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PopularMusic (2010) Volume 29/2.Copyright Cambridge UniversityPress 2010, pp. 199-211
doi:10.1017/S0261143010000036
Shapingsounds,shapingspaces
LELIO CAMILLERI
Conservatory ofMusic G.B. Martini Piazza Rossini2, 40126 Bologna,Italy
it
E-mail: lc@leliocamilleri.
Abstract
The recorded formatis themediumthroughwhichpopularmusicis diffused. Since theadventof
multi-track thestudiohas becomea compositional
recording, toolin whichmusicalideas areformed
intosoundingmatter.Directaccessto themanipulation ofsoundlayersand thepossibility ofmixing
differentsourcesand movingthemin thestereowindowbecomenotonlytechnicaloptionsbutmusi-
cal and compositionalproperties.In fact,theorganizationof therecording space reflects moreand
morethestructural organizationof the music the
itself; sound of the record is a sort of sonicprint
(soundingfingerprint) of the music of an artistin a particularperiod. This paper developsthe
idea ofsonicspace,a multi-dimensional representation oftherecording space in whichspatial,mor-
and
phological spectralspaces interactin ordertoform thestructureon which thesoundingmatterof
thepieceis developed.Throughtheanalysisoftheproperties ofeach space and theirrelationships, it
is possibletopointoutnormative behaviours,welldefinedassociationsbetweenmoremusicalaspects
likemotives,harmony,melodiesand theirorganizationin thesoundingstructure.
Introduction
The development oftoolsforrecording and playbackhas had an enormousimpact
on musicallanguage.The birthof musiqueconcrete in thehandsofPierreSchaeffer
indicateda possiblepath to be followedby all subsequentmusicswhichuse the
recordedformat as a mediumto developmusicalideas. The vinylrecord,and sub-
sequently the CD, becamenotonlya meansto documentthecreativeskillofa com-
poser/group/songwriter but a workin itsown right.It is likea painting,a unique
not a
object, replicable, fixingof a musicalproduct(Chion1991),definitional of a
period in thehistory of thatgroup/songwriter/composer.
Thus1948,theyearin whichSchaeffer composedand diffused theConcert de
Bruitsat FrenchRadio, marksa majorturningpointin the historyof musical
language;priortothis,musicwas onlytransmitted intwoways,byoralorbywritten
tradition.Consequently, the scoreand oral memoryare prescriptions thatrequire
interpretation;
they do not representthe 'sonicmatter'ofthe piece.The sonicmatter
of thepiece takesformonlyin theperformance. Priorto the development of the
documentation by recording media, this happenedonlyephemerally. The Concert
de Bruitsby PierreSchaeffer consistedoffivestudies,'Cinq Etudesde Bruits',each
one focusingon certainkindsof sound materialproducedby non-musical instru-
ments,or by musicalinstruments used in unconventional ways. Traditionally,a
piece was conceived with instruments
particular in mind and, whether conveyed
orallyor by writing, theinstructionswhichdefineit have to conform to thelimits,
albeitsometimes stretched, ofthoseinstrument/s whosetaskwas to givelifeto the
199
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200 helioCamilleri
The recordedspace
by loudspeakershidesits sound sources.As Schaeffer
Music diffused (1966) said,
borrowinga termfrom writerJerome Peignot,it is acousmatic
(Bayle1993).Music
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sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 201
BACKGROUND
FOREGROUND
MONO
STEREO
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202 helioCamilleri
localised
space;
spectral
space;
morphological
space.
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sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 203
Figure2. Thethreespacetypes.
Figure3. Thesonogram
ofthefirst10 secondsofKingCrimson'sGreatDeceiver.
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204 helioCamilleri
aw-wr
<ri-59"r-i'39* I'durLrcrr 2'33wj-3'i5" fsr-fsr A'sr-yw
3?iv-3ary39-4'tr
p.
Close Far
4. Thethree
Figure ofLadiesoftheRoadplaced
verses tothespatial
according axisclose-far.
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sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 205
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206 helioCamilleri
I of adjacent
> occupation bands
spectral KingCrimson
TheGreatDeceiver
SATURATED SPACE morphological
redundancy L J
^ - soundsinforeground
highdensity
constant
andwelldefined
spectral
space f Matching
Mole 1
OhCaroline
TIDY SPACE modesl
p. simplemorphological L_ J
welldefined
localization
ofsoundsources
evolving
spectral
space FrankZappa
Harryyou're
CHANGING SPACE ^ morphological
changes a beast
localizedspacemovements
welldefined
spectral
space
* indifferent
spacearticulated
spectral bands
I
occupation
ofnonadjacent bands
spectral RobertWyatt |
|
Sea Song
EMPTY SPACE fewmorphological
models L J
^ welldefined
localization
ofsoundevents
Figure5. Sonicspacesettings.
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sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 207
ofspace,especiallythelocalisation
The configuration parameter, in
is verydifferent
thesequenceswithtransformed sounds.Here,sound sourcesare movedbetween
stereowindowsin orderto supporttheirmorphological properties, an exampleof
interaction
betweenmorphological and spectralspace (see Figure6). The sequences
soundhave a moreprecise,tidierorganisation
usinginstrumental ofthespace.This
kindof sonicspace settingcan be found,in a moreextendedmanner,in Zappa's
Lumpy Gravy.
0" 1'22"
Instrumental
i
sound material Transformed
i
sound material
Figure6. Thechanging
spacein thearticulation ofInventions'
ofZappa/Mothers piece.
