"Perhaps because of the noisy and chaotic nature of the production process, these tools are located in the south side of the encircling ring architecture." (Bakersmith Report, 2015, p.37)
Concepts
"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant.
We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."
Albert Einstein
Selected Audio Software for Input, Manipulation and Output Title Access Online Tutorials Reviews Examples Publications Company Costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Encyclopedia Britannica states that "sound is a mechanical disturbance from a state of equilibrium that propagates through an elastic material medium". Through air at sea level, sound travels at 741.1 miles per hour. The denser this medium, the faster sound travels. In seawater, sound travels over four times faster than air. But knowing such detail about sound provides virtually no guidance to the creator of a wide variety of compositions in the information age. Consequently, this chapter is less concerned with the physics of sound and more concerned with its human perception. This chapter's emphasis is on the synthesis of audio into the larger mix of communication and composition elements that are important to our culture and to teachers and learners.
By synthesis I mean a unified composition of audio (sound or music) and any combination of other communication elements such as text, still images, animation, video, virtual reality, and electronic sensors and remote control. Prior to computer technology, a form of "parallel play" was possible, for example by turning on music while reading a book, or listening to the radio broadcast of a game while watching the game on TV. This chapter will provide ideas that can be used in the parallel play environments of our legacy systems still common in our homes, schools and businesses. But this chapter's goal is to look beyond this era. The electronic age allows new compositions in which the audio and other elements are considered as part of a unified composition, in the same way that music tracks are integrated so intimately in movie composition. Such compositional design allows one individual to take responsibility for all elements of the synthesis or to engage multiple composers in the unification of a single work. This synthesis across these major forms of communication and composition is only possible using computer technology.
The concept of audio represents two overlapping elements: sound and music. Sound has alerted us to danger and to opportunity. Speech, the creation of particular sounds for particular objects and ideas, was a watershed experience at some unknown point in human history. Music is a specialized form of sound, but a form of such importance to our species as to have had universal and significant appeal across all time in all cultures of which we have knowledge. While sound effects and speech have been used to emphasize the rational relationships of cause and effect, the use of music has been to accent the emotional, the nonrational aspect of human communication. Major elements of culture and communication throughout human history have used music to magnify and enhance their power and efficacy. Music has the capacity to reflect and influence human emotion. Though current culture accepts music's intrinsic value as an art unto itself, it also has a significant history of extrinsic relevance to seemingly everything. It is used at times like a salt for nearly every food for thought. Music has never been more readily available nor more widely used.
At this stage in United States educational history, the role of both sound and music has developed certain curious characteristics. The anomaly to the observation of the universality of music would appear to be the educational system of at least the United States. In the last 50 years particular curriculum philosophies have created a tension between the "arts" and the "basics" of education, meaning reading, writing and mathematics. The arts, including music, have been increasingly specialized and increasingly marginalized. This was done primarily to provide greater time on task to address what are referred to as the curriculum basics but also to provide the music educator with focused time on their own agendas. The debate about extending the school day and the school year to provide even more time for instruction on the basics implies a sense of increasing failure to achieve national curriculum goals in the basics for many students. One must ask whether this separationist movement is self-defeating. Given the perceived relevance of art in general and music in particular to human culture, perhaps learners find math and reading increasingly less relevant as the arts become increasingly less relevant to core educational values. An in-depth look at the role of the arts and music in human history would suggest that a reversal and rethinking of this particular current curriculum trend would have greater long term strategic value.
