Message-ID: <alpine.NEB.2.00.1409190233380.19343@panix2.panix.com>
From: Alan Sondheim <sondheim@panix.com>
To: Cyb <cybermind@listserv.wvu.edu>, Wryting-L <WRYTING-L@listserv.wvu.edu>
Subject: QinCave: New Qin Music from the Brown University Cave
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 02:36:45 -0400 (EDT)
QinCave: New Qin Music from the Brown University Cave http://www.alansondheim.org/qincave34.jpg http://www.alansondheim.org/crystal4.mp3 http://www.alansondheim.org/crystal6.mp3 http://www.alansondheim.org/crystal7.mp3 http://www.alansondheim.org/qincave07.jpg http://www.alansondheim.org/qincave13.jpg http://www.alansondheim.org/qincave46.jpg The Qing dynasty qin was played in the Brown University Cave. I noticed that the Cave formed a resonant chamber or sound box. The goose-feet (yen-tsu) rested either directly on the floor, or on a wooden board - in both cases transmitting the sound directly to the chamber floor. For the straight-forward audio recording, an instrument mic and vibration meter were used; the meter was wedged against the chamber floor and a structural support, and the instrument mic was placed directly underneath the instrument. A second mic also led to an instrument amplifier facing away from the chamber; its sound was recorded with the video camera, but didn't interfere with the straight audio, which was fed into a Zoom H4n. The whole chamber was 'live,' as were the images; the Cave wand and control glasses were worn either by me or Kathleen or Azure imitating the qin moves. The other end of the qin rested either on a board or on my leg; playing the instrument in a dim colored light, close to the floor, was difficult but not impossible. The four images show the arrangement under various conditions. The three audio pieces demonstrate the use of H4n output; the sound was raised two to three octaves, so that the ambiance recorded by the vibration meter would be audible. In some cases I chose to raise the pitch of the instrument mic as well; the general contours of the improvised pieces changed with each adjustment. When playing, I also made use of sounding the strings to the left of my left- hand stopping; this produced a non-resonant high-pitched series of tones which were more controllable than I thought they would be. The session was two and three-quarters hours, during which thirteen videos and audio tracks, as well as over fifty images, were produced. I will release these as processed over the next few days. I'd never heard a qin sound so resonant as it did in this chamber; for this reason, I thought of 'crystal' as a generic name for the processed audio. Since the qin mythos reflects the cosmos, one way or another, it was fitting to work with sound inhabiting the space, just as the Cave writing and movement did. Together they created a miniature, fragile cosmology which needs more exploration. Thanks to John Cayley for the opportunity to work in the Cave, Kathleen Ottinger for assisting and performing, Azure Carter for performance, video, audio, and song, and Stephen Dydo for restoring the qin.