Shaping sounds, shaping spaces

Author(s): LELIO CAMILLERI

Source: Popular Music, Vol. 29, No. 2 (May 2010), pp. 199-211
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40926918
Accessed: 22-02-2016 04:15 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Popular Music.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
PopularMusic (2010) Volume 29/2.Copyright Cambridge UniversityPress 2010, pp. 199-211
doi:10.1017/S0261143010000036

Shapingsounds,shapingspaces
LELIO CAMILLERI
Conservatory ofMusic G.B. Martini Piazza Rossini2, 40126 Bologna,Italy
it
E-mail: lc@leliocamilleri.

Abstract
The recorded formatis themediumthroughwhichpopularmusicis diffused. Since theadventof
multi-track thestudiohas becomea compositional
recording, toolin whichmusicalideas areformed
intosoundingmatter.Directaccessto themanipulation ofsoundlayersand thepossibility ofmixing
differentsourcesand movingthemin thestereowindowbecomenotonlytechnicaloptionsbutmusi-
cal and compositionalproperties.In fact,theorganizationof therecording space reflects moreand
morethestructural organizationof the music the
itself; sound of the record is a sort of sonicprint
(soundingfingerprint) of the music of an artistin a particularperiod. This paper developsthe
idea ofsonicspace,a multi-dimensional representation oftherecording space in whichspatial,mor-
and
phological spectralspaces interactin ordertoform thestructureon which thesoundingmatterof
thepieceis developed.Throughtheanalysisoftheproperties ofeach space and theirrelationships, it
is possibletopointoutnormative behaviours,welldefinedassociationsbetweenmoremusicalaspects
likemotives,harmony,melodiesand theirorganizationin thesoundingstructure.

Introduction
The development oftoolsforrecording and playbackhas had an enormousimpact
on musicallanguage.The birthof musiqueconcrete in thehandsofPierreSchaeffer
indicateda possiblepath to be followedby all subsequentmusicswhichuse the
recordedformat as a mediumto developmusicalideas. The vinylrecord,and sub-
sequently the CD, becamenotonlya meansto documentthecreativeskillofa com-
poser/group/songwriter but a workin itsown right.It is likea painting,a unique
not a
object, replicable, fixingof a musicalproduct(Chion1991),definitional of a
period in thehistory of thatgroup/songwriter/composer.
Thus1948,theyearin whichSchaeffer composedand diffused theConcert de
Bruitsat FrenchRadio, marksa majorturningpointin the historyof musical
language;priortothis,musicwas onlytransmitted intwoways,byoralorbywritten
tradition.Consequently, the scoreand oral memoryare prescriptions thatrequire
interpretation;
they do not representthe 'sonicmatter'ofthe piece.The sonicmatter
of thepiece takesformonlyin theperformance. Priorto the development of the
documentation by recording media, this happenedonlyephemerally. The Concert
de Bruitsby PierreSchaeffer consistedoffivestudies,'Cinq Etudesde Bruits',each
one focusingon certainkindsof sound materialproducedby non-musical instru-
ments,or by musicalinstruments used in unconventional ways. Traditionally,a
piece was conceived with instruments
particular in mind and, whether conveyed
orallyor by writing, theinstructionswhichdefineit have to conform to thelimits,
albeitsometimes stretched, ofthoseinstrument/s whosetaskwas to givelifeto the
199