Perhaps the primary use of sound in current classrooms is in its enforced absence. Sound is a significant means of signaling obedience and extending control. Here, sound has more negative connotations that positive ones. Schools teach that the making of sound that is not specifically authorized is an act of misbehavior if not outright defiance. Perhaps this explains some of today's popular musical trends. Today's classrooms are the polar opposite of the "blab" schools of Abraham Lincoln's day when everyone was to read and think out loud and the ear was trained to ignore the sounds of others and to concentrate on one's own mental activity. In today's classroom, sound of any kind other than one individual's voice at a time is generally perceived as a disruption to the concentration of others. Further, music's role in the overall curriculum is one of "auditory cheesecake", nice but not essential. This is in some contrast to the home environment whose central rooms generally have some radio or television producing sound and children's rooms which frequently have some kind of music playing throughout waking hours. This is in contrast to most business environments which allow music to be playing while work is underway or which encourage music to be played in general sales areas. Music and sounds play an important role in today's psychotherapy, geriatrics, and advertising. Even dairy barns and animal feed lots have found that music has improved the effectiveness of the environment. School use of sound is certainly in contrast to the newest cultural forms of communication, computers and their networks. In just the last few years, sound capacity (including CD and DVD players, speakers and headphones) has become a standard feature. Network transmissions include sound in audio and video conferencing, in Internet phone calls, in the transferring of musical data files, and in automatic transfer of data that is recognized by media plug-ins and players which manage sound and video across the Internet.
What explanation can there be for this interesting contrast between schools and general culture? One explanation might be that forms of economic and technical determinism are at work. Educators may be managed covertly by the capabilities of a given technology. The dominant form of communication in most classrooms is cellulose technology. Perhaps there is an inherent operational advantage to aligning closely with the characteristics of the technology that dominates, in this case a silent communication of the visual, of text and still images. Paper is also an extremely cost efficient form of mass communication. One could conclude that educational systems have optimized their environments for lowest cost mass communication. Based on this line of thought, one could predict that as classrooms change to optimize for the emerging and highly interactive global culture, a culture which emphasizes more direct individualized and small team communication across vast distances, that the economics and technologies of the classroom will change. If so, the economics of paper versus computer networks and the technical features of textbooks versus media savvy communication machines will dramatically alter the nature of common classroom behaviors and consequently their use of sound.
There are other deeper reasons for the segregation of basic human communication and composition skills. These reasons reach to the core of our curriculum theories about why and how we teach and learn. There is a perception that to best teach a skill we must isolate it like a scientist isolates a variable for experimentation. Reducing the number of interactions to the minimal number possible is essential. Divorce music instruction from reading and reading instruction will improve because other goals of music instruction are not included. The number of goals being worked on has been simplified.
Where does this line of thinking come from? It comes from a rationalistic framework that hungers for simplified cause and effect in order to maximize control and production. Our culture hungers for it because we have seen and been told of its power. Such analytical thinking has had incredible power in the physics of building better tools and machines. Its seems straightforward to apply this logic to living systems, including people. If we spend more time directing a child to work on word attack skills then this thinking implies that their word attack skills will get better. If we include a feedback loop to spot and correct errors in these word attack skills they will reach perfection in them more quickly. Music education would use the same logic. If we spend more time in learning notes in the treble clef then we will read music better. If we include a feedback loop to spot and correct errors, they will reach perfection in their use faster. The more important the process, the greater the time that should be spent on it. More people do not work in the music industry making music than do, so drop music and add time on text in books.
In fact, it is a philosophical leap of faith to conclude that a process or method that succeeds wonderfully in improving simple inanimate objects also works on improving complex living organisms or the cultural systems by which these living entities organize. If human beings were machines that did not require special motivation to maintain effort over ever longer periods of focus, and if a human being's power to self-control what their mind attends to were not an issue, then this rationalistic philosophy would have greater educational value. However, such philosophy has severe limitations in maintaining quality output whether working with adults or children. Increasingly, even factories that produce inanimate objects have had to re-examine and deconstruct this model for their social organization to maintain the quality of their goods.
If it is important to build on a scientific frame of reference, then the study of ecology and the logic that descends from it has a value that needs to be examined. In the science of ecological systems, it is understood that complexity and diversity are essential to health. Divorce and segregation of the elements is generally unnatural. The removal of species is seen as weakening the overall system. Homogeneity is a sign of impending death. Increasing the number of interactions between elements of the systems is a means to improve its well being. The nature of interaction between even two or three major the elements of an ecological system is seen as so complex that long term prediction and control is not possible. Applying this philsophy to education, the music teacher and the reading teacher would be encouraged to increasingly merge their roles and look for new ways to interact between their goals. Simple but effective ideas will emerge. For example, the reading teacher struggles to motivate the child to increase their fluency with new words by reading the same passage over and over. The music teacher knows that with the right song, a combination of new words will be hummed and practiced for days without any external pressure.
