VoiceWork Introduction

NARRATIVES

The following pages contain detailed instructional explanations of Studio ideas, thoughts, techniques, and processes used in the construction of artwork and media products.





TO JOURNAL

CONTACT

Don Bergland
redjello@shaw.ca

STUDIO NARRATIVES PROJECT

VOICEWORK INTRODUCTION - By Don Bergland

This page provides a detailed presentation of the Studio processes used in the investigation and exploration of various techniques for voice in my music and media production.

This studio process was started on December 24, 2015, while living in San Jose del Cabo. Studio explorations were continued until December 31. The project was stopped, as I turned my attention to other Projects. But, none of the topics in this Project have yet come to conclusion. It is still in process.

The Studio processes were compiled as a Narrative and put online, so that all the infomation could be readily accessed. I'm interested in continuing the research started in this Project, and having all the information online is useful for access.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2015

PROJECT VOICE WORK - SOME PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS

I've reached a point in my experimental music where I'm feeling as if I'm not pushing myself enough. The work I'm producing isn't experimental sounding. I need to do a bit of research and reflection concerning how to make this work more esoteric, strange, and different.

One good start is re-listening to several compositions written by a former university colleague, Ben Bolden.

Ben Bolden as an Exemplar

Re-listen to some of Ben Boldens's brilliant work here. His stuff was once published in a journal I was editing. It can be found here - Suds and Stan Here -

BEN BOLDEN - STAN & SUDS AND EVONNE and some other things
Stan & Suds
Evonne
Exemplar	So, this is interesting. Adam Goddard Radio Documentary’ The Change in Farming. One of Ben's exemplars. http://www.thirdcoastfestival.org//library/10-the-change-in-farming
	Read Ben's paper. Also, could I construct a narrative like this, but use my own sounds when discussing growing old, nearing the end, the loss of faith, a culture's ideology, etc. I think I would have to study this a bit more in order to learn how to make it more than just audio, i.e., add a visual element to it.

Some Resources

It's Gonna Rain - Steve Reich

Violin Phase - Watch this without audio.

musicality of speech -

Okay. Some interesting approaches to more experimental and radical music/voice.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2015

NEW MEDIA IDEAS - USING SOUND AND VOICE

Yesterday, I generated some very interesting Ideas. These Ideas all seemed to focus on new ideas. Bolden's experiments and some of Brian Eno's old work. They involved doing things in a new way, trying to reach out and beyond the stuff I'm currently doing.

So, I need to start doing a bit of research and investigation in the area of audio art and new media art, especially those structures I began last night.

Stygia Mortem - A good place to bring some of my experimentation would be the next audio series I'm planning -Stygia Mortem: Field Recordings made while Crossing the River Styx. I should definitely use this series as a place to explore some vocal work.

The big thing here is to come up with a way of using the voice which is like the way Bolden pushes it. Maybe the fragments and stygia I'm gathering for my paintings and my music, should appear with my voicework.

And, maybe I should be starting this with some Studies. Small forays into building a style.
- Project-VoiceFragments - Some studies into developing a voice style for the Stygian aesthetic

1	PROJECT - VOICEWORK

Location - Projects/Project-VoiceWork

Last Worked on -

Yesterday (Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015), I got involved in reviewing some old ideas concerning Audio Art. This started with reflections of Ben Bolden's experimental work (Stan & Studs, and Evonne), a look at "It's Gonna Rain" - Steve Reich, and then a look at an interesting video - musicality of speech - All this review started me thinking about how conventional I am in my own media work. During the evening, I further explored the concept of Audio Art and came up with a whole pile of interesting resources.
- musicality of speech - - Telus #11 - The Sound of Radio - - Display Wounds - Gregory Whitehead - - The Respirator - Gregory Whitehead - - Help Me Somebody - Brian Eno - Mea Culpa - - Words and Song - - RadioLab - Musical Language - - Peter Rehberg - Boxes and Angels - - Autechtre - Outpt - - Douglas Kahn - William S. Burroughs - Interesting Book - - Götz Naleppa - Another interesting commentary - - Rudolph Arnheim 1936 Radio, - Carlos Chavez 1937 Toward a New Music - Back to Jim Andrews - VISPO -
All this research review brought me to the point where I feel I need to construct a new aesthetic style for my work with voice and experimental music.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015

