Here I tryed to develop my idea from the previous sessions – this time engaging with the use of a Ney flute – In the mystical and spiritual practises of Sufism, a traditional flute essential to Sufi music, is of great significance. The use of the Ney has long been a crucial part of Sufi ceremonies, rituals, and musical expressions – important for communicating the mystical and divine elements of Sufi faith. I used layering to create an atmosphere and also engaged with using various octaves to create harmonies as different parts of audio interacted with and over each other. Basing the consideration of the space – i aimed to take into considerations ideas of the space and sound as defined by Maria Anna Harley as:
Music with a quasi-spatial structure defined by the composer in the score or in another medium of sound coding […]. This quasi-spatial structure can assume different forms, including ensemble dispersion specified in the score, the movement of sounds, performers and the audience, and the juxtaposition and interaction of real and virtual sound sources. (Harley Reference Harley1993: 128)
This method for composing music transcends conventional ideas of melody and harmony by adding spatial elements that affect how sound propagates within an ensemble as well as how the performers and audience interact with the actual place in which the Installation is viewed. In relation to the harmonious nature of the peice I think its important to define what harmoniousness means for the audience as well – however also what it means for the artwork itself, focusing on the theme of immersiveness & spatial sound perception.
“…As described in this mini-review, however, there are (potentially) large uncertainties associated with using headphones, underpinning the general consensus that external loudspeakers may create more immersive experiences, even in VR (Hruby, 2019). “
I think its important to think about why I am spatialising the sound and what it brings in terms of the immersion – in the quote above Hruby describes external loudspeakers as generally being more immersive, also mentioning studies that were conducted where the soundscape of a place and changes to it were evaluated remotely in a laboratory through an immersive experience designed to recreate the acoustical feeling of “being there.” (Chinmay Rajguru, Obrist and Memoli, 2020), showing that a recreation of a sonic environment can be necessary in creating a more defined sense of “immersion”.