Sound and music are an integral part of human culture. Sound provides its own intrinsic values. For example, there is no substitute for hearing the actual vocal pacing and inflection of a voice to derive the full meaning of words. Using identical words, voice mail provides more information than email and this additional information is not only important to the listener but sometimes more important than the literal meaning of the words.
The value and use of aural composition (including speech and music) in a classroom depends the instructor's perception and expectation of the availability of the technology for both its output and input. The technology of paper (e.g., cellulose technology) inherently supports only part of human communication capacity, and at that, only part of visual communication. That is, text easily integrates with imagery that includes such still elements as graphs, photographs and tables. Paper is not capable of dealing with stored or live communication that extends through some measure of time, including sound, music, animation, video and virtual reality. In the new age of communication that is emerging, paper's dominance is doomed. This is not to say that paper will or should disappear. It will always have its conveniences. We are habituated to its use. But its fundamental inability to handle the full range of stored human communication compared with the capacity of computer technology to do so suggests that its time has come and is going. It's share in the market of communication is about to fall. The length of time that paper technology remains in the twilight of its golden years is at the mercy of the cost of production of computer chips and network technologies, all of which drop in price and double in capacity every 18 to 24 months. Further, the form factor of electronic display of information is so malleable that electronic structures that mimic the characteristics of sheets of paper are emerging. The switchover time is relentlessly approaching at which the cost of computer delivery of information will make computer delivery and sharing of electronic information as universal as paper. Relevant to the use of sound and music, in the rest of the culture the tide has already turned. The use of radios, stereos and speakers is a commonplace everywhere but in the classrooms. Further, sound technology is a basic part of the personal computer package. However, without the perception and expectation of the use of audio, even the computer through the use of email can contribute to the devocalization of human culture.
As we increasingly near the dominance switchover point between paper and electronic technologies, the role and value of time driven elements such as sound, animation and video will grow. The expecation that educational systems will teach with and about them will grow. With this expectation will come a need to compose, edit and publish with these fundamental communication elements. Sound is the easiest of these elements to address now with current computer technology.
In considering sound, we examine a harbinger of other changes to come. Yet we must also contend with a rather tawdry history of the technology for sound recording and playback. Though many of the technologies for the storage of sound, such as wax, plastics and wires, will last for decades or centuries, our inventiveness has created a number of pockets of "dead media" in which the playback devices are no longer supported and maintained. It is the rare university library that has any device for replaying Edison's scratchy wax cylinders of the 1800's or the high quality sound of 8 track tapes of the 1970's. The phonograph player may be the next in line for extinction. Fortunately, computer technology provides a wide range of tools for converting digital media stored in one electronic sound format to another and the long term retention of such tools for conversion is extremely inexpensive.
In spite of the common use of sound in general and music in particular, it remains hard to rationalize as required or not required in any given situation in the design and composition of communication. We must work with many generalities. These generalities also seem to have some application across species. Any aural projection is a clarification of territory (e.g., a bird at edge of its territory in the spring). Here I am and this is how I feel about myself and about the presence of others. The social nature of our species is such that we can often empathize with and resonate (e.g, the howl of the wolf and the reply of the pack) with this projection of energy. To talk, sing or play can also be an invitation to others to add their resonance in unison or harmony whether the receiver actually returns a response or only thinks it. There is a "language of the emotions" but not a formalized language, a nonrational communication so imprecise that no one has yet articulated it, but so important to particular situations that our vocal and musical intonation varies with every social setting. If it does not, we are considered insensitive and perhaps impolite. Further, entire languages, such as Chinese, are built on tonal systems. In tonal systems the rise or fall of the final sound of makes it a different word. In other words, people are sensitive to the nuances of sound and can become much more sensitive to its communication potential. The importance and value of sound will make it an integral part of "web processing" (e.g., web based communication) in the years ahead.
