Final Exam: Listening Quiz

By Vincent P.K. Wong

1. Final 1

Definitely, this is an acousmatic composition that implements electronic sound-editing to weave a

captivating form and macrostructure. This piece definitely gives a conventional „wow‟ factor with
the variety of rhythm, tempo and climax developments. Many sound processing techniques and wide
uses of different sound materials makes the piece stray away from traditional music concrete genre.
The piece has explicitly separated sections, intended by the composer to give a sectional form.

Predominantly, this piece has a percussive gesture due to the nature of the primary sound material
used. The piece opens with a natural, inharmonic and short lip-blowing sound, which has been
modified and layered for variety throughout the piece. The attributes of these noise-based bursts of
sound consists of sharp attacks and “fuzzy” decays, short stationary states with complex internal
dynamics and internal rhythm. The repeat of the material and the sectional rhythms between each
section establish general unity for the beginning quarter of the piece. Also, the beginning starts with
sparse density since the silence between the sections are longer, but gradually grow denser as the
layers thicken and silence shortens. In unison, there is a layer of synthesized, harmonic, high-pitch
droning two notes played in the background, which synchronizes to the percussive foreground of the
lip-blowing envelope. Between the silent gaps, variety is made from varying interludes of different
source materials. For example, a synthesized erasing sound, a breathing sound, a sound-modified
whirring noise, tapping sound, and a squirting sound from a canister are just some materials used.

The combination of the two repeating layers dynamically grows louder and denser to the climatic
mix of synthesized, complex-envelope and droning growl. This middle duration enters with an
ominous, train-like whirring sound that pitch-shifts higher and is panned in the background, while
the few repeats of the lip-blowing unites the piece. Fading in and out with echoing, against the
background noise, is a few of the percussive sound materials used in the silent gaps from before. At
first, the amplitude is dynamically soft, but at the point when the whirring sound is gentlest, it
unnaturally repeats louder and at a higher pitch to separate sections, revealing abrupt dynamics and
pitch progression. The noise-based, heavy texture layer then gradually fades, softer via the same
method but reversed, until only the filtered lip-blowing sound is heard, spatially coming closer and
then farther out via reverb, balancing the thick ceaseless texture with its percussive sparseness.

After a short silence, fading in is a harmonic, heavy, low-frequency background sound separated
by loud bomb-like shattering, which seems like a slower tempo, low-passed, bass-boosted excerpt of
the original lip-blowing sound. These two sounds could have been passed through filters to
emphasize dominant frequencies for a varying spectrum, emphasize contrast and darker mood.
Creating an ominous sound, with each bomb-like restatement louder than previously, until at the
loudest, at which the low-frequency hum decreases in pitch and amplitude decreases. After, this
breaks abruptly to a rhythmic and synthesized ground bass, coupled with a “smooching” percussive
sound, each repeat decreases in amplitude and density. This transforms to a mix of high-frequency
sine wave and ground bass drumming, with increasing amplitude chanting until overwhelmed by
bomb sound. This transition smoothly into the synthesized and steam-like sound hisses in the
background, ebbing and flowing in dynamics until it fades out, implying a modern “spaceship” form.
2. Final 2:

This is mostly a soundscape piece, albeit slightly musique concrète due to the concentration of
materials and transitions. Regardless, it fits a soundscape definition because it utilizes familiar
sounds that listener can relate to semantically, and manipulates listener‟s emotions. The beginning is
gentle, as sparse raindrop sounds are faded in, which develops denser and bigger in volume as rain-
to-water-surface contacts and the movement of ripples are heard. Contrasting pitches provides
balance, from the high-frequency trickling of water against the low-frequency thumps of big raindrop
onto a bucket of water. Rhythmically, the raindrops and trickles present a natural percussive
instrument that varies in timbre and amplitude throughout the piece. After the entrance of heavier
rain, a panning of a passing car on the wet streets follows. This transition to rain contacting harder
surface changes the texture, with a palette of harder thumping and softer high-pitched drops that
rhythmically sets unity. For example, one can hear the timbre difference between rain on umbrellas
and rain on metallic plates. In the background, a soft electronic hum provides a soft texture.

At around the 1:45 mark, the restatement of a crossing car on wet surface is heard again, louder
and introducing a layer of passing vehicles for diversity, as a foreground to the “rain” theme. Spatial
relations are set via panning of the vehicle movements approaching and driving away, setting an
urban transformation. Gradually, the volume of the rain percussion fades out from the background
after a car pass, to focus on this new spatial movement layer. The composer utilized the long and
complex envelope of passing cars, panned fade in and long decaying fade out as car drives away,
while the tires rolling on wet surface adds the “fuzz” timbre to relate to the rain theme.

Juxtaposed to the car movement gesture are random sound events from a car honk, subtle roaring
engine, followed by a person shouting (i.e. “What?”) and a speeding away car, manipulating the
listener‟s emotions (i.e. frustration in traffic) and to add variety to the soundscape. At the three
minute mark, piece is balanced with a background layer of church bell sounds, which have a long
envelope and resonating decay with varying dynamics, contrary to the short percussive envelopes of
the splattering of water (i.e. rain and car) and the foreground of passing cars. Around 20 seconds
after the bells, the background electrical hum starts to fade out, and then backs in to morph into a
lower pitch providing variety.

A speedier and more rushed gesture follows. A momentary high frequency car “swoosh” sound is
heard at 4:20 to break the gentle gesture, which is panned from left to right, albeit with a slight echo,
and is passed through high-pass filter for highlighting the “wet” fuzz sound and to make, seemingly,
a very speedy car sound. Simply, it is just a higher-frequency repeat of the 1:00 minute car “swoosh”
transition sound. With this smooth transitional sound, the water-sloshing noise increases in
amplitude and density, and transfers into a new timbre (i.e. ocean waves beating against rocks).
Unity is set by this heavy sloshing of waves instead of rain then, along with the restatement of the
droning hum background sound to tie the sections together. A restatement of the soft trickling of
rain juxtaposes against the heavy mix of “sloshing” sound. Although the section is as dense as before,
different timbre of sound materials sets variety and thick textures. Slowly and with the gentle,
electric humming, the piece fades out to an end. Subjectively, the soundscape contrasts the natural
and urban sounds via the repeat and reordering of sound materials, most significantly the rain and
water sounds against the mechanical movements of cars and city soundscape.