Concentration(s):
- Music
- Computer Science
Music Award(s):
- Muriel Hassenfeld Mann Premium – 2021
Music Capstone Project:
- An Analog Spring: Early Explorations and Travels Through a Continuous Field
For my capstone I created a small EP with 3 recordings. The first two recordings are my midterm and final pieces for MUSC1240N. The last one I created independent of class assignments. For my midterm recording, I was working on the Verbos and interested in exploring relationships between the different modules. On a physical synth the number of modules is more finite. In order to maximize the modules on the synth my goal was to create many interconnected and dependent components. I was also interested in learning about the signal flow on a physical synth versus a digital emulation. Specifically, I explored how signals on the Verbos mults flowed downward and how the low pass and high pass filter had a unidirectional signal connection. For my final recording, I wanted to make something very different from my usual noisy timbres. I also wanted to take advantage of the exact frequencies available on the VCV Rack to create close to C major pitches. In addition, I wanted my final piece to have more of a narrative to the listener. I tried to create sounds that could at one moment be very peaceful and consonant and at another moment sound eerie and dissonant. My goal was to create an unsettling and perplexing atmosphere for a listener. For my third recording, I wanted to do a deeper exploration of analog noise. I’ve always really liked noise modules on the real synths and on VCV Rack. I usually use it as a kind of spectral filler so that I can fade out other levels and still have almost this room tone drone in the background. Noise is the analog sound that sounds the most alive or animated to me. It feels like something unpredictable, like full of kinetic energy that could evolve at any time. My idea to create a less spectrally complex patch was to use only noise and filters. The filters would be used to sculpt away at the noise. I think in the end, I didn’t filter enough or used too many layers, because the resultant piece is still quite complex to my ear. This is something I want to keep experimenting with in my future analog work.
Listen to Christine Wang’s three pieces:
[Isabel Vazquez < previous senior]
[next senior > Jiachen Xue]