A piecefromthesameyear,'LovelyRita'fromtheBeatles'Sgt.Pepper(Martin
1994)is an appropriate exampleofa tidy,or orderly,
spacesetting. 'LovelyRita'is a
straightforward song about a metermaid,markedby Paul McCartney'svoice,a
honky-tonk piano solo (01:12"-01:23"),
and somestrangesoundsobtainedby hum-
mingthroughcomband tissuepaper.The vocal partis highlighted in theoverall
sonicstructure of thesong,particularly withrespectto a normative stereospatial
subdivision,wherea re-presenting ofthelivepositionoftheplayers(as used in pre-
viousalbums,e.g. Help!)is ofinterest(Figure7).
The localisedspace of 'LovelyRita' dividesthe typeof sounds/instruments
withinthe stereowindowswitha verypreciseand tidyseparationbetweenthe
voiceand remaining instruments.The organisation
of thesound space in termsof
thelocalisationof the sound sourcesand theirspectralcontentis exemplified by
Figure8. The arrowindicatessound shadowsforthebass and the sound effects,
whileforthe piano it shows thatthe honky-tonk-style solo is locatedin the left
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208 helioCamilleri
DRUIMS
BASS | GUITARS
VOI^E/S
Figure7. Normalstereodisposition
oftheinstruments
in theBeatles'Help.
! VOCAL EFFECTS
DRUMS ! AND CHOIR
BASS
1
GUITARS |
1- SOUND EFFECTS
VOICE(S)
! LEAD VOICE
PIANO >
1
ofLovelyRita.
Figure8. Thestereowindowsetting
SPACE BEHAVIOURS
Stable/Instable
Separate/Mixed
In focus/Outof focus
Natural/Musical(Artificial)
Figure9. Couplesofsonicspacebehaviours.
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Shapingsounds,shapingspaces 209
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210 helioCamilleri
INTRO - 1st MOTIV - INTRO - 2nd MOTIV - INTRO - SOLO - 1st MOTIV - INTRO
10. 77zeoverall
Fzgwre ofRiverfry
form Gfanf.
Genf/e
Conclusion
Thesonicmatter ofa recording is oneofitsmostimportant features. Akintothevery
materialityofa sculpture or a painting, itbringsabouta sensoryresponsein thelis-
tenerconnecting all thetraditional musicalparameters to itsoverallsonicstructure,
organisedin sonicspace.Theacid,saturated and distortedsoundofKingCrimson's
Lark'sTonguesin Aspicalbumis a sonicprint whichcharacterised thewholealbum.
Withregardto thisnotion,thesonicprint, we can speak of a globalsonicprint,one
whichrepresents a persistentoverallsonicimagein a pieceor a collection ofpieces,
an album.Thereare,however,localsonicprints, whichare particular sounds,of an
instrument or anothersound source,whichcharacterise thatrecording. The snare
drumsound,dry,resonantand metallic,of drummer Bill Brufordin Yes's Fragile
is a primeexample.The recording studio,moreover, has becomea compositional
tool in whichsounds can be organisedand structured in the sonic space of the
recordedformat.Thereare manyexamplesof thisapproach.A moretraditional
one is Yes's Closeto theEdge,wherethe piece has been composedand recorded
sequenceby sequence,obligingYes to learnto play it as the coverbands do. A
moreexperimental approachis fromthe second side of the HenryCow album
Unrest.The band performed veryroughimprovisations in the studio,recording
themin different ways, using panoramic or directional
microphones. The material
produced in these improvisations was cut,
spliced, transformed and thenorganised
as thesonicspaceofthepiece,in a similarwayto whatan electroacoustic composer
does withotherkindsofsounds.
The possibility of operatingin thismanneropens access forthe composer/
to the
group/songwriter totality ofa soundworld.Anysoundcanbe used including,
obviously, non-conventional sounds orsoundsfromeveryday life,whichcan clearly
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sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 211
References
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Propositions
Camilleri,L. 2005. Il Peso del Suono(Milan,Apoeeo)
Chion,M. 1991. L'Artdes SonsFixsou la MusiqueConcrtement (Fontaine,EditionsMetamkine)
Doyle, P. 2005. Echo and Reverb:Fabricating Space in PopularMusic Recording, 1900-1960 (Middletown,
WesleyanUniversity Press)
Delalande, F. 1998. 'Music analysisand receptionbehaviours:Sommeilby PierreHenry7, 27/1-2
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Goodman,N. 1976. LanguagesofArt:An Approachto a TheoryofSymbols(New York,Hackett)
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Martin,G. 1994. SummerofLove:TheMakingofSgt.Pepper(London,Macmillan)
Moore,A. 1992. Rock:thePrimaryText(Buckingham, Open University Press)
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University
Discography
The Beach Boys,PetSounds.Capital.1967
The Beatles,Sgt.Pepper'sLonelyHeartsClubBand.Parlophone.1967
The Beatles,TheBeatles.Parlophone.1968
Caravan,Caravan.Verve.1969
GentleGiant,ThreeFriends.Columbia.1971
GentleGiant,Octopus.Vertigo.1972
HenryCow, Legend.East Side Digital.1973
HenryCow, Legend.RerMegacorp.1973
HenryCow, Unrest.RerMegacorp.1974
KingCrimson,Lizard.EG. 1970
King Crimson,Islands.Virgin.1971
King Lnmson,Larks Longuesin Aspic.hG. 1973
PinkFloyd,AtomHeartMother.EMI. 1970
PinkFloyd,DarkSide oftheMoon. EMI. 1973
SoftMachine,Third.Columbia.1970
Yes, Fragile.Elektra.1970
Yes, Closeto theEdge.Elektra.1971
Zappa, F. and the Mothersof Invention,We Are in it OnlyfortheMoney.Rykodisc.1967
Zappa, F., LumpyGravy.Rykodisc.1967
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