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
200 helioCamilleri

sonicmatter ofthepiece.Othersounds,suchas thoseoftheenvironment, couldnot

be includedin themusicaldiscourse.The adventof recording and playbacktools,
used for creativepurposes,dramatically changedthis scenario.Schaeffer used
trainsoundsforhis firstEtude;soundsof everydaylifewereused by theBeatles
in Revolution Nine,nearly20 yearslater.Neitherof thesetwo piecescould be per-
formed'live' exceptby meansof reproduction equipment;recording toolschange
thewaysin whichmusicianscreateand composemusic.
The new musicalmediumto whichthisgivesrisehas its own featuresand
peculiaritiesrelatedto musical genre.Soundbecomes the centralparameterto
develop.In more traditional genres,otherparameters(pitch,rhythm, harmony,
arrangements) are more important, even thoughtheyare organisedin a structure
in whichsound and space acquirea relevantsignification. Not onlyare soundand
space used to transmit the traditional but
parameters, theybecomeorganisational
in theirown right.
Therecordedformat fixesthesoundimageofthework.As Gracykstated,bor-
rowingthe term from the philosopherNelsonGoodman(Goodman1976;Gracyk
in
1996),music recordedformat is autographic likepaintingsand sculptures, in the
sense thatthereis no possibility thatan exactreplicacould be produced.This is
an important facetbecausethesonicimageofa workin recordedformat is perpetu-
atedinthesameforminlistener memory. In thiscontext, theinterpretationliesnotin
thereproduction ofthesonicartefact butintheveryactoflistening. Thefixing ofthe
sonicimagein listener memory meansthatmixingor production imperfections also
get fixed.For example,the sudden changefromrightto leftof the ride cymbal
rhythm at thebeginning(00:05")of KingCrimson's'Sailor'stale' marksthesonic
imageof thatpiece as clearlyas does thevoice at theback of themixof thefirst
part of Caravan's 'For Richard'(00:00"-02:36M). Even the recordingof the Soft
Machine'sThird, whichhas a veryopaque and seemingly disorganisedmixofinstru-
mentalsounds,represents a sonicprint ofthatrecord.Werewe abletolistento a new
version,withclearerequalisationand a new mixofthesoundsources,itwould not
be theThirdwhichexistsin our soundmemory.
In orderto concludetheseintroductory remarks, I would liketo notethatthis
articleis exemplified chiefly by pieces belonging to progressiverockand rockofthe
late 1960sand early1970s.Aside fromthemusicalvalues of therepertoire of that
period, this is because the a
periodrepresents phase in which the recording studio
begins to be used as a compositional tool. The consequences of thisapproach are
seenin an attitude whichexploresthepossibilities thestudiooffers, and whichoper-
ateswithouta normative articulation ofmixand montageprocesses.It is thesecon-
siderations whichmakethemusicof thatperiodan important corpusin whichto
investigate itsuse ofrecorded space. Accessto the entiresound world,thepossibility
ofcomposing notnotes,butthe'soundmatter'ofthepiece,likea sculptorcarvesthe
stone,requiresa new awarenesson behalfofcomposingmusicians,as well as new
analyticalstrategies fromthe music'scritics,in orderto take into accountthese
new features ofmusicin recordedformat.

The recordedspace
by loudspeakershidesits sound sources.As Schaeffer
Music diffused (1966) said,
borrowinga termfrom writerJerome Peignot,it is acousmatic
(Bayle1993).Music

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 201

seemsto originatefroma 'blackbox' in whichsounds are locatedin two spatial

dimensions: nearand far;left-centre-right. Whiletheearliermonoformat does not
have theseconddimension, it developeditsown spatialorganisation (Doyle2005).
It would seemto be truethatspatiallocationis themostsignificant typeof space
to be articulated in the recordingformat(Smalley2007),a pointto whichI will
return.
Monoand stereospacescanbe represented as twokindsofimaginary stage.In
monospace,thedifference betweennearand farcanbe articulated. Thismeansthat
one canplacesounds(instruments) intolayerswhich,partlyby meansoftheirloud-
ness,can be perceived overlappedbut at different
as distances.But,as theoriginal
monoversionoftheBeachBoys''Wouldn'tIt Be Nice' shows,theoverlapbetween
different soundsis not onlydue to theirloudness.Here,at thebeginningof the
song, sensationof an open and deep space is portrayed
the throughsound instru-
mentsof differing frequency ranges and reverberation. In stereospace,in addition
to thenear-fardimension, a left-centre-right dimensionis added. The stereospace
actsas a sortofwindowthrough whichthelistener can'view'thelocationofsounds,
notonlyin an overlapping construction butin a complexand dispersed structure.
We
couldbe hearinga singlesound on theleftside,one in thecentreand two on the
rightat different distances,farand near.This is hypothetical sincethe degreeof
fusionof the overallsound imagewould not allow such a precisedistinction, at
leaston firsthearing.Nevertheless, theoverallsoundimagewhichthelistenerper-
ceivesis a resultofthelocalisation ofsoundsand theirrelationships. In somepieces,
thestereolocalisation ofthesoundservesas a sortofmarkto be assignedto a par-
ticularsound or thematicfragment. In 'Cirkus',the openingtrackfromKing
Crimson'salbumLizard,thethree-note riffis locatedin theleftchannelthroughout
the song.But,as I have alreadynoted,bothin mono and (moreparticularly) in
stereo,localisationis not the only parameterwhich shapes the overall sound
imageoftherecordedpieceand providestherelativelistening sensationsofdepth,
brightness, dullness,width and saturation(see Figure1).
In orderto analyze theselisteningsensations,I used the termsonicspace
(Camilleri2005) to indicatethe space in whichthe piece unfoldsin the recorded
format. Otherscholarshave used different termsin orderto definethe space in
whichthesoundsare articulated. Wishart(2000)uses thetermlandscape, defining
a parallelism betweentheobjectslocatedin a naturallandscapeand sound objects

