Sound: Art and Technology
Lecture
-
- Language of instruction
- English
- Semester offered
- SS 2024
- Schedule
Weekly
- Date(s) & Time
- Thu, 12:30 – 14:00
- Contact hours per semester
- 32
- Location
- as announced
- Instructor(s)
- Lorenz Schwarz
The artistic exploration of sound, with its social and communicative functions, is closely tied to cultural and technological developments. This course provides an overview of artistic approaches, research methods, and theories in sound art and music. Using historical and contemporary examples of key compositions and notable sound works, creative and technological contexts are analyzed and critically discussed, complemented by new listening practices.
The course introduces sound-making tools and their artistic applications, covering topics such as spatial sound, computer music, sonification, algorithmic composition, music interaction, and soundscapes. Field experiments and assignments offer hands-on experience, while workshop discussions delve deeper into the material. The course fosters collaboration across departments, encouraging interdisciplinary synergies.
A background in sound or music is recommended but not required.
Course Content
- Introduction to sound's role in art and technology across cultural, artistic, and scientific contexts
- Modes of listening including auditory perception, listening strategies, and their impact on artistic practices
- Sonification techniques for transforming data into sound
- Acoustic spaces and spatial sound (Ambisonics, diffusion, historical perspectives)
- Noise aesthetics in art and music (from scientific interpretations to experimental practices)
- History of electronic music from early instruments to modern synthesis techniques
- Sound art analysis exploring sound, space, and interactivity
- Field recording techniques in artistic and ecological contexts
- Critical discussions and oral presentations
Prerequisites
- No prior experience required; open to all students
Learning Objectives
- Develop a foundational understanding of sound art and its technological applications
- Analyze key compositions and sound works from historical and contemporary perspectives
- Explore basic principles of sound art, algorithmic composition, soundscape, and spatial sound
Credits
- Leistungsnachweis Fachtheorie Medienkunst (graded Theory Course Credit)
- Leistungsnachweis Medienkunst (graded Course Credit)
- Leistungsnachweis Basis-Lehrveranstaltung (graded Basic Course Credit)
Methods
- Weekly lectures incorporating theoretical and practical content
- Listening sessions and discussions on historical and contemporary experimental sound works
- Field experiments and assignments to explore musical sound creation
- Collaborative projects and in-class presentations to share research findings
Assessment tasks
- Complete field recordings and analysis of soundscapes
- Write reflections on key theoretical readings
- Collaboratively explore soundscape, spatial sound, and sonification concepts
- Deliver an oral presentation or develop an artistic sound project with documentation
Workload
- In-class time approximately 32 hours
- Independent work approximately 50-70 hours for reading, listening, assignments, and optional project development
- Total approximately 82-102 hours
Recommended literature
- Cox, Christoph. Sonic Flux: Sound, Art, and Metaphysics. University of Chicago Press, 2018.
- Emmerson, Simon, editor. Music, Electronic Media and Culture. Routledge, 2016.
- Ihde, Don. Listening and Voice: Phenomenologies of Sound. State University of New York Press, 2008.
- Kahn, Douglas. Earth Sound, Earth Signal: Energies and Earth Magnitude in the Arts. University of California Press, 2013.
- LaBelle, Brandon. Background Noise: Perspectives on Sound Art. Bloomsbury, 2012.
- Licht, Alan. “Sound Art: Origins, Development and Ambiguities.” Organised Sound, vol. 14, no. 1, 26 Mar. 2009, pp. 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771809000028.
- Smalley, Denis. “Spectromorphology: Explaining Sound-Shapes.” Organised Sound, vol. 2, no. 2, Aug. 1997, pp. 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771897009059.
- Sterne, Jonathan, editor. The Sound Studies Reader. Routledge, 2012.
- Ross, Alex. The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. Picador, 2008.
- Varèse, Edgar, and Chou Wen-chung. “The Liberation of Sound.” Perspectives of New Music, vol. 5, no. 1, 1966, p. 11, https://doi.org/10.2307/832385.