Month: April 2022

Spoken word within music:

Post author By Eleanor Anderson
Post date 27th April 2022
No Comments on Spoken word within music:

Spoken Word landed on its feet in the late 1990s after the Postmodern Art Movement. I decided to use this in my work as I chose a contemporary theme which I believe fitted the late 20th century aesthetic of spoken word within the song.

Despite this, I chose this technique as I wanted my art piece to be as immersive as possible. The work itself is named ‘A Party At 10 Downing Street’ and I wanted this to reach out to the listener as if they were truly there. I decided to use sections of Boris Johnson speaking in a spoken word aesthetic. Despite it having a dramatic effect when alongside the music it also made the piece clearer about what it was aiming to say. The spoken word worked well as it becomes almost a mockery of the prime minister and compliments the music that goes alongside this. His persona and seriousness and his job title amplify to the world juxtapose how I have portrayed him in this piece by manipulating what he said and pairing this with comical sound effects.

Although this has been the first time using spoken word within my work I hope to use it again as I believe it allows another value to sound work and allows an extra avenue for the reader to connect to the piece.

Sampling:

Throughout my work, I decided to use sampling. This is a new skill that I have adopted and although it reaches a more contemporary audience I found the concept intriguing and it provoked a lot of wider moral reflection in me. Since it was coined in the late 1970’s it has become more and more popular among several genres of art. Vicky Bennet is a widely known Sound Artist who famously uses sampling to her advantage in order of creating art. Her piece ‘The Sound Of Ehe End Of Music- People Like Us’ portrays Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodger’s pieces being distorted and played to her contrasting artwork and 60’s rock music shaped onto graphic images of Vietnam war footage. Despite its highly juxtaposing ideas and aesthetics, it works in unison to create its perfect artistic harmony.

Many could argue that sampling is classed as a form of copying; Stealing other people’s work. However, art is produced to be shared and shown off and in order of taking someone’s work, it only plays to its purpose. I almost see it myself as a compliment. To have the desire to involve someone else’s artistic practice within your work speaks to me as if you admire their artistic creativity and would want to use it to enhance your work in places you couldn’t.

As an artist myself I could see the negative effects of this and the annoyance of someone taking credit for something they didn’t 100% do. However, as long as the artist mentions who and what they have sampled and does this in only a complimentary way then I do believe that this is ok. Finally, I believe that the sampled work must go alongside the artist’s artistic touch and should not be the prime characteristic.

Despite the questions about sampling I will continue to use this but ensure that I am certainly sticking to my own set of rules and guidelines to keep this morally correct.

First Year

Daphne Oram

Daphne Oram is a British composer who broke social, musical, and creative boundaries. She found the sound technical term “Oramics” which involved drawing 35mm film strips to control sound. Her innovation to cross sonic boundaries and strive away from classical instruments has inspired me. She designed this before any electronic instrument or sonic computer work. I hope to expand my experiences using synthesisers and other sonic/electronic instruments within my latest work. I believe that this can create a bigger effect than just normal instruments alone and paint a wider more experimental picture for the audience. Sonic sounds grasp aesthetics that other instruments can’t. Finally, the way she crosses mediums using film to create sound proves to me that any medium can be crossed to create sound or music.

First Year

Graphic Scoring

Graphic Scoring:

Graphic scoring is an interesting concept to which I found myself drawn. Originating from “eye music” this became a more popular concept within the mid-twentieth century around 1950. I found that graphic scoring allowed the composer no limits. When designing your graphic score, you as the composer make all rules. You’re no longer bound to the laws of theoretical westernised classical music. IT fascinated me and pushed me to realise that not following classical conventions doesn’t mean my music is “wrong”. Constantly ad musicians you are forced and told to follow the laws of music and scoring. When not following this it (as a musician myself) makes you feel like a delinquent.

In the future I will continue to create new work with a new profound confidence knowing what I do is “right”. There is no “wrong” with composing; I hope this allows me to become more creative with my boundaries and limits.