2	PROJECT - VOICEWORK

Location - Projects/Project-VoiceWork

Last Worked on - Yesterday, Fri. Dec. 25, 2015

I'm not sure what the Project is about - old ideas concerning audio art. I think I want to do some experimental work using innovative methods of voice alteration.
I am not quite sure where I'm going in the Studio at the moment. I'm just feeling as if I want to leave ALL my current styles behind and launch into something totally new. Everything I'm currenlty doing seems low level, meaningless. There has to be a way for me to shift into a new mode of production and thinking.
SO, WHERE? - I like the direction Bolden is moving and would like to learn from this. I like the use of voice which plays instrumentally and I have found some directions there. I've looked also at a few of my early mentors such as Whitehead and others. A radio approach seems good. I don't know how to bring all this together with a video style. I've started working on Winged Faith, which currently needs a script and voicetrack. I'm hoping to make this a venture that provides some suggestions for things. THE HISTORY - So, where have I been that is bringing about this huge rift? - The concept of Stygia Mortem: Field Recordings Made While Crossing the River Styx - The concept of Stygia as a replacement for Grunge in a few 3D paintings
1.	I'm still interested in this research I'm doing, into Audio Art, wanting to use my voice in some way. So far, I've been influenced mostly by Ben Bolden's work (Studs & Stan, and Evonne). But I've also come across a few other influences along the way. So, this morning, I started looking at the Happiness Project, which is essentially a project exploring the musicality of speech. The most interesting thing in this project is the conversion of speech to musical instruments.
	- The Musicality of Speech - - The Voice as an Instrument - - Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project - See Mrs. Morris - Mr. Gowrie -
2.	This led me to wonder if there were any software tools that could do the same process, convert speech to instrumental music. - Imitone - Interesting voice to instrument program - Imitone Cello Example - This is an amazing exposition - using Kontakt - Voice Band - Another one - Voice Band - Cello instrument sample - ScoreCleaner Notes - Turns voice into notation - ScoreCloud - Translates into Notation
3.	I suppose I need to explore both Imitone and VoiceBand, both for different platforms.
	- Voice Band - Another one - Voice Band - Cello instrument sample

4.	I purchased both the products (software and cello) - However, the Cello Instrument Sample doesn't seem to have gone anywhere, I can't find or identify it withing the VoiceBand iPad software. This is annoying.
5.	The app itself is really clumsy, and very buggy. I tried recording 3 samples of my voice just junking around. I was able to email these samples to myself, open them in Audacity, and then combine them.


	Interesting, and I should be able to make something of this. I would really like to get the Cello Sample operational.

3	PROJECT - VOICEWORK

Location - Projects/Project-VoiceWork

Last Worked on - Today, Sat. Dec. 26, 2015

Experimental work using innovative methods of voice alteration.
I now have Voice Band on the iPad. I downloaded the Voice Band - Cello instrument sample, but can't seem to find how to access it. The documentation for Voice Band is absolutely horrible.
1.	I tried using Voice Band again. I recorded some stuff about "seeing it done."


	I think I might be able to work with this program. It is easy to email the results to oneself.
2.	I then, I began to wonder about Imitone. This looks like an interesting program that work from a computer, not an IOS device.
3.	So, I purchased it. Not cheap! Code - Download Here - CARE-SWAS-BYWW-J9VW

4.	I launched and activated the program. A lot of difficulty in setting it up. It doesn't have any sounds of its own, so it has to access a DAW. I first tried setting it up with Kontakt Player, but had no luck with this.
	I tried for quite a while to set it up with GarageBand, with no success, and then, finally, it just started working.



5.	And then, I just played and played, trying different instrument sounds. Played a lot and found some interesting ways that I might be able to make these work.
	I saved some of these GarageBand files to the Imitone Desktop Folder.
6.	I left Imatone and GarageBand launched, so that as I worked, I could hear my keyboard typing coming through the headphones.

	And when I talked to my wife, my words were backed by synthesizers sounds coming through Imitone to the instrument sounds in GarageBand. I thought this sounded really interesting.
7.	I decided to see if I could make an audio recording of my voice at the same time as Imitone was creating the instrumental. So, I launched Audacity and recorded my voice through the microphone, as the same time Imitone was altering my voice instrumentally.
	1. Launch Imitone 2. Launch GarageBand 3. Connect Imitone and GarageBand 4. Launch Audacity and set it up for recording from the computer microphone 5. Start Record in GarageBand 6. Start Record in Audacity 7. Speak and Record 8. Record Off in Audacity and GarageBand 9. Export Garageband file 10. Import Garageband file to Audacity 11. Position the Voice and Instrumental Tracks to represent the live recording.


