MAP Project: Berk Schneider — Questionnaire & write-up

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Berk Schneider — Questionnaire & MAP write-up:

1. How did binaural listening impact your reflections on how your partner’s intent in the composer-performer interaction is communicated?

Binaural listening made me aware of Sang’s intent to communicate musical ideas about memory — primarily via pitch and rhythmic gestures, which were written in traditional Western notation. These gestures are performed as isolated motifs in a quasi-tone painting style and thus provide for a programmatic compositional approach to the original Brothers Grimm’s The Frog King or Iron Heinrich story. Throughout Sang’s unaccompanied work for trombone, premeditated musical forms were developed from our observations on how we remember sonic environments differently before/after reflecting on the binaural recordings we made together and separately. In other words, the experience of a sound in a given environment as well as the composition of that sound appear to be two very different stages in Sang’s composition process and the binaural devices were used more as ‘meta-tools’ in order to investigate parallels between memory in sonic environments and similar collective memories reflected in literature and text. One example of this was visible during a particularly collaborative interaction: we decided to meet up in a local park to experiment with space, inquiring how the sound of the trombone reflecting off different surfaces may be perceived by a performer and observer. We both took turns wearing the ear-hook binaural microphones. It was determined that my movements through space likely impacted Sang’s representation or memory of the holistic features of the acoustic environment (Berk, Exp. #3; Sang, Exp. #3; Video Exp. #3, stereo).

After our meeting, Sang noted that “there was a lot of ambient noise” in the park, but “when [Berk] was playing I wasn’t paying attention” to the surrounding sounds. Interestingly, the binaural recordings allowed Sang to become “more aware of the environment.” He stated that he “didn’t realize that there was a plane flying above us and children playing in the back...” even the sound of the nearby “highway [became] so much more present” while reviewing the recordings. This reconnected us with the idea of flashbulb memory since the binaural device was able to “preserve the ‘unimportant’ details” that surrounded my playing. Sang was unable to recollect these details from his own memory, but the technology captured them all. In addition, he observed that I “sounded much more in [his] head” while listening to the recordings — suggesting that perceptual focus on certain sonic gestures was magnified through his attentive behavior, changing the way he remembered the event in its entirety. I believe this was striking for Sang because he realized he was not listening to his memories per se, but a representative smörgåsbord of external stimuli that had allowed him to craft his memories (Meeting, week 3).

On the other hand, the ambient park sounds within my binaural recordings were largely masked by the sound of my trombone, which brought up interesting questions concerning what a performer is able to perceive during the course of an improvisation and how this might influence what one plays. In self-reflection, I noted that this experience emphasized the fact that a performer must make contingency plans, balancing choices based on one's physiological “limits” (e.g. range of audibility) and the “creative realm that [we] try to stretch based on what's available” in our immediate environment. As a followup exercise, we exchanged Pauline Oliveros’ deep listening questions. One particularly salient sonic memory in which Sang recalled falling acorns near his family’s village was (CORR. #3) especially powerful when read while listening to his percussive binaural improvisations (Sang, Exp. #1).

Taking all of this into account, it seems to me that Sang’s compositional intent is less built from the technology itself, rather the binaural technology serves to support a premeditated-theoretical approach within his compositional practice. That is to say, sonic memory is manipulated/contorted by modifying traditional musical form without the direct use of the binaural microphones in the final unaccompanied solo. Therefore, by performing the musical form as accurately as possible the concepts of memory adopted from our experiments with binaural technology take shape on an intellectual level.

2. How did listening to binaural recordings of your own practice provide for methods in which these intentions can be communicated and preserved with regards to the interaction between composition - score and performance?

I noticed how memory, as a topic we focused on, was deeply embedded in my binaural recordings. My first recording was a sound collage of my daily routine. This included: turning the shower on, eating a bowl of cereal, listening to the news, and a warm up routine on my trombone (Berk Exp. #1). With the idea of the mundane being magnified in our collective memories, Sang introduced the concept of flashbulb memory, a phenomenon in which involuntary memory serves as a means for the mind to record and preserve an environment in which an important event may have taken place. The interest behind this idea is that flashbulb memory representations are extremely flawed, especially in relation to sonic spatiality, thus functioning more as fictional story lines of which to draw upon. Sang’s intent, at least from my perspective, was to account for the morphing of this kind of memory over time. We saw this reflected in the binaural recordings we made, particularly in noisy environments, since sonic noises that may had been considered unwelcome disturbances (e.g. interrupting the focus of our attention on the Trombone as a solo instrument) became ‘interruptions’ that were recorded equally by the binaural microphones. Listening back to these recordings and without my cognitive mechanisms tuning out certain sounds and leaving others intact I could, in the truest sense, re-experience my experience, albeit in a more monochromatic fashion in which layers of noise that I may had experienced but chose to deatentivise were now very audible and could be heard as musical soundscapes in their own right.

