WPI Stomp

Here's a simple description of my project: File:AustinScott ProjectDescription.avi

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My final project for digital sound will encompass the processing of many recorded sounds into a "Stomp"-like piece. The goal for my project is to create an aurally appealing song using nothing but natural sounds found around campus and the audio processing tools used in Ableton. I will start off by taking a video recording of me creating sounds. Then, I will extract the audio from the videos using an online converter and import it into Audacity for easy editing. From there, I will export very small samples of the sound and import it into Ableton where I will assign each sample to a midi pitch value, essentially creating my own new midi instrument. However, there is still a need for melody, so I will take the sample of the beep created by an ID card when opening a door and transpose it in Audacity multiple times to create multiple different pitched sounds. These sounds are not tuned, however they are in tune relatively, so the ear doesn't care. These will then be brought into Audacity much like the other sounds and a second instrument will be created. Then, I can easily work with them in Ableton to create a piece "from scratch." So far during class, we have covered audio effects and midi processing which will both be encompassed by my project. In order to make the audio sound different and not like somebody just hitting things, it's necessary to add audio effects such as reverb, distortion, equilization and compression. I also added a phaser to further alter the sound. Each sample too was individually "messed with" in order to fix the sound up to sound the best it can. Also, in class we covered automation which is used quite a bit throughout the piece. This allows me to change the amount of different effects/level of volume of certain parts depending on where you are in the piece. In class, we didn't talk about Audacity at all and my expiriences are rather limitied with the creation of instruments in Ableton. By doing this project, I will become more adept at the fundementals of Ableton because I am basically creating sounds from scratch and not using predetermined midi instruments. The project will not be interactive or include any music programming. However, I plan to download many of the Eamir applets in order to further understand how that area of digital sound works. In addidtion, I have bought Ableton for personal use and I plan to use much of the interactive portion (as well as the recording part) in conjunction with my rock band back home. So, after creating the sound for this project, I will add the video clips of me hitting things on top of the sound and my final project will be delivered via a video. This project encompasses most of what I've learned this year and I hope that people enjoy hearing/watching my work.