	Very interesting stuff.
8.	What I need to do now, is write some small scripts, so I can start employing both Imitone and Vocal Band.
	I should think of these scripts as poems. Hmmm. Maybe I have some poems I can use!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27, 2015

4	PROJECT - VOICEWORK

Location - Projects/Project-VoiceWork

Last Worked on - Yesterday, Sat. Dec. 26, 2015

This Project is about Experimental work using innovative methods of voice alteration.

I now have Voice Band on the iPad. I also have Imitone on the computer - Download Here - CARE-SWAS-BYWW-J9VW. In fact, Imitone is still set up on the Desktop, running through GarageBand.

I now need to write some small scripts, so I can start employing both Imitone and Vocal Band.

I'm not sure what the topics should be here. Maybe some fragments of scripts I've written before. Or, new ones about:
- Growing Old
- Eternal Oblivion
- Stygia Mortem: Field Recordings made while Crossing the River Styx

I first looked at a few Word Structures I have constructed in the last few months. I gathered these from odd bits of writing I've done.

Voice Study #x -

Here, in my own land of emotive despair the sounds that arise are asymmetric, dusty, choked, and almost tuneless in their chill rage against the universe. The rhythms seem structured, but are slow to respond to any mechanical demand for precision. Sounds are industrial and laden with rust, flaking in a chiseled womb of reclusion and solitude. The measured and precise emanations of virtuoso music sound counterfeit in a world of this nature, where the ground trembles and vision falters in the vast pools of formless meaning that occupies this barren land.

Voice Study #x -
	The ground trembles and vision falters in the vast encounters of unpolished, random rhythms, stoopings, and stumblings, the pain of oblivion, the taunts of Destiny, and the recognition of eternal extermination, the deep oppressiveness of meaninglessness, a random rhythm, the drone-like hypnosis of an understood reality which is ever present.

Voice Study #x -
	I mourn for different things than those expressed in the words, music, and themes of the tradition. And so, I've always felt a disjunct with my liking of the blues and its inability to speak to my deepest depressions, those that reside in the silent dust, chill penury, noble rage, the gates of mercy, forgotten ashes, the foot of yonder, and the remote churchyard of my own mortal Destiny.

Voice Study #x -
	The Rituals of Aging - Upon awaking each morning, I look into the darkness and acknowledge my failure in maintaining my youth, and

I'm not sure that there were any good beginnings there. Then, I found a lot of stuff in the Poetry Files I have in my Archives. Too much! I enjoy the way I put words together at that time (back in the late 1980s).

But, I'm not sure that these are what I was intending in this kind of study. Some of these are far too long.

Voice Study #x -

VICTORY
The final squeeze of joy Protracted from her image Fades into regret. Expectations bleach in the sun Like the leftover glitter Of cheap party hats at nextday's noon. Welcome sneaks like love Before the tides of lust, While debts of past embracings Lie forgotten in her veins. No winner here is time, Whose relentless thrust Rapes enchantment From a former desire And scatters it stillborn In the steady wind of indifference.

Voice Study #x -

CRUCIFIXION
Within the limbs of her spinal wantoness, she served him as a cross, offering the delicacy of self crucifixion as an anodyne to mere death. All she asked was complete worship. Soft enticements prompted a first mounting, splinters of anguish hidden coyly in the metal fastenings of her extended passion. She permitted a nailing to her body with reluctance eager to avoid the feigned innocence of her offer. A share of his allowed compliance was easily won. Woodenly she impaled his upright surrender, sinews twisting under the weight of belief, organs groaning in stretched remittance, ones snapping under the weight of assumptions, life was extinguished sweetly, as a grinding smear pulped flat in remorse. She hungrily awaited his forsaken release. Blood empty, he exposed his fear. "Why have I forgotten you?" (Who are you) Unable to answer, she embraced his lengthening death, suffocating resurrection in memorial to his failure to remember.

These two might have some potential, if I were to rewrite the focus of intention in them.

I think the rest of these are a little too expansive for this Study.

Voice Study #x -
	DRYBED PASSION Drilling for passion In the drybed of her professed love Was comfortless while it lasted. Unable to shed more blood, She harbored fearfully Against the times I sought to Quarter the winter blasts Of my lonliness, Seeking over and again To repel my desire For the embrace She felt so punished to offer.

