Recently I came across the term Sonification when I stumbled upon a news article about how images and data from space had been turned into music. The Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula were likened to an eerie sci-fi film score. My interest was peaked, and I had to find out more. Soon I found myself listening to a bunch of videos that mapped spacial discoveries using both images and sound. Each new element was introduced by a new sound, forming strange, complex, and perhaps somewhat random music.
‘Sonification can make cosmic wonders more accessible to people with blindness or visual impairments, and complement images for sighted learners. SYSTEM Sounds teamed up with Kimberly Arcand, a visualization scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass., to create the new pieces.’ – Science News
Sonification Explained.
Turning data into music or sound is not a new concept. Off hand I can think of various day to day sonification instances where sounds have been used to indicate certain visual cues. The beeping of the Pedestrian Stop/Walk light, the tictocking and chiming of a clock…
Interpreting data with the use of sound or music for the purpose of conveying certain information or perceptualizing a concept has been used by man since the early 20th century. The Geiger counter, invented in 1908, is one of the earliest and most successful applications of sonification. Indicating levels of radiation with increased warning clicking sounds.
Nowadays new applications and systems for turning data into sound are being developed, and although there is still no exact method on how to do it, various scientists, researchers and musicians have been collaborating to interpret data through sound or sonification in various interesting ways. SYSTEM Sounds have been working on more space music and ICAD (International Community for Auditory Display) holds annual conferences and forums for people to come together to explore research in auditory display, the use of sound to display information.
Changing data is often shown by increasing or decreasing the pitch, amplitude or tempo, as well as with different notes or even timbre. Not only is the data producing unusual compositions in sound, but perhaps it can also inspire musicians to think outside of the box when it comes to arranging tones, or compositions for new music. Several different techniques such as Acoustic Sonification , Audification and Model-Based Sonification have been used. These methods can create various interactive musical pieces or even instruments and there are some open-source software tools that have been developed alongside, to facilitate them.
Sonification is still in its infancy and it will be interesting to watch its growth and application. Perhaps it may even spawn a whole new array of careers within the science of sound and musicology. Check out SYSTEM Sounds for more sonification videos and perhaps try your hand at creating your own sonifcations with tools like combining Arduino and Mozzi, perhaps you will invent a new instrument! Or visualise active data with sound in your own installation!
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It’s the start of a new school year here in Spain, and at the Shine School of Music in Barcelona we are offering a fresh new group courses in music! After a long summer, now’s your chance for a new beginning! If you ever wanted to start singing or playing an instrument, don’t let “later” becomes “never”, start your musical journey now!
Group lessons are beneficial in that they provide a chance to those who may find shelling out for the private music lessons a bit of an economic burden. Besides being a great way to learn music in a fun environment, group lessons are also a super way to make new friends, all the while learning a new skill!
Shine Music School is running group lessons in the following:
All of these lessons are 4 hours a month, in 4 one hour classes, 1 class each week. You can check out our schedule for the time slots. Each of the lessons is facilitated by a professional music teacher. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact the school to find out more!
Besides these fixed group lessons, the Shine Music School also provides the option to arrange your own private group lessons. So if you and bunch of your friends or family would like to get together to learn an instrument or to sing, we can provide a flexible schedule, a talented teacher and great prices!
Let your musical journey begin!
If you don´t have your own instrument, not to worry, we can provide one for your first lesson and we also sell and rent both guitars and ukuleles!
Women began to make important movements within society in the mid-19th century with the women’s suffrage movement reaching its peak during the Representation of Peoples Act in the UK and the Nineteenth Amendment in the US in 1920. With the right to vote in hand and the development of flapper freedom, women started to take center stage in the world of music too.
In the Jazz Age and through the 1930s, “all-girl” bands were popular. The end of World War I heralded a female-led workforce, giving women more independence, which, in turn, led to changes in their social lives and entertainment choices. Women took on new roles, including careers in music. This newfound freedom and voice gave birth to many famous women musicians from “African-American blues singer Bessie Smith (1894–1937), who inspired singers of later eras, including Billie Holiday (1915–1959) and Janis Joplin (1943–1970). ).” source
“In the 1920s, women who sang jazz were not many, but women who played instruments in jazz music were even rarer. Mary Lou Williams, known for her talent as a pianist, is considered one of the ‘mothers of the jazz’ because of her singing while playing the piano at the same time”. source
Mary Lou Williams on the piano
Terry Lyne Carrington on Drums.
Renée Rosnes at the piano.
Mary Osborne on guitar.
Women in jazz fought for recognition by competing within a powerfully male world. Many musicians began to take the themes of inequality and express them through music. Numerous women in jazz were activists, for racial equality or gender equality, and often both. In South Africa, musicians in particular used music as a form of activism during Apartheid, and singers like Miriam Makeba and Dorothy Masuka made profound statements with their jazz music. Makeba used music to speak about apartheid throughout her life.
Music remains a medium through which women celebrate their rights and express their thoughts. And perhaps without the suffragette or flapper movements, we wouldn’t have the strong female musicians we have today! Though Jazz remains a powerful tool for activism, many artists have also delved into the world of RnB, hiphop and rap. However, the musicality of jazz can still be seen as a significant foundation for the rise of powerful women musicians today.
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The Alexander Technique has helped thousands of musicians and singers perform with less stress allowing them to perform with ease and fluidity. This approach to movement greatly reduces this risk of pain and injury. The physical demands on musicians due to complex movements of muscular tension result in pain, stiffness and injuries. 76% of all musicians have medical problems that effect their ability to play, due to misuse in the body and RSI (repetitive strain injury). By helping musicians improve the quality of the physical actions involved in playing an instrument or singing, the Alexander Technique also helps improve the quality of the music itself. A violinist’s stiff shoulders and arms will get in the way of a pleasing sound; a singer’s tight neck or jaw will cause the voice to become less resonant.Once the musician can get out of their own way by freeing undue muscular tension their performance is a more organic and fluid experience.
The Alexander Technique is a re-education of the body that investigates a new concept of moving by recognizing one’s habit of movement and redirecting those energies into a a more holistic approach using one’s own mechanism (the body) as a whole as opposed to parts resulting in an ease of movement.
Over the years, a number of prominent musicians have publicly endorsed the Alexander Technique: Yehudi Menuhin, Paul McCartney, Sting, Julian Bream, James Galway and the conductor Sir Adrian Boult, to name but a few.
The Technique is taught at the Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York, The Royal College of Music in London, The Boston Conservatory of Music, The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto and at many other schools of music, universities and colleges.
We are partnering with an experienced and qualified practitioner of The Alexander Technique. Meet Milsy Davis, and learn how you can improve your posture through these groundbreaking techniques.
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João Silva has arranged, and performed both the violin and keyboard for this beautiful and haunting new musical piece called The Glass Man as part of his Still Life work. He collaborated with Margherita Abita on Vocals/Lyrics, Claudio Marrero on Saxophone, Eva Monroy, Violeta Veinte on violin, Francisco Palazón on Viola and Anna Llorens on Cello. The music video was Recorded and Mixed by Still Life music. With Mastering by Pau Andreu and Camera by Mar Gabarre.
