Meeting with TH and a First Composition

Sounding Wall

1. Stand in front of a wall in the room you are in, facing the wall.
2. Hold a sand dollar in one hand.
3. Beginning at an intersection of the floor and the wall within reach of where you are standing (if there is molding between the floor and the wall, begin at the intersection of the wall and the molding), trace any scratches, cracks, or dents in the wall with the sand dollar. Begin by tracing the marks nearest your start point and proceed up the wall, tracing all the marks that are within reach (without moving your feet). Stop when you have traced the highest mark you can reach.
4. Start by moving the sand dollar at any speed along the wall, and try to move the sand dollar slower and slower until it stops. When the sand dollar stops, wait for the duration of a cycle of breath, and begin again by moving the sand dollar at any speed.

Today TH and I talked about the sound I've made this week. Generally I've been making quiet and subtle sounds. We talked about that, and about using close mics or contact microphones to amplify the sounds. TH mentioned that I should consider, when working on my weekly pieces, the possibility of writing for the instrumentalists in the program. I could write for shakuhachi for TH, accordian or conch for PO, percussion for MT, or even the metal cello for SW. TH performed Sounding Wall, but selected an object of her own to replace the sand dollar.

Afterwards TH mentioned about the possibility of building a wall with contact microphones embedded within it, and setting up a table with objects so that people could explore the wall in an installation setting. We also talked about using fabric, plexiglass, flooring, or other surfaces instead of a wall. TH imagined the wall up against the actual wall of the gallery. I, however, imagined it portruding into the room, so that both sides were visible and playable.

If this continues to sound like a good idea, I'm going to make a small (say 2' by 1') test wall some time next week. Meanwhile, I'm going to keep continue my fifteen minute sound-making exercises.