BACKGROUND

FOREGROUND

MONO

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND BACKGROUND

FOREGROUND FOREGROUND FOREGROUND

STEREO

Figure1. Mono and stereowindows.

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
202 helioCamilleri

placedin thestereowindow.Moore(1992)employsthetermsound-box in orderto

stressthemulti-dimensional
space in whichsounds are organised. prefera more
I
neutraltermin orderto avoid confusionwiththe termsoundscape (Schfer1972)
whichis chargedwithmorenaturaland environmental meanings.
sonicspace is a three-dimensional
Accordingto my definition, space divided
into:

localised
space;
spectral
space;
morphological
space.

Localisedspaceis thespaceintowhichsoundsare placedbothin termsofstereoor

monowindows.Obviously, theactualparameters changeaccording tothedifferences
in thesetwo spaces.Depthis one oftheprincipalfacetsofmono,at leastin termof
whileposition
localisation, and motion arekeyaspectsofstereo.Thesensory experience
oflocalisationdoesnotonlyresultfromtheseparameters, becausethespectral content
(timbre)of sound playsa relevant roleinthe overall of
perception space. This consider-
ationintroduces thenotionofspectral spaceinan appropriate way.Iflocalisation is,in
a certainway,a realsensation, thenspectralspace is metaphorical since there is no
suchphysicalspace,eventhoughwe can experience thesenseofsaturation orempti-
nessdue to thespectral content ofthesoundsused.Moreover, thecombination ofthe
spectralcontentof soundsand theirdisposition can accentuate thevarioussensory
experiences to be had fromlistening to theoverallsoundstructure.
The differentbehaviourofthecombination ofspectraland localisedspacesin
mono and stereoformatscan be observedin Caravan's'A Place of My Own', a
songfromtheirfirstalbum.Thisis a typicalearlyCaravansong,whose structure
is formedby a quietverse,a morearticulated chorusand an organsolo toward
themiddle.Ifwe listento themonorecording, we do notappreciatethechangeof
timbreof thedrumkitintroduction, fromlow to medium/high (00:00"-00:14"). In
mono the kit is masked.Stereodisplacementavoids the maskingphenomenon,
opensthespaceand placesthesubsequentdrumrollintherightchannel.In addition,
thesplashcymbalsin thechorus(00:41"),locatedin therightchannel,becomemore
evidentand modify thespectralspace.Similarly, theorgansolois locatedintheright
channelin orderto allowtherhythm guitar to be moreperceptible eventhoughitis
rather backin themix(01:36"-02:41").
Temporalperception is an additionaldimension we needtotakeintoaccountin
orderto developtheshapeofa soundstructure moreprecisely. Soundunfoldstem-
its
porallythrough morphological shape, whose streaming givesfluidity tothesound
components and theirother space types.But sounds can evolve differently in time,
providing different of
types sensoryperception, senses of direction, stasis, cyclicity
These sensationscan be expandedby placingthe sound in a given
or oscillation.
space,or can createthefeelingthata sound structure inhabitstheparticular kind
ofspaceevokedby itsmotion(Delalande1998).Repetition ofpatterns, forexample,
canaccentuate thesenseofsaturation ina soundstructure inwhichthespectralspace
is packed,is madeup ofclosefrequency bands,and theinstruments fillall thestereo
space. The importance ofthe morphology ofsounds liesin the sense ofdirection and
motion.Theidea thattheformofa soundas itsubtlychangesin timecanbe placed
in a space,meansthatthesenseofstasisor motionis viewedlikean articulation of
the relationship betweenspace and time,a metaphorical way to 'measure'the

