from other leisurely activities (my hardcore hiphop album, for instance).

(photo by Patti Sullivan-Howd)

In the Audio File of the A/V media box, you'll find two new additions:

1) Ok, Let's Go With It and

2) My SFX Demo

The SFX Demo reel is a collection of the sounds I've created for use in the upcoming small game projects with Team Komano. Some are library sounds since I'm not yet committed to breaking things in my apartment - something or another in the lease frowns upon glass being caught in the shag of the carpet. However, the majority are original and created using traditional sound design techniques - a combination of using the EMU PK-6 and library sounds with lots of editing (pitch shifts, EQ, layering, reverb, etc.).

Ok, Let's Go With It is, in part, my project from class. I say in apart because the total project will be six minutes while what you hear concludes just after four. We'll be editing the track next semester. Ok, caveat aside, here's the deal.

All timbres you hear were created with a Kurzweil K2000 using Unisyn, a middleware software program that bypasses hard programming on the synth. In short, it's easier than using the buttons on the hardware. A MIDI mock up was created in PTLE 7.4 and transported into Digital Performer. The majority of editing was completed in this program.

The title comes from the challenge set forth by Scott Wyatt, the director the EMS here at UIUC. Instead of dropping the class with what I felt was an overwhelming amount of work at the time, he charged me to work quickly in both decision making and execution. This was his attempt to get me to think more intuitively and relieve my concern will an emphasis on formal planning. An experiment well-received. Here is a brief outline of what to expect:

Section A 0:00 – 1:30


Single-pitch repetition is used to make salient other musical features: persistent tempo shifts, pitch bend, percussive attacks via velocity contouring; an overall sense of expansion/contraction is to be developed here and used throughout the work.

Section B1 1:30 – 2:20

Retention of pitch repetition and pitch bend but accompanied by consistent tempo, introduction of new pitch material and a “passing off” of material to other voices. More subtle velocity contouring for emphasis on pitch deviance and a greater focus on orchestration of single lines. B1 ends with sustained pitch growing out from pitch descent.

Section B2 2:20 – 3:20

Material from previous section develops through layers and expansion of the pitch space. Final gesture in B1 is a model for growth of timbrally-layered gestures. Reintroduction of tempo fluctuation will aid in focusing on ebb and flow of gestures into section C

Section C 3:20 – 4:05

Texture thins out to make way for an introductory section focused almost entirely on pitch bend with reincorporation of pitch repetition. Leads into section similar to A with more emphasis on softer attacks and subtle pitch bend.

Comments are always welcome and I'd love to know what you think. Thanks for listening!