Going forward it was clear that our intent was to comment musically on this narrative of transforming memory via technology and this helped us with the form of the solo work which represents two very contrasting perspectives on the same story of the Frog Prince. Just as our literary mechanisms adapt and change over time in accordance with artistic milieus, across regions and cultures, our memories of sonic form and gestures shape-shift in an effort to remain relevant to contemporary ears. These adaptations are communicated and preserved via my interpretation of Anura and its musical notation.

3. How did listening to binaural recordings influence your perception of timbre? In what ways did this compliment the theoretical timbral descriptors that already exist within ACTOR’s research axes?

In the The Frog King, After transforming back into human form, the King hears a loud sound as if something had broken. Henry exclaims not to worry as it was only the protective band around his heart falling off. Indeed, conceptual metaphors such as these also exist to describe expressive affect and timbre in music. Take, for example, the large variety of ‘spatial timbre identifiers’ we use to better conceptualize sonic events, e.g., closeness, surrounding, movement, density, and depth. Furthermore, one’s memory and relationship with these descriptors often changes over time. Just as Henry's character is absent in the modern version of The Frog Prince, certain timbres and musical gestures may be more present or hidden as they are negotiated by the musical milieus they inhabit. In other words, the spatial and temporal dimensions of social interference in sonic environments can have a profound impact on musical creation.

I took these concepts and decided to freely improvise with the fairy tale in mind. I used both ear-hook binaural and stereo microphones, playing some more traditional material (e.g. major scales, arpeggios) in combination with extended techniques (e.g. split-tones, half valves) so that we could compare the two recordings in more detail — determining if my memory of the sounds and timbres changed over time (Berk, Exp. #2 — binaural; Berk, Exp. #2 — stereo; Berk, Exp. #5 —binaural; Berk, Exp. #5 —stereo). We discussed our takeaways from the exchange in a meeting with Florian Grond (CORR. #5). In self-reflection, I noticed “that it was revealing to take a step back and listen to the [binaural] recordings and hear how different it was to experience a performative quality (first person) but from a third person perspective, much like a spectator.” Furthermore, I described an out-of-body experience, “everything was muffled, I felt like I was under water when I was listening to these binaural recordings... I wish I could extend my ears outside of my body... biologically adapt!”

In addition, I commented on the fact that this lack of awareness of space was unsettling at times, making it clear that the trombone was projecting sound into acoustic space and the instrumentalist relied on feedback from that space. Interestingly, the sound of the binaural recordings held a certain “dullness” in comparison to the standard stereo setup. Indeed, my body might be muting certain reverberant qualities or overtones which I have grown accustomed to hearing in freestanding microphone recordings. Later, I stated “the sound didn’t bother me as much after further experimentation.” Nevertheless, this observation started a conversation on directional aspects of timbral performance (e.g. trombone ‘sound beaming’) as well as pedagogical applications of the technology.

4. Did any of your attitudes towards timbre change during the course of the project? This may include phenomenological characteristics of spatialized timbre. For instance, how one feels, hears, and thinks about the real-life application of binaural technology. How did this technology change how you perceive the world around you?

Yes, I realized just how important micking procedures are while recording. The quality and placement of a mic can have an immense impact on timbre in an acoustic space. I found that the ear-hook binaural microphones were actually much more effective when used to record large soundscapes rather than the trombone sound alone. Some of my fondest memories with the

microphones were walking around in rainstorms and early morning strolls in which waking birds were captured beautifully. These sonic time capsules, as I might call them, were very special in that my movement through space became the focal point rather than sound objects moving around me. I felt reemerged in this dynamic soundscape upon re-listening the next day. The most extraordinary thing was that listening to these recordings changed the way I listen in general. After revisiting some of the recordings I began hearing things in future soundwalks that I hadn't noticed earlier. This usually included low or high drones, whitenoise, or static sounds that I would usually avoid atentivising, but the binaural recordings made these subtle sounds much more present, changing the way I focused my attention on different vibrations in varying environments. Overall, I feel that I became much more sensitive to subtle timbral changes in different acoustic spaces.

5. How did your experience together as a composer performer duo inform your creative improvisational and/or compositional structure?

