Memory Soundscape
Memory Soundscape
Embedded Files
--声声慢 (Slow Slow Tune)
by Li Qingzhao
Almost all of my projects must go through a winding process. Just like the previous diptych assignment, I changed the ideas of my design many times for this project as well.
Originally, I planned to create a story about a dream. But after practicing in Sound Exercise II, I realized the result wasn’t very satisfying, so I decided to give up that idea. Later, I considered making a crime scene, but it was challenging to record the necessary sounds, so I gave up on that too. In the end, I chose to work on this poem, to recreate the scenes and emotions within it.
Concept
For the first half of the audio, I intended to create a war scene. This is because background of the poem is the invasion of China’s Northern Song Dynasty by the Jin forces, which led to the poet’s personal tragedy of losing her family and home—painful and desolate.
The second half of the audio features the content of the poem itself. You can hear sounds of rain, birds chirping, and wine being poured. While the poem doesn’t mention whether the poet cried, I added the sound of sobbing to convey sadness and the character’s emotions. Since this is an audio piece and not a video, I wanted to use this sound to create a sorrowful atmosphere.
The sound of rain changed from heavy to light. This also indicates the change in time and space. It was also used to created different atmospheres.
Process
My first step was to organize the structure of my soundscape and plan what kinds of sound should I record. I imagined the scene in my mind and tried to feel what kind of sounds I might hear.
After the planning, I started to record these sounds. It was really hard to imitate the sound of a war. One example is the sound of horse hooves. I believe this sound is highly representative of ancient Chinese battlefields. But imitating this sound isn’t simple—I used my fingernails to tap on different tabletops to get as close as possible to the effect I wanted. Another example is the sound of swords; I created this by rubbing and striking two kitchen knives together.
The next step was to put these audios into Adobe Audition and try to arrange them. To be honest, using Adobe Audition was much easier than trying to use Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop, since the functions were clear and I was familiar with them. I first arranged all the audio to form a rough structure, and then I made some specific adjustments. I adjusted the volume to make the overall sound more harmonious. I used panning to make different sounds correspond to different positions. I really enjoy the panning feature; it’s fascinating to have the sound move between the left and right ears.
Feedbacks and Reflection
I immediately asked my friend for feedback as soon as I finished with my work. What made me laugh was that she said when she listened to it the first time, she thought the first half was someone cooking in the kitchen. She said it was because the sound of metal clashing was a bit too loud, and the horse hoof sounds were a bit faint. After hearing her feedback, I immediately adjusted the audio levels to try to achieve a better effect.
As for myself, I think the major issue is that, without any explanation of my work, many people may not immediately understand what I’m trying to express. Additionally, cultural barriers are another problem. If listeners are unfamiliar with the poem, they may find it difficult to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere or emotion of the audio. As for the soundscape itself, I feel my work lacks a sense of layering. Many sounds are overlaid, making it sound a bit chaotic. Additionally, the emotional expression in the second half isn’t strong enough. I will try to solve these problems later on.
All right... below are the screenshots of my Adobe Audition and the link to my soundscape -- 声声慢.
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