by Michael Pounds
I have been working on a composition, tentatively entitled The Truth of Suffering, that makes use of processed spoken voice and analog synthesis. The intention of the piece is to illustrate a psychological "drama" in which an individual, initially in a sate of dualistic conflict with the world, undergoes a change that eventually brings the individual to a state of serenity and acceptance. The structural plan for the piece involves three sections: conflict, despair/enlightenment, and serenity/acceptance.
At the conception of this piece, I was interested in the possibility of processing the voice using the analog synthesis equipment. I was intrigued by the relationship between the humanity of the voice and the technology of the synthesizer. The possibility of blurring the distinction between humanity and technology was initially fascinating, but concern about avoiding the cliche "robot-voices" of old science-fiction movies inspired me to extend my concept to the relationship between humanity and the world. This allows for a much wider range of vocal processing possibilities, and my interest in Zen philosophy suggests a blurring of the distinction between the individual and the world (but without all of the ring modulation).
The idea of processing spoken voice raises a number of questions about text selection and treatment. How does the text relate to the concept of the composition? How does the text relate to the vocal processing techniques? In the final result, will the text be intelligible to the listener? If the text is rendered unintelligible, how does one justify that rendering in relation to the text? The act of creating unintelligibility from an originally intelligible text is itself a statement of some meaning.
All of these questions were of concern to me as I selected the text. In creating my psychological drama, I found answers to all of the above questions. For my text, I chose selections from Buddhist literature. I have decided to present the text of the first section of the piece (a description of the "truth of suffering") using processing that would increase the tension of the individual's dualistic conflict, while maintaining the intelligibility of the words so the listener can grasp their full significance.
Since the listener will have already heard and understood these words, I am now able to distort the words more freely in the second and third sections to help illustrate the drama. In the second section I will use a more processed and manipulated treatment of the words from the first section to depict the despair and the process of psychological change. I will also introduce new, intelligible text (more selected Zen readings) that will help motivate the change and bring about the eventual enlightenment ad acceptance. In the third section of the piece I intend to use the text from the first section again, this time processing the voice in such a way that it will blend and merge with the accompanying texture of synthesized sounds, thus illustrating a more accepting, non-dualistic view of the world.
Another important issue in creating a composition of this kind is choosing the reader of the text. I have decided to try to enlist the help of students from the theater department, since they are trained for and accustomed to using their voices dramatically. Making the proper contacts and arranging recording sessions will take some time, so in the meantime I am using my own voice for the purpose of creating sketches. When I have all of the final spoken source material recorded, I will create the final version, incorporating everything I have learned from the sketches.
One thing I have learned through all of my experiments in Studio A is that processing the voice poses special problems. Because the sound of the voice is so familiar to our ears, I think people are much more sensitive to and critical of the final processed sounds. Also, because so many composers have used many of the now-standard processing techniques over the years, most of these techniques have become cliches. It is especially challenging to conceive of ways of treating the voice that sound new and interesting.
Some of the techniques I have chosen to avoid include: complex frequency modulation, amplitude modulation, and ring modulation; standard phasing, flanging and chorusing techniques; and traditional tape manipulation techniques. Some of the techniques I have found more interesting include: some of the pitch/time-shifting, low-frequency pitch modulation, and spatial manipulation available in HyperPrism; extreme filtering and equalization techniques, either using the computer or the analog equipment; and some ways of elementary amplitude modulation using the Buchla. One interesting technique I have experimented with involves using the Buchla comb filters to split the voice signal into very different frequency bands, putting each different band into a separate envelope detector, and using the resulting control voltages to amplitude modulate different synthesized sounds (or maybe different partials of a complex sound). Another technique that I have found amusing involves assigning different frequency bands to different channels on the mixing console, and then sending the signals to various audio delays. Once this is set up, the faders can be "played" like a keyboard; moving the faders up and down individually creates an interesting texture with continuously shifting delays and frequency content.
One of my on-going concerns in electro-acoustic music is the relationship between the various sounds that I choose to put together in the same composition. I am especially interested in the similarities and differences among the timbres that I use. For his composition, I have attempted to create sounds using the Buchla synthesizer that have some relationship to the voice. One way I tried to achieve this is by creating simulated vocal formants using the Buchla comb filters. By running my sounds through these filters, I was able to give them a vocal quality that blends with (or at least does not sound completely out of place with) the voice. I also created sounds that were inspired by different vocal utterances (human or animal). Some of these work better than others, and I intend to explore these sounds further as I work on the piece.
Currently I have completed a sketch of the first section using my own voice. Since my pre-compositional plans are fairly well-developed, I hope to sketch out the rest of the piece quickly, record the final voice parts, and proceed with the final version during the spring semester. Of course, all of this is subject to change. I am sure I will learn much and refine my ideas further as I progress.