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 203

distancesamongsounds.We can imaginethe overallformof a song or piece in

recordedformatas composedbyspaceframes whoseconnections
canbe characterised
by the morphology of one or moresounds which composethe overallsounding-
structure
ofthatparticulartemporalspace frame.

Figure2. Thethreespacetypes.

The overallimpression of saturatedspace in KingCrimson's'GreatDeceiver'

derivesfroma combination of the threetypesof sonic space (as describedin
Figure2). 'GreatDeceiver'is thefirsttrackon thealbumStarless andtheBibleBlack,
an albumwhoseoverallsoundis markedby theused ofdistorted guitar:thissong
isa goodexampleofthesonicapproachofthealbum.Thereiterated fastrhythmic mor-
phologicalpatternat thebeginning ofthesong is combined withdistortedand multi-
pliedguitarsoundsanda groupeddisposition inthestereospace,inordertoconveya
sensory of
perception saturation,where all thesounds fillthespace,giving
completely
a sortof'hardrock'feeling.
Weretherhythmic pattern and
slower, thepulsestherefore
notso closetoeachother, thesensation ofsaturation, a completely
filledspace,would
notbe evident.Thiscanbe moreclearlyconveyedmymeansofa sonogramofthefirst
ten secondsof the piece (Figure3). The coloursfromwhiteto black displaythe

Figure3. Thesonogram
ofthefirst10 secondsofKingCrimson'sGreatDeceiver.

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
204 helioCamilleri

amplitude, whiletheverticaland thehorizontalaxes show,respectively, frequency

and time.Saturation ofthespectralspaceis quiteevident,buttheverticallinewhich
marksrhythmic pulsationsshows how the fast,close repetitions of the beat add
valuein orderto conveythesensationofsaturation.
The senseofdirection, due to themorphology ofsoundwhicharticulates the
space/time relationship, is an additional feature of morphological space. In Pink
Floyd's'Breathe',forexample,thesenseof motionis due to themellowsound of
David Gilmour'sguitarwhosespectro-morphology movesand connectsthedistinct
spatial frames at the beginning ofthe instrumental partofthesong(01:24"onwards).
'Breathe'is thefirst trackon DarkSideoftheMoonand presents twotypicalfeatures of
theirsongs- an introduction based on natural/recorded soundsand a verse/chorus
structure based on a characteristic chordprogression. Theguitarsoundmorphology
is in theforeground ofthistrackand causesthesensationto dragtheoverallsound
structure in thesubsequentspace/time frames.
At thispointit shouldbe clearthatrecordedand sonicspacesare themselves
important partsofthecompositional discourse, creating a spacewhereall themean-
ings,musicaland extra-musical, In
are organised. King Crimson's'Ladies of the
Road', fromthe album Islands,it is evidentthatthe organisation of sounds in
sonic space plays a key structural role in the musicaldiscourse.'Ladies of the
Road' is a songwhichuses features ofthepreviousalbumLizard,suchas theguitar
accompaniment locatedin a welldefinedchannel,a choruswithBeatles-like reminis-
cences,withnewsonicelements suchas thevoiceofnewsingerBoz Burrell, a sparer
instrumental paletteand greater prominence inthebass drumbeat.Ifwe analyzethe
verse,wherethevoicehas an important role,we findthatitis splitbetweenthetwo
stereochannels, thoughwithdifferent amplitudelevelsineach.Eventhoughthecon-
tentofthestereochannelsvariesduringtheunfolding ofthepiece,theversemain-
tainsa patternoflead voicesplitbetweenchannelsand theaccompanimental lead
guitarintheleftchannel.Theoverallstructure oflocalisedspacehas twokeycharac-
First,itpresents
teristics. theproperty ofhavingsomeinstruments splitbetweenthe
twochannels(voiceand sax) withan amplitudepredominance on one channelcreat-
inga sortofsoundshadow(Zak 2001).Secondly,itlocalisesone sound(theguitar),
in a welldefinedchannelso as to markoutitsown space.It is interesting thatin this
piece, the only sound which seems to move from one channelto the other comes
froma synthesiser here,
(01:38"-01:40fl): the movement of uncommon sounds within
localisedspacebecomesnormative behaviour.
Thatsaid, themostimportant featurein thispiece is the space of thevoice,
whichis strictly connected to thestructure oftheverse(see Figure4). Thepiecepre-
sentsthreeverses,eachutilising a different vocalspace.In thefirst, thevoiceis very
close,in theforeground and band-filtered as ifit was utteredin a smallspace.The

VERSEI II BRIDGE 2 I I CHORUS

1 il VERSE 1 I I VERSE
3 I I CHORUS
2 I I SOIO1 11 SOLO
2 COOA
| J J

aw-wr
<ri-59"r-i'39* I'durLrcrr 2'33wj-3'i5" fsr-fsr A'sr-yw
3?iv-3ary39-4'tr

p.
Close Far

4. Thethree
Figure ofLadiesoftheRoadplaced
verses tothespatial
according axisclose-far.

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 205

spaceoccupiedbythevoiceis highlighted bythefactthatthespectralspaceis nearly

empty due to the of
presence just a few instruments locatedin distinct
partsofthe
spectralspace:guitar(medium), bass drum (low), tambourine In
(high). thesecond
verse,thespectralspace is moredensewhilethevoiceis no longerfiltered, is more
distantand has a littlereverberation. In thethirdand finalverse,thevoiceis further
distanced,a sensationcaused by it beingdoubledwitha littledelay,removingit
fromanysenseofdirectperception.
Itis clearthatsonicspacebecomesa partofthemusicaldiscourseused tomark
outthemusicaland,in certaincases,extra-musical featuresofthepiece.In thiscase
theprogressive modification ofthevoice/space represents a sonicdistinction
both of
eachverseand a subtlyprogressive estrangement of Burrell'shuman presence.This
intention is accentuated by the structure of the piece,whose secondpartis only
instrumental, as if the voice (humanpresence)is absorbedby the instrumental
sounds.

Features of sonic space

The triple-layer structureof sonicspace affectssensoryperception of not onlythe
soundingcontext in whichthemusicaldiscourseis carriedout,butalso itstemporal
unfolding. In a certainsense,itdeterminesthesonicsetting and sonicdramaturgy of
thepiece.The sonicsettingcan be viewedas thesoundenvironment in whichthe
pieceunfolds,and thesonicdramaturgy theway itbehavesas regardsitstemporal
structure.By focusingon thesetwo termsin orderto makesenseoftheway sonic
space works,it seemsthatsonicspace settingand behaviourpresentsome regu-
larities
due totheresultoftherelationships amongthesethreelayers:morphological,
spectraland localised.It followsthatthereare some categoriesof sonic settings
linkedwithsomecommonspatialsensoryperception, i.e.openand closed,produced
by theway the threecategoriesof space interact. For example,open and closed
spaces are oftenused in the same piece in orderto createopposingarticulations
and to accentuate thesenseoftensionand relaxation or to makea dramaticchange
in thesong'snarrative. Thesespaces also have extra-musical meaning:open space
evokesfreedomand vastnesswhileclose space calls to mindconstriction but also
intimacy.
Throughobservation of severalmusicalpieces,I have developedsome cat-
egories thatcan be viewed as normative in thesettingofsonicspace.Figure5 pre-
sentsa classificationoftypesof sonicspace setting, witha shortdescription of the
features ofthethreespaceswhichcompriseit.In thisclassification ofthespace set-
tingtypes,openand closedspacesare connected, sincepassingfromone to another
is oftena strategy aimedat alteringlistenerperspective or givinga sensationofthe
broadening of the sound scene. GentleGiant's'Three Friends',theconcludingsong
on theireponymousconceptalbum,presentsan exampleoftheuse ofthiskindof
spacesetting. GentleGiantmarktheconclusionofthealbumby passingseamlessly
fromtheprevioussong'MrClass and Quality?'to'ThreeFriends';thelastpartofthe
albumsoundsas itwouldbe performed in thewide space ofa cathedralor similar
environment. Thustheconclusionis markedby thisspecificspace setting, underlin-
the
ing importance ofthatpart ofthe album. The wide is
space strengthened by the
choirofvoices,typicalofa cathedral, butit also conveysa feelingofnostalgiaand
dreaminess.

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
206 helioCamilleri

I of adjacent
> occupation bands
spectral KingCrimson
TheGreatDeceiver
SATURATED SPACE morphological
redundancy L J

^ - soundsinforeground
highdensity

constant
andwelldefined
spectral
space f Matching
Mole 1
OhCaroline
TIDY SPACE modesl
p. simplemorphological L_ J

welldefined
localization
ofsoundsources

evolving
spectral
space FrankZappa
Harryyou're
CHANGING SPACE ^ morphological
changes a beast

localizedspacemovements

welldefined
spectral
space

CLOSED SPACE ^ noinfluence

ofmorphological
models
(narrow)
' localizedspaceinforeground
A
: Gentle
Giant
Three
Friends

* indifferent
spacearticulated
spectral bands
I

OPEN SPACE ^ ofmorphological

variety space
(wide)
' soundsinforeground, andsurround
background

occupation
ofnonadjacent bands
spectral RobertWyatt |
|
Sea Song
EMPTY SPACE fewmorphological
models L J

^ welldefined
localization
ofsoundevents

Figure5. Sonicspacesettings.

Use ofchangeofspacesetting is usualwhenthesoundworldofa pieceis com-

posedofboth and
instrumental non-instrumental soundsources.A
(unconventional)
good exampleis thepiece 'HarryYou're a Beast'fromFrankZappa's Mothersof
Inventionsalbum,We'reOnlyin it fortheMoney.The structure of thispiece is
based on musicalsequencesusing instrumental sounds withina song structure,
and otherscontainingsound transformed fromuncertainorigins.The piece's
partsaresubdividedintoa pianointroduction
vocal/instrumental and a verse/chorus
Withoutthetransformed
whosemelodicprofileis non-linear.
structure soundparts,
the structureof the piece is symmetrical, divided into intro-verse-chorus-
withtheexception
verse-chorus-intro, ofthedifferent ofthesecondchorus.
character

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 207

ofspace,especiallythelocalisation
The configuration parameter, in
is verydifferent
thesequenceswithtransformed sounds.Here,sound sourcesare movedbetween
stereowindowsin orderto supporttheirmorphological properties, an exampleof
interaction
betweenmorphological and spectralspace (see Figure6). The sequences
soundhave a moreprecise,tidierorganisation
usinginstrumental ofthespace.This
kindof sonicspace settingcan be found,in a moreextendedmanner,in Zappa's
Lumpy Gravy.

- HarryYou'rea Beast (1967)

FrankZappa /MothersofInvention

0" 1'22"

Soundspace settingwith Soundspace settingarticulated

eventsdividedand ordered witheventsmovingwithin the
within
thestereowindows stereowindows

Instrumental
i
sound material Transformed
i
sound material

Figure6. Thechanging
spacein thearticulation ofInventions'
ofZappa/Mothers piece.

A piecefromthesameyear,'LovelyRita'fromtheBeatles'Sgt.Pepper(Martin
1994)is an appropriate exampleofa tidy,or orderly,
spacesetting. 'LovelyRita'is a
straightforward song about a metermaid,markedby Paul McCartney'svoice,a
honky-tonk piano solo (01:12"-01:23"),
and somestrangesoundsobtainedby hum-
mingthroughcomband tissuepaper.The vocal partis highlighted in theoverall
sonicstructure of thesong,particularly withrespectto a normative stereospatial
subdivision,wherea re-presenting ofthelivepositionoftheplayers(as used in pre-
viousalbums,e.g. Help!)is ofinterest(Figure7).
The localisedspace of 'LovelyRita' dividesthe typeof sounds/instruments
withinthe stereowindowswitha verypreciseand tidyseparationbetweenthe
voiceand remaining instruments.The organisation
of thesound space in termsof
thelocalisationof the sound sourcesand theirspectralcontentis exemplified by
Figure8. The arrowindicatessound shadowsforthebass and the sound effects,
whileforthe piano it shows thatthe honky-tonk-style solo is locatedin the left

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
208 helioCamilleri

LEFT CHANNEL RIGHTCHANNEL

DRUIMS

BASS | GUITARS

VOI^E/S

Figure7. Normalstereodisposition
oftheinstruments
in theBeatles'Help.

channel.The mainfeatureis thatthevoice is locatedin therightchannel,nearly

alone. This placementreinforces and stressesthe importance of the vocal partin
thissongand allowsthelistener to be attracted
by thevoice above all. The spectral
space in therightchannel is mainlyoccupiedby the vocal spectrumand itenhances
thesonicpresenceofthevoice.As to thebehaviourofsound spacebehaviour,my
classification
is based on thecouplingof opposed behaviours:sometimeswe find
two opposingbehavioursused in thesame piecein orderto articulate itsstructure
(see Figure9).

LEFT CHANNEL RIGHT CHANNEL

! VOCAL EFFECTS
DRUMS ! AND CHOIR

BASS
1
GUITARS |
1- SOUND EFFECTS
VOICE(S)
! LEAD VOICE

PIANO >
1

ofLovelyRita.
Figure8. Thestereowindowsetting

SPACE BEHAVIOURS
Stable/Instable
Separate/Mixed
In focus/Outof focus
Natural/Musical(Artificial)

Figure9. Couplesofsonicspacebehaviours.

An exampleofcombining sonicbehaviourcan be found

musicalwithartificial
fromAtomHeartMother.
Breakfast'
inPinkFloyd's'Alan'sPsychedelic Thepieceuses
recordedsoundstakenfromeverydaylife,furtherevidencethatmusicin recorded
formattendsto employany kindof sound in its musicaldiscourse.However,in

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 Shapingsounds,shapingspaces 209

thispiece theseeverydaylifesounds are employednot as a decorationbut as an inte-

gral part of the composition.Even though the piece, as marked in the album, is
divided into three movements - (a) Rise and Shine, (b) Sunny Side Up, (c)
MorningGlory- it can be subdivided into eightsections,as shown below. The seg-
mentationis paradigmatic,in the sense that the letterA denotes the section com-
posed mainly by everyday-lifesounds while letterB denotes the others,mainly
made up by instrumentalsounds.
A O"-1'25"
B l'25"-3'33"
Al 3'34"^'3O"
B2 4'31"-7'43"
A2 7'44M-8'45"
B3 8'46"-9'52"
B4 9'53"-ll'46"
A4 ll'46"-13'00M

The firstobservationto make is that sections A and A4 are symmetrical:the

piece startsand ends with the iterationof a water drop. But theirbehaviour in
these sections,even in termsof space, is different. In section A, articulationof the
space of the sounds of this imaginarybreakfasttends to become more 'musical',
more rhythmic,in order to arrive at the match/organ-upbeat/downbeat sequence
whichleads to sectionB, the firstinstrumental. In sectionA thistakes place between
1/07"and 1/25".The sound spatial behaviour changes frommovementtoward fixed
localisations,fromnatural to artificial(musical) in order to reinforcethe sense of
musical organisationof the non-conventionalsounds. In section A4, the sounds
show a more 'natural',less 'musical' behaviour,leading to the iterativewater drop
which finishesthe piece. Sections B4 and A4 mark the conclusive phase of the
piece, afterthe climax reached in the section B3, composed only by instrumental
sound, therebyarticulatinga more musical (artificial)behaviour.
The importanceof the sonic space structureis well exemplifiedby another
momentin the piece. In a part of sectionB2, 'breakfastsounds' (mainlythe sounds
of mastication)are located in the rightchannel,while two acoustic guitarsare split
across the two channels,rhythmguitarin the right,lead guitarin the left.At 5'35",
the sound of masticationis emphasised by extendingit to the leftchannel.This 'arti-
ficial'behaviour of the sound is connectedto a harmonicchange in the chord pro-
gression,fromD to G/6. A 'natural' sound therebybecomes musical by means of
its function,denotinga harmonicchange.
Stable/unstablebehaviours are often connected with the characterisationof
song structure.In 'River' by Gentle Giant, the closing song from the album
Octopus,the firstpart of the piece is based on a regularriffwith a nearlysaturated
settingand stable spatial behaviour (O'll"-1'47"). The next part (l'48"-3'07M),which
leads to theguitarsolo section,has a moreopen setting;reverberation gives theeffect
of greaterdepth, the sound sources seem to be floatingin sonic space and in the
stereo windows, causing the sensation of an unstable motion. Sonic space beha-
viours, stable/unstable,mark differentparts of the song, underliningits overall
form(Figure 10).
The mixed/separated behaviourcould be representedby theway sound sources
createa more'packed' sonic image,or createthespace in which singlesources can be
highlighted.This kind of behaviour can alter in a relevantway the overall sonic
image and its consequent sensory perception. The re-edition of Henry Cow's

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
210 helioCamilleri

INTRO - 1st MOTIV - INTRO - 2nd MOTIV - INTRO - SOLO - 1st MOTIV - INTRO

O*________ i'47*i'48____. -3'28" 3'29"~4'37" 4'38" ~- - - 5'52"

STABlE ^ INSTABLE STABLE

10. 77zeoverall
Fzgwre ofRiverfry
form Gfanf.
Genf/e

'Nirvana forMice' provides a clear example. The originalrecordingpresentsa more

jumbled and packed sonic spatial behaviour,which is well adapted to the unstable
motionof the melodic and rhythmicstructures, in both expositoryand solo sections.
The re-mixrecording,released nearly 15 years later,adds more depth by means of
reverberationand a greatersense of separation of the single instrumentallines.
One can listenmore clearlyto these singleinstrumentallines; each one is more com-
prehensible,but one loses the sensationof chaoticmotion characteristic of the orig-
inal sonic image. This example also stresses the effectof the memory fixation
related to music in recorded format.Exposure to repeated listeningto a piece in
recordedformatformsa sonic image which is more fixedand rooted than one of a
live performance.Greaterdisorientationtherefore resultswhen one listensto a differ-
ently mixed version of a well known song.

Conclusion
Thesonicmatter ofa recording is oneofitsmostimportant features. Akintothevery
materialityofa sculpture or a painting, itbringsabouta sensoryresponsein thelis-
tenerconnecting all thetraditional musicalparameters to itsoverallsonicstructure,
organisedin sonicspace.Theacid,saturated and distortedsoundofKingCrimson's
Lark'sTonguesin Aspicalbumis a sonicprint whichcharacterised thewholealbum.
Withregardto thisnotion,thesonicprint, we can speak of a globalsonicprint,one
whichrepresents a persistentoverallsonicimagein a pieceor a collection ofpieces,
an album.Thereare,however,localsonicprints, whichare particular sounds,of an
instrument or anothersound source,whichcharacterise thatrecording. The snare
drumsound,dry,resonantand metallic,of drummer Bill Brufordin Yes's Fragile
is a primeexample.The recording studio,moreover, has becomea compositional
tool in whichsounds can be organisedand structured in the sonic space of the
recordedformat.Thereare manyexamplesof thisapproach.A moretraditional
one is Yes's Closeto theEdge,wherethe piece has been composedand recorded
sequenceby sequence,obligingYes to learnto play it as the coverbands do. A
moreexperimental approachis fromthe second side of the HenryCow album
Unrest.The band performed veryroughimprovisations in the studio,recording
themin different ways, using panoramic or directional
microphones. The material
produced in these improvisations was cut,
spliced, transformed and thenorganised
as thesonicspaceofthepiece,in a similarwayto whatan electroacoustic composer
does withotherkindsofsounds.
The possibility of operatingin thismanneropens access forthe composer/
to the
group/songwriter totality ofa soundworld.Anysoundcanbe used including,
obviously, non-conventional sounds orsoundsfromeveryday life,whichcan clearly

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 sounds,
Shaping shaping
spaces 211

affectthemusicaldiscourse.As Denis Smalley(1997)pointsout,recordedsounds

takenfromnaturalor non-musical contextshave extrinsic links.This meansthat,