Voice Study #x -

HOME COOKING
Dinnertime offered my mother the opportunity to display an inherited flair for unintentional cookage. She loved her food well-burned. Through a fugue of cindered fumes I recall the protesting cacophony of her chosen dinner victims. A leaden calliope of polyphonic smoulderings. Seared plant loins were madly sacrificed in a frenzy of flamed intention. It was ethereal in its ghastfulness! There had never before existed a heating so remethodically unconducted. The table became an Auschwitz packed with food brilled squawking in unexpected cremation. It lathered an expectant but wetly unwelcome illness in my glands. There! On coffin platters, great ridges of crustal stove carbon bullied young plant shoots into graven reminders of seedlings gone insipid through searing despair. Yielding to a starched mockery, the fading greenness of my once illumined appetite never failed to dissipate like the chlorine fog expected at planned gassings. And look at that! Executed vegetable husks huddled entwined in sculptured remorse, while black spews of ancient soot shifted noiselessly in the skewered hollows left rancid by the fallowing rape of onion slickness on shanks of limp pepper. Wanton dementations were forced on unwilling stalks by the thrusting yarrowness of thick spurts of greasen fezz clinging to the last throes of incipient life like the pink hopes of bobby sox in fandom continuance. And over there, quick! Struggling to die proudly, tortured mushroom buttocks throbbed with the extinguished invitation of neon despair, a cheap buzzen flicker, sending reminders of electric oven releases threatened for deeds unbegotten. Dead now, smothered in pools of slicken pewt, pea spines stabbed the air in aimless alms, grails of raw thrusting pointing airward to a clearness where my mother's eyes forever burrowed my hesitancy. Over plates of iron carnage her nurturing countenance encouraged my gagging fear. "Eat the dinner now, son. Eat that dinner!"

Voice Study #x -
	PSALM She will not seek My comfort any longer. An oiled phoenix Unfolding wings slick with new pride, Rising in self love From the ashes of my pain. Her graven breath Chills my gaze. I shrink in retribution Through the shadow of her will. I will fear no evil, For she is with me no more.

In these latter poetic ideas, I think I have to take the concept of "Her" and change it to "Faith" or "Belief."

There is quite a difference in style and intention between these. There is also an immense difference in the style of polished wordplay and the random wordplay of an improvised interview.

I have to determine whether I want a formal, polished style, or an informal impromptu style. Or, what about everything. This is supposed to be experimental, exploratory. Maybe at this point, I don't know which one will work best.

I'm liking this one the best for a first study.

Voice Study #1 - Heresy

VICTORY (Original)
The final squeeze of joy Protracted from her image Fades into regret. Expectations bleach in the sun Like the leftover glitter Of cheap party hats at nextday's noon. Welcome sneaks like love Before the tides of lust, While debts of past embracings Lie forgotten in her veins. No winner here is time, Whose relentless thrust Rapes enchantment From a former desire And scatters it stillborn In the steady wind of indifference.

HERESY
I found myself wrapped in Heresy, abandoning the theatrics of my faith in a slow exit from its curtained rituals. The final memory of joy protracted from its image faded into regret as its promises bleached in the sun like the leftover glitter of cheap party hats at nextday's noon. A sadness grew like soft waves before the tides of remission, while debts of past embracings lay forgotten in its depths. No winner here was Doubt, whose relentless thrust raped enchantment from a former desire and scattered it stillborn in the steady wind of indifference.

Actually, the video sequence which might work really well for this would be Winged Faith. Instead of building up the image Fragments, I break them down. Start with the original, complete image. At the end, only the wall remains.

How would I produce this in terms of the audio work? I'm interested in getting the kind of vocal work touched on in Bolden's experimentations. But maybe I shouldn't tie myself down this much.

Production
1.	Record this with the Imitone/GarageBand setup or, the VocalBand/iPad setup. I think this would have to be with the Imitone/GarageBand setup, since I need a straight audio reading. Hmmm. Unless I used the Zoom alongside the iPad recording.
	I would emerge from this with a Voice and a Instrument recording.
2.	BUT, I think I have to give consideration to the way I'm going to cut up the VoiceTrack and rebuild it.

I reconnected Imitone/GarageBand. And, I'm wondering if a Voictrack played on the computer, would result in sound activation?

No. I opened a VoiceTrack in Audacity and played it, but it didn't trigger anything. Maybe I have to reset the Input on Imitone? No. In Imitone, I've only got Built-In-Mic as an imput option.

I'll contemplate this as the morning rolls on.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2015

5	PROJECT - VOICEWORK

Location - Projects/Project-VoiceWork

Last Worked on - Yesterday, Sun. Dec. 27, 2015

This Project is about Experimental work using innovative methods of voice alteration.
I now have Voice Band on the iPad. I also have Imitone on the computer - Download Here - CARE-SWAS-BYWW-J9VW. In fact, Imitone is still set up on the Desktop, running through GarageBand.
Yesterday, I collected some script ideas, although I'm not too fond of them.
I also put together a small test Study recording, nothing meaningful.
1.	So, I'll put these two test pieces together in Audacity.
2.	And then, I'll just play around, duplicate the Voice, raise the Pitch, offset it a bit. And then, bring in some of the Stygia effects that I used in the last Exile Project.
3.	Until, something starts emerging from all this. Imagination.


