Reading response to Ros Bandt

Ros Bandt’s writing on sound installations provides valuable insight to the world of sound as an art.  Particularly, the strongest arguments were centered on the temporal and technological aspects of sound.  Firstly, sound is finite.  Unlike a painting which hangs in a museum or a video that might be uploaded to youtube, a sound can only exist in a brief moment of space and time.  Recording that sound changes it and so does playing it back.  Therefore, sound installations are experienced in the moment that they live.  Bandt makes an excellent point by saying that these sound installations invite multiple visits because they do indeed change over time.  Have you ever been to a banquet hall on the night of a wedding and then again on the next day when it is completely cleaned out and empty?  Or at a park when a concert is going on and again a week later when it seems like nature is the dominant force?  These experiences of soundscapes relate directly to the way that sound installations change over time.  The writer also acknowledges the profound impact that technology has had on sound as an art.  Indeed, many contemporary sound installations would not be possible 50 years ago.  I am excited to see how the exponential growth of technology affects the use of sound as a creative outlet. 

The image here is a picture of an anechoic chamber.  These rooms are famous for being the quietest places on earth.  These rooms are so quiet that the only sounds heard are those created by the person in the room.  From the noise of breathing to the blood rushing in your ears to the faint hum of electric currents running throughout your brain, it is no wonder that some people hallucinate when enclosed in an anechoic chamber.   The reason I chose this image is clear to those who understand why this relates to a sound installation.  While an artist might try to get their audience to experience sound in a new way, the anechoic chamber succeeds in forcing those who enter into a world distinctly devoid of sound. 

The piece of music I chose is called Ratman the Weight Watcher.  Since my piece had lyrics, I felt it was important to include them in the notation. The instruments are represented with drawings to represent what kind of sound they should produce alongside various feelings implying the pitch and duration of each note.