Listening
Setting aside the recordings for a couple of months and focusing on other projects allowed our immediate reactions to the sounds to settle. We intentionally stepped away from the project to revisit it with fresh ears. Even though our recording process incorporated live feedback and dialogue, we were still divided between our roles as performer and composer. In the next phase, we wanted to establish a common listening practice in which we approached the recordings using the same interface: a computer, and speakers.
One particularly satisfying alto flute excerpt, recorded using a microphone preparation we’ll discuss later.
We found it very useful to discuss the recordings while looking at a spectrogram, generated using iZotope RX 10. Here’s the same sample again, now with a spectrogram.
Coming at listening from different perspectives (Alexander as a flutist, Theocharis as a composer), our goal at this stage of listening to start developing a shared listening and analysis method. We wanted to better understand the techniques involved here, and their potential musical possibilities. Using the spectrogram as a visual aid, we divided the sample into several distinct layers.
We found that the footjoint microphone was particularly effective at capturing certain subtle sounds, with certain spectral elements only audible when using this microphone. As discussed earlier, often the the internal microphone revealed an altered harmonic world.
Box 1 is the fundamental. Box 2 are two short higher partials. Box 3 are melodic whistle tones. Box 4 highlights a moment of air noise. Box 5 is a sustained whistle tone.
Flute samples recorded from two perspectives: externally, and with a footjoint microphone installed into a rubber stopper (more on this technique later).
The signal strength and tonal quality picked up by the footjoint microphone was affected by which keys were being vented or pressed. There were situations where more traditional (external) microphone placement was more preferable, since it provided a more consistent sound independently of what the fingers were doing. With the internal microphone, there is a sensation of distance increasing or decreasing as the pipe is vented in different ways. . Here are a few more samples where this effect is apparent, especially when compared with the external microphone:
Over the course of a few weeks, we selected samples that we found particularly interesting and divided them into categories based on the type of flute, the technique being used, and the texture of the sound. Each sample contained multiple perspectives, and the process of reviewing and categorizing the samples involved uncovering new insights and angles on the materials.
By finding moments that one or both of us were drawn to, we developed a shared approach to listening to the flute. We learned about each other’s musical perception, where we saw musical opportunities. The more we listened, the more we began imagining the choreography of the sounds. We wondered about whether or not these gestures had inherent movement or directionality.