	Hmmm. I don't know about this. It is an interesting Study, and probably nothing more. It leads me to think that this may be a technique that is valuable, but I don't really know that the Imitone work here justifies the end product. I think this kind of additive element could be added in a lot of different ways, and ways that may be more effective.
	We'll continue to think about this.
	NOTE - I came back at this at 10:00 pm this evening and rebuilt the track a bit.

	I would really like to construct some experimental video for this.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2015

6	PROJECT - VOICEWORK

Location - Projects/Project-VoiceWork

Last Worked on - Mon. Dec. 28, 2015

This Project is about Experimental work using innovative methods of voice alteration.

It is New Year's Eve and my wife has gone up the coast to one of the smaller Mexican towns with her sister and left me here in San Jose on my own. So, I'll try to get back to some experimental work.

Yesterday, I collected some script ideas, although I'm not too fond of them.

I also put together a small test Study recording, nothing meaningful.

I got a few scripts that looked okay, especially the one which may work with the Video - Winged Faith.

Voice Study #1 - Heresy

I found myself wrapped in Heresy, abandoning the theatrics of my faith in a slow exit from its curtained rituals. The final memory of joy protracted from its image faded into regret as its promises bleached in the sun like the leftover glitter of cheap party hats at nextday's noon. A sadness grew like soft waves before the tides of remission, while debts of past embracings lay forgotten in its depths. No winner here was Doubt, whose relentless thrust raped enchantment from a former desire and scattered it stillborn in the steady wind of indifference.

I started off reading the script into Voice Band on the iPad. I created a variety of different Tracks which were instrumental underlays for the Voice..

I don't think I'm happy with any of these.

So then, I thought about just reading the script straight into the Zoom and recording it as Voice Only. Then, launch ThumbJam on the iPad, get Cello in a blues key, and improvise an accompaniment to the Voice on the iPad.

To do this, I would have to have the VoiceTrack playing on something so I could hear it. I would record the iPad through the AudioBox to Audacity on the computer.

Hmmm. My wife left her laptop here, so I could do the following:

1. Set up Zoom and record Heresy (see script above)
2. Offload Heresy to the Old Laptop. Open it in Audacity and set it to Loop (continuous Play)
3. Connect iPad to New Laptop via AudioBox, and launch Audacity for Recording
4. On the iPad. launch ThumbJam and Cello - Key of D Minor
5. Set the Old Laptop up so I can see the screen. Start the VoiceTrack playing
6. On the iPad, start improvising. Run through the song a few times
7. Start Recording in Audacity and collect a full instrumental Track
8. Start a Master Audacity file and import the VoiceTrack and CelloTrack into it

Ahhh. I get tired just thinking of starting this.

So, I made a recording using the Zoom, shipped it to the Old Laptop and opened it in Audacity. It was HORRIBLE! Lots of popping and sibilance. I forgot to bring the pop cover down with me, so what can I expect.

I wrapped a towel around the mic part of the Zoom and tried two more recordings.

I got one that was not bad. Still some flaws in it, but I'm moving on.

So, I started playing in Audacity, building the final audio track. As I do this, I realize I'm not really certain about how to get the voice repeats that are so effective in Bolden's work.

Anyway, I just went ahead and tried one method of this.

Okay. This is not quite what I want, but I'll stick with this anyway. Maybe now, is the time to do some Cello work in TJam.

I set up the iPad and VoiceTrack, and then recorded a Cello Track. I brought it into the Master, and then started adding other things:
- Drum, cymbal, sewing machine, accordion pumps and squeaks
I played with the Voice a bit, and then I added a Time Track and played with Tempo/Pitch on the whole thing.

It is getting a little overlaid with sound, so I better stop and give this time to settle.

I don't know about this at all. It follows the old paradigms of style that I've been using forever. Nothing is new here. No barriers are being vaulted. Nothing. Same old stuff.

I'll continue to review this.

A bit later, I did some revisions on the Track, brought the vocals into more prominence.

I like this better, I think.

I intend to return to this and continue work. Stay tuned for Part II.

VOICEWORK INTRODUCTION - By Don Bergland

You can explore further Studio Production Instructional Details through Don Bergland's Online Journal