Embedded Files
All content is written, photographed, and edited by our amazing COSMOS students!
Week 1
Day 1: 7/8/24 (Monday)
Day one started strong with us introducing ourselves with slides that shared our interests. We then jumped right in, learning what sound is and why sounds sound different. After lunch, we explored the difference between music and noise. Surprise – they’re basically the same! Music is simply noise that is given meaning and completely depends on how you perceive it. After, we went noise hunting with FM radios, finding noise being generated by electronics.
Day 2: 7/9/24 (Tuesday)
Day two started with us touring the musical department, where we saw where music techniques work and the setup of the rooms, noise-canceling rooms, and the specific architecture in a theater that amplifies the performers. Last but not least, we entered the experimental theater, a room with 61 speakers, arranged to make sound not just play, but move around. We got a first-hand listen of the theater, feeling the sound run around us. After experiencing this, we went back to learn about a digital audio workspace (DAW), Audacity. We took 3 sounds, a gibbon, the thump of car doors, and a scene in “The Wild Thornberrys” and made a mix with samples taken from them.
Day 3: 7/10/24 (Wednesday)
We learned Ableton, another more advanced DAW than Audacity. It allows us more control and the ability to create our own sounds. Using Ableton, we created beats. Our TA, Charles Deluga, taught us why pop songs sound like pop songs: they use a 4/4 time signature. After lunch, we continued to work on our songs and added some samples from our mix from yesterday, resulting in some masterpieces.
Day 4: 7/11/24 (Thursday)
Day Four started with us listening to a lecture on researching for our ethics presentations. After listening, we then headed to the Geisel Library on campus to do some researching. After taking some scenic shots and researching, we then headed to lunch. After lunch, we then started working again on our Ableton beats, sharing all of our songs at the end. We learned a lot about the creation of our favorite pop songs.
Page updated
Report abuse