Make some Noise

At first I was really apprehensive about this paper, its completely different from what I expected of 

Massey. But as the weeks have gone on and I have developed my noise maker I have begun to really

enjoy myself. What I am most happy with is how much I have learnt about my own 

process of how I make art and how much I have opened my mind to new possibilities. I feel like high

school can be restricting in terms of art, by doing this paper first at Massey I think it will effect how I 

complete the rest of my work through out this year. 

My 100% completed noise maker. 

FINAL PERFORMANCE :

Our final performance went so well, there were no hiccups and we all seemed to follow the score perfectly. 

All our practice was worth while as we remembered all our cues and according to some audience members 

we looked confident. In general we received some really lovely feed back and the whole class

was very supportive. Over all the experience was really beneficial, hopefully through this I will 

be able to become a more confident performer. 

Final Composition

This is our final score. To most people it probably looks a bit of a mess but to our group its very clear.
We each understand the the meanings of the colours and the volume of the sound depending on its size.
The tempo of each section can be seen through the density of mark making. At the beginning of the last
 third, we call this double time and its a very fast paced section of the performance there fore these is a
 lot of colour and marks to show this.

We ended up sticking to the original paper and not the shaped ones, we came to the conclusion that we
were already so comfortable with what we had done it would have been confusing to change it half
way.

( click to enlarge)

My mark Making -

First third : I come in at the start with smacks, drawn in purple (my colour through out) short lines. The
line is short and fat: short line, short sound, dense line, loud sound. I then move on to shaking a range
of my chains to get  a layered sound. To symbolise the multiple chain, I have multiple lines each over
lapping. This section is completed by us yelling in the bucket "introducing ourselves".

Middle : for this part I come in with one chain and slowly build up to three. I switch up what chains I
as I feel necessary. Right at the end of this I sound the transition by smashing my frame on to the floor.
 this is drawn with a big jagged line above my name. My name is there to remind us that its me as up
 until a day before we perform it was Maddy so I had to remember to do it.

Last third: In the 'double speed' section, I lift my frame up and down fast but gentle to get a tapping
 sound. This is shown with the lines waving to show its not as harsh as the loud bang and they over
lap because the 'Taps' are so close together. At the end of this we fade out in to soft sounds where
I use both my two softest chains : one makes a clinking sound thats very spaced and definite,
this is documented in a tick shaped mark for the 'clink' 'clink' 'clink'. The next sound it is much
more whimsical, its softer so I drew it as a soft squiggle. There are lots of the squiggles to represent
the loops traveling up and down the chain.

MIHI MIHI :
We considered mihi mihi while composing. As a result we each have a solo to introduce our noise maker,
We introduce ourselves as performers with the bucket and the the way we laid out our performance
considered mihi mihi throughout. The first part is shy and awkward, then its loud as the conversation starts to flow.
In terms of meeting people at Massey we discussed how when you meet someone it goes like this:
 make statement ( awkward start/ crinkle of paper), discussion about papers/halls/massey starts, the you
 mention your name (bucket) the conversation flows with ups and downs till it fades out . Our
 composition mimics this.

LEVELS

As part of keeping our performance engaging and physical we have decided to use levels. 

When we play our softer sounds at the end we all crouch down together. 

This gives a sense of intimacy and highlights the change in tempo. 

RANGE OF SOUND

In this Video I demonstrate the range of sounds I can get from my noise maker:

Watch Video

Chains: This is my most used way of creating sound. There are 6 chains and each one makes a slightly different sound - some are barely audible others can become relatively loud. Having the variety in sound is really great I use all of the chains in the performance sometimes I also layer them to get a different sound that has more depth.

Smacking: This again used the chain, like before each chain makes a different sound when smacked on the wall. If I use the thick chain this is how I get my loudest sound from my noise maker. I also have a very little chain that has no wire loops on it that I use purely for hitting the wall. I don't use this particular chain much in the performance much as it easily gets drowned out.

Lifting: I can lift the frame up and down either very fast and lightly or loud and slowly. This can be used to make a good beat or a highlight as the sound when I smash this on the floor is very loud.

