The B Team makes an attempt

Today we began our experiments with some lofi hardware, simple contact mics, speakers, batteries, and some crocodile cables to connect it all. This class is focused on providing us with a basic understanding of how we would be able to create sound from analog materials in a workshop based environment. Below are some of the objects we recorded with an how we managed to do it. You may click on the header links to listen to the sounds we recorded from Freesound.org!

In Trondheim

For all the below in Trondheim, a jack cable was plugged to the speaker, and on the other end there was a contact mic connected to an alligator cable.

Bottle elastic band

  • Contact mic was attached to the plastic bottle with a piece of tape Simon kept the bottle with his knees, putting the elastic band on the top and pulling it
  • The elastic band was torn with a finger
  • Depending on how strong the elastic band was pulled, the sound changed
  • Additionally, the bottle was being crushed a bit with the legs which also produced interesting side sounds
  • The sound was recorded with pocket Roland recorded put in front of the speaker

Coin spin

  • The contact mic was attached to the bottom of the plastic bowl (the side which was touching the table)
  • The coin was spun at the bottom of the bowl
  • The sound was recorded with pocket Roland recorded put in front of the speaker

Tape unrolling

  • The contact mic was attached to the roll of duct tape
  • The tape was being unstuck rapidly
  • The sound was recorded with pocket Roland recorded put in front of the speaker
  • Problem: the mic wasn’t too stable on the roll because of its surface

Plastic box pressure

  • The contact mic was attached to the soft plastic box which was laying on the table
  • The surface of the box was being touched quickly with different pressure
  • The sound was recorded with pocket Roland recorded put in front of the speaker

Plucking an elastic band

  • The contact mic was attached to the roll of duct tape
  • An elastic band was put around the roll of duct tape
  • The elastic band was torn with a finger
  • Depending on how strong the elastic band was pulled, the sound changed
  • The sound was recorded with pocket Roland recorded put in front of the speaker
  • Problem: the mic wasn’t too stable on the roll because of its surface

In Oslo

In Oslo, we did not have the amplifiers to really pull out delicate sounds from the contact mic so we had to be a bit more abrasive.

Completing a circuit with a knife

  • We passed a 9V battery through a metal knife and then connected the other end to a speaker
  • We then completed the circuit by running one alligator end along a metal knife
  • The frequent contacts that happened as the rough metal end of the alligator clip rubbed against the knife handle made for a rough, scratchy and distorted sound

Rubbing against fabric

  • A contact mic amped through a 9V battery and rubbed against a sweater, jeans, and the seat of a chair
  • Because we weren’t able to amp the mic up enough for more delicate sounds in response to subtle vibrations, we had to be a bit more abrasive with the mic

And after a long day of technical complications…

Towards the end of class we attempted a performance but gravely misunderstood the aim of these recordings, so we weren’t in a position to perform with our sounds with the sampler we created using Pure Data. The embedded sounds were then uploaded to Freesound, a wonderful site that allows anyone to upload their recordings license free. However, there is much to learn and even with these few tools it is obvious that so much is possible with creative applications.