Sang and I both improvised and composed during this process so I see the final product as more of a collaborative project in that it was composed from improvisation. Binaural technology also helped us by encouraging positive personal auditory habits in which listening intentions transformed musical practice making it quasi-prescriptive. For example, through learning how to hear key differences between individual sonic perspectives, shared soundscapes, acoustic-studio recordings, personal embodied experiences and re-constructions of remembered experiences, we had the opportunity to analyze timbral characteristics from a variety of perspectives. We embraced the agency of the binaural perspective and what it brought to the process, embracing it not just as a mediator but also as a tool for creation.

6. Do you have a creative personal statement to accompany your final work?

I think Sang covers this nicely in the score description. For me, it's a short dialogue. A musical tone poem on a classic Grimm’s tale. I also like that Sang took my improvisations to heart, incorporating short movements, each seeking to emulate different moods or emotions that might have been expressed within the story (e.g. wild, frantic, volatile, playful, tragic). The imagery is clear and the work is very programmatic.

7. With our new compositional freedom, there has emerged a need to understand how music as it is notated and performed maps onto music as it is perceived. How did binaural technology inform these ‘translations’ for you? How did you think binaural listening contributed to negotiation between the composer and performer?

Sang is rather secretive in the sense that he isn’t interested in revealing his compositional process to the world. However, I felt through using the technology we both developed a deeper understanding of how we operate as musical beings. Binaural technology acted not only as a bridge between our perceptions of sound, but perhaps, more importantly served as the catalyst that helped drive our interest in memory from a theoretical/intellectual viewpoint. This connection helps me convey more meaning through his musical form which in turn, I hope, engages the listener in a meaningful way.

8. How do the varieties of interindividual differences shape timbre perception? What may be a good test in the future to compare the timbre perceptions of different individuals using binaural technology?

I believe our research lays the groundwork for further investigation within acoustic epistemology with the potential to expand MAP’s current trajectories. During the next few months of the project, it would be interesting to uncover methods in which our individual perceptions of timbre could be measured, while drawing the relevant connections between these perceptions and our creative work together. For instance, how voluntary forms of attention on timbral events may be informed by implicit — or ‘background’ — semi-activation in the brain via bottom-up processing. We can use binaural technology to test the processing time for the recognition of target timbres and see if these timbres can be readily ignored or attended to in the context of space using mismatch negativity (MMN). Visual and sonic paradigms already exist, but I am unaware of any study that focuses on timbres and space in this way (see Czigler & Winkler, 2010; Siedenburg, 2019; Vuust et al., 2012). The goal would be to create a quasi-lexicon that organizes spatial timbre identifiers: e.g. closeness, surrounding, movement, density, depth, surface, giving composers more control over the creative parameters of spatial (dis)orientation while eliciting complex responses from the listener. At the same time, the binaural ear-hook microphones would continue to help participants develop an understanding of how their perception of timbral space differs from the listener by allowing them to hear the violin, cello, and trombone as resonating chambers (‘closeness’ to the ear of the performer) and projection devices (‘surrounding’ the listener). By developing an ability to predict perceptual timbral objects musicians of all levels can better interact with dynamic and immersive musical environments. Finally, it would be beneficial to develop head related transfer function (HRTF) models. Individual HRTF modeling would complement our descriptions of timbral experience in order to determine how spatialized timbre interacts with other features, such as the shape of our head, cavum conchea, shoulders, torso, direction of the sound source, and environmental acoustics.

REFERENCES

• Czigler István, & Winkler István. (2010). In search for auditory object representations. In Unconscious memory representations in perception: processes and mechanisms in the brain (pp. 71–99). essay, John Benjamins Pub. Co.

• Schneider, B. W., Côté, J., Diba, P., Grond, F., Ko, P., Song, S., & Zhou, T. (2021). Musician's Auditory Perspective Project: Administrative Meetings, Shared Photos and Video Files, Shared Sonic Files, Group Meetings, Tritone Paradox, Misc Correspondence, Headshots, Florian “Check in” Meetings.

• Siedenburg, K., Saitis, C., Popper, A. N., Fay, R. R., & McAdams, S. (2019). Timbre: acoustics, perception and cognition. Springer.

• Vuust, P., Brattico, E., Seppänen, M., Näätänen, R., & Tervaniemi, M. (2012). The sound of music: Differentiating musicians using a fast, musical multi-feature mismatch negativity paradigm. Neuropsychologia, 50(7), 1432–1443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.02.028