Scraping: This is a very subtle sound that I also don't use in this performance. This is because it doesn't have much impact. But if its quite enough its a really interesting sound.

Original Composition

Listen to the composition.

This is known as the 'original composition', its the score we started working on in class at the very start.

We liked how it was developing so we kept at it, its now modified a lot more but its made it in to our 

performance. The recording is how this drawing actually sounds. 

I am the purple, and each line is a chain as you can see I pick up more as the score progresses. The X are me smacking the wall with my chains. 

I love the start of this piece, the glass bead sound reminds me of a sound from Winderends sound art 

I looked at in the first week. I really like how all the sounds are very subdued and work in harmony. 

THE SET UP

We discussed many ways of how to set up the audience. At first we thought we could get 

everyone in to a circle and we would perform in the middle, this then developed in to the audience

facing outwards so they could only hear us not see us. We then decided that how we play was really

important and the audience had to see. 

The main factor that restricted how we could or couldn't set ourselves us up like was that I need to be
close to a wall to activate my noise maker. Above is what we came up with - this works well because I
 am still a part of the group visually and I don't have my back to the audience they can see what I am
doing. This plan and moving the audience was unnecessary as the wall its self can be moved.

Is this is how we will be set up when performing. During the first half I am by the wall so I can activate my noise maker, I then move away to the position shown in the photo so that the audience can really see what I am doing. The way we are all spaced out means we can see each other and the score at all times which is key to making sure our performance runs smoothly.

The bucket

Now open to taking more risks since loosening up through dance, we introduced a new element to

our performance - our voices in Maddy's bucket. Through out this process we had been told

that the greatest noise maker we have access to is our bodies, so why not include them in our 

performance? This is also one of the elements that helps convey our slightly weird awkward vibe - 

people aren't used to seeing you yell in a bucket - its a little off putting for the audience. Another 

reason we are using this is that we wanted to be able to amplify sounds with having

to rely on the mic. 

Play it physically

Following on from the prompts we had discussed in class such as 'play it with anger' "play it with
sadness' 'Play it with excitement', we wanted to try and play with direction. During our group
experimentation we played our noisemakers starting in a corner of the room and slowly making our
way in to the middle.

Watch this Video 

It was through this exercise that I realised what great noise making potential the frame of my noise
 maker had, the wood sounded great when scraping over the floor, however this was also a subtle
 sound much like my others, what I really liked was banging the frame. At one stage we even
considered throwing our noise makers but didn't want to risk breaking them.

Movement

Watch video


Once again taking inspiration from Dadson, our group decided we really liked how he had used the space,
and how Dadson was so physical with his noise makers so that it was visually engaging as well.
Maddy suggested that we should try some interpretive dance to encourage us to use the space, the full
 motion of our bodies and also relax and get comfortable performing in front of each other.
Although it felt silly at the time I think this was a turning point, we started seeing what we are
doing as a real performance not just creating a sound, it also made us closer as a group and more willing to try stranger ideas.

After the interpretive dance I was now playing my noise maker much more physically, crouching
 down, standingn up, stepping back etc.. I therefore got a much wider range of sound and I had a
 greater stage presence. Over all my performance was better

The amp.

Taking on board some advice from a class critique I decided to try out my noise maker on the amplifier.

A lot of my noises are very soft and could be made better when louder. However because we had such

 limited time with the amp (in class hours only) and so many people wanted to use it I only began

 experimenting with it a few days before we had to perform. 

The amp did very little for my noise maker, because the sound comes from the wires moving along the

 chain it makes it really difficult to keep it up close to the mic for it to be picked up on. I showed my

 group and they too agreed that it wouldn't be worth using, although my noise maker is soft it just means 

the audience has to listen harder and I like that, I think it makes for an engaging performance. I also

 think we have composed in a way thats mindful of mine being quite so its not drowned out, it might 

not be the centre of attention but when performing in a group not everyone can. I feel 

that my noise is more of a soft constant rather than a highlight.