Music

During a talk with my tutors a couple of weeks ago over the video content I will be using for my project, and the way I envision my installation being set out, we began discussing the idea of implementing audio. Now this is something that I didn't overlook or not consider doing, it was just an aspect of my project that I thought I wouldn't have the time to complete.
With all the different areas of what I had set out to create in the short period of time I have been given, I thought it was nearly impossible to start considering composing sound to implement into my exhibition space. However I have surprised myself in completing both the physical structure and the visual displays way before the due date of my presentation of my work.
So over the past 2 weeks I have been working closely with a friend of mine called Alex Wiseman who is currently studying Music Engineering. He agreed to spare some time to help me create a piece of music that I could then additionally fill the exhibition room with.
I wanted to stray away from there being any sound related to the visuals that would be projected onto the wall. I wanted to create something that was more abstract and ambient, potentially creating different moods and atmospheres within the room that could then influence the users perception of the narrative they are seeing being displayed on the walls.
The objective I see for the music is to reflect the eeriness and overwhelming nature of the sculptural part of the installation. I wanted it to encompass the feelings people may have towards the space when they first enter it, not knowing entirely what the concept is behind it. I wanted it to be dark and moody, however have the tendency to morph into something else over a period of time.
It had to be something that was subtle and not too over powering! I didn't want the music to become such a huge part of the project. I merely want it to emphasise the nature of the room/sculpture, and at the same time have the potential to morph peoples ideas of the narrative.
Here is the first draft that was constructed from the ideas I had visualised in my mind. We posted everything on Alex's Soundcloud account and used the music software Logic to create the music.



With the draft complete I could see the purpose of the music becoming clearer and just how much impact it would have. I think without the sense of audio my project would have been lacking that essence that it needed to become a complete and final piece of work.
We came to an understanding that the music needed to be longer, needed some change of direction in various parts in order for user perceptions to be influenced, and also for more layers to be mounted onto the composition to create a much more masterful piece of music.
It was all heading in the creative direction that I intended for the audio to go. Alex surprised me in parts of this process with his input because I am not the best person at explaining myself at times, especially when it comes to what it is I exactly what I want to create. Yet he seemed to grasp what I intended for the music to do, and began throwing ideas into the mix sending the music in a direction that I really hadn't have fathomed. It was becoming everything I wanted and more!
We made the rhythm section of the composition a beat that reflects the state of a constant heart beat. This was to tie into the human nature of the sculpture and the life source of a person. Also it has relevance to the organ that I used to act as the holster for the trigger of the Arduino circuit board.
I attempted to have the LED that is encased in the organ cast flash to the same beat that is in the music, that way there is a lot more continuity and flow between all the elements of this project. Unfortunately to get the beat precise it meant that there had to be so many delays put in place within the code of the Arduino. This caused an interference with the way in which Arudino and Isadora work together, resulting in the videos not working properly.
In the end I settled just for a double flash with the LED light, attempting to make it a close representative of an actual heartbeat as possible.
The end result that we came up with is featured below. Having worked hard for days on this audio it makes me more excited than ever about structuring my exhibition together. I have a whole new element that feels like the missing piece to a jigsaw. It completes the project and creates a perfect link between telling the stories of the memories and emphasising the character of the tree. 



I think it will work well in my exhibition space, creating ambiance and furthering the interaction between the tree and the user.
The music would constantly loop when it is playing in my installation. When it comes closer to the day of my exhibition or just when I have some free time I will edit the beginning/ending of this music on Audacity so that when it loops it will flow perfectly, giving the users no indication of the music stopping.
The gradual change in tempo throughout the duration of the music is intended to work with the randomness of the visuals when they are triggered and also the timing of when people come into contact with the tree.
People are obviously going to be coming in and out of my installation and interacting with the tree at various times. Therefore the music is always going to be at a different stage of playing, meaning the tempo is always going to be different when people begin to engage.
This change in tempo is there to have an influence on the way people are perceiving the memories that they are seeing.
The fact that all the clips have been cut up into 1 second snippets, Isadora plays 7 of them randomly when the light sensor is triggered and now there is constantly progressive music that rises and decreases over a period of time, this should all act as a tool for manipulating the story.
All these elements work together with the purpose of trying to get the user to partake more with the interaction of this installation. Bringing them back for another go to try and piece together some kind of understand of the story behind the project or better yet the story that they have created in their minds.