There are a few specific cognitive facts that are also available. Approximately one percent of human beings are tone deaf, a condition also known as amusia. They cannot sing in tune or tell two tunes apart. A even smaller percentage of the population is autistic, a condition that could be described as varying degrees of emotional deafness. Yet most autistic people are very musically capable and some are musical savants, demonstrating an ability for what appear to be emotionally deaf people to work with what many in the population see as a language for emotion. Studies have shown that intense musical practice with an instrument leads to growth in the cerbral cortex, the area most strongly associated with higher brain function. Music also can affect the "levels of various hormones, including cortisol (invoved in arousal and stress), testosterone (aggression and arousal) aned oxytocin (nurturing behavior) as well as trigger release of the natural opiates known as endorphins. Using PET scanners, Zatorre has shown that the parts of the brain involved in processing emotion seem to light up with activity when a subject hears music" (Lemonick, 2000, p.74). This said, this is not very much to work with and why our species distinguishes itself with its verbal and musical abilities remains one of the unknowns of science.
We can however pursue the knowns of human culture. To better understand audio's place at the electronic table, now and in the future, one needs deeper levels of experience with audio composition. Three stages of audio composition are considered: input, manipulation, and output. These cannot be considered totally distinct stages however, for input and manipulation are controlled by the purposes of output, by knowledge of audience. The software tools frequently cross these boundaries, integrating input, composition and output. This makes the categorization of software into the three divisions difficult. Their placement is more a case of emphasis than pure match. After this exploration, the chapter returns to the issue of integrating audio with the previously considered elements of communication: text, still images and video.
Concepts
Input is about the origination and the capture of sound or music.If the sound is produced outside the computer, there are minimum and maximum values within which the recorder must stay. Too soft and the microphone will record nothing. Too loud and the pickup will turn to mere loud indistinguishable noises. The type of microphone selected can have a major impact on finding the optimum range. What kind of microphone for which setting? The answer to this and related questions will not be found in this chapter. The selection and use of microphones is an enormous industry around which careers are built. This chapter can only ask you to consult the enormous body of literature on audio engineering and contact audio personnel who work in the music, radio or television industry. There are some general suggestions, though, that have wide application.
The sound quality of the audio is very important to the receiver's understanding. The closeness of the microphone to the sound source is an important variable in recording quality. If you cannot get the microphone close, there are other options. One option is the use of wireless microphones. Wireless microphones should be a part of every school media center. Children's voices are often soft and shy. A second option is to use a "shotgun" microphone, which is merely a long tube like addition to the mic which is pointed at the sound source. Such devices not only reduce extra environmental sounds, but can grab sounds from many yards away. Windy days can also produce the sound of wind currents over the mic. Various coverings are available that cover the mic with minor loss of sound pickup. These can be as simple a a small cloth hand-towel.
In many cases, the sound pickup can best be enhanced not by better microphones, but by enhancing the quality of the sound production. This can mean working with the speaker or performer on sufficient volume. It also means developing a clarity to the sound so that variations are distinct. For a person, this has as much to do with relaxing and warming up the voice before speaking as it does with the careful articulation of the words or music. It also means finding a pitch that is within the normal range for a set of vocal cords.
Practice
In addition to library resouces (see bibliography) web sites are providing instruction on sound input. New sites arrive regularly. Try these search terms in different search terms: teaching sound; teaching audio; audio tutorials;
Input and Play Input to Edit
- Raoyalt-free music/loops and sound effects
- FreeMusic Jukeboxes. There is a very long list of players that can handle MP3 music files along with reviews of these players at http://www.dailymp3.com/players.html. These players can use the hard drive to record, store, download, make CDs and play MP3 music while doing other things at the computer. Here are some popular examples.
- Nullsoft's WinAmp (Win). [Also provide WinAmp Locker: 3 Gig. of online storage for music files]
- Music Match (Mac/Win) Reviews.
- Xaudio (Linux & Unix)
- FreeAmp (Linux/Win)
- General Purpose Media Players that can play audio streaming from the web or from a local hard drive but also play a wide variety of other media.
- Quicktime Player (Mac/Win)
- Microsoft's Media Player (Win)
Real's RealPlayer (Mac/Win)Audio composition can be divided into a many steps and stages. These web sites above explore many of the facets of audio composition.
- Using video editors for sound editing. Delete the Video track then save the audio.
- The above is part of a larger tutorial on video editing. See the web audio section for web page integration. The same concepts apply to the use of all video editors.
- DMOZ's Computers: Multimedia: Audio: Audio Tutorials
- Media Builder's Audio Tutorials
- Jay Rose's monthly column of audio tips and techniques for Digital Video magazine.
- Jay Ros'es DV column's (same writer but different web page view)
- Pro Audio Coursework Site Guide
- HiFi Audio Site Guide: Do-it-Yourself
There is considerable overlap in the tools for input and manipulation of sound. For more information also see the section above on input.
The composer of such linked works must address certain basic questions. What does sound contribute? To what degree or in what portions should sound be used in any given page and across a set of pages? Also, given the current nature of the technology for information display, the composer must ask about applications. Which digital sound format should be used? Which players are recommended? Where can such players be found? Hopefully the day will soon be forthcoming in which there are at least a couple of universal standards for sound that every web browser will use, largely eliminating these latter questions.
Sound, whether words or music, contributes both intrinsic and extrinsic values to our compositions. Sound contibutes several intrinsic values: attention getting; legitimacy and authority to a verbal statement; emotional heft; and replacement for text for those that are blind. Extrinsically sound magnifies the impact of other elements. If the text provides a tone that is sad or silly, music can accent this. Music then is more than content, it also increases the value of receiving that content.
The NG (National Geographic) strategy that is useful in guiding the integration of textual and visual elements has its limitations. The NG strategy suggests beginning communication with small amounts of text placed against a dominant display of still image and video then gradually decreasing the visual in favor of larger quantities of text so that at the end of the composition the balance is the reverse of the beginning. This NG strategy runs out of steam when it comes to sound. The NG strategy emerged out of a need to capture attention and add information that text could not, while simultaneously drawing the reader further into greater densities of text. However, sound does not compete for visual concentration in the way that text, image and video do. Sound can duplicate and act in parallel so that written text is also spoken, or image and video can be described in further oral detail. Music can play independent of narration or play "under" or in the background to oration. It is not necessary to provide less text or less image when sound is included. There would appear to be little strategic guidance for the measured inclusion of sound in a comprehensive composition.
It might appear one could derive a single operating principle, only one media form can dominate at a time. This is similar to the design of music in which there is generally only one melody line. Depending on the placement and sequencing of different media forms, it is generally best for only one to receive the accent of larger display space, centralized placement or play over time. When different "messages" are available, they must overlap or be complementary. One would not expect the listener (e.g., learner) to focus on a new tune or significant aural message at the same time that new text ideas are presented. One would not run two different video displays with audio tracks and add a simultaneous music composition. But consider for a moment the musical ideas of consonance and dissonance. This principle is of value if the goal is consonance. And yet, there are useful and intentional situations for conflicting messages. In keeping with the idea of dissonance, one might place a video clip on the left of a display screen which shows a movie aggrandizing the glory of the 3rd reich, while a video clip on the right might play pans of the piles of death camp victims in world war two. A musical composition might run at the same time which sets a tone for peace which in turn conflicts with the anger and hate stirred by both video pieces.
One is left with the general understanding that sound should contribute but not totally distract from the other elements and that opinion about the nature of this balance will vary with the audience. This suggest that volume control is not an option but an essential element. If the option exists to totally cut out the sound, clear indications of critical sound pieces must be written into the text or noted by special symbols that may also require introductory explanation.
The composer must also be sensitive to a range of negative influences of music and sound. Their tone may undercut or work against other elements. For example, the text may be serious in tone but a tone which is undercut by music which is flippant or childish. The grammar and photography may be flawless, but the sound may come out cheap and fuzzy.
In summary, sound can undercut and weaken a composition, but it also has enormous potential to strengthen both the message being communicated, its rational component, and the experience of receiving that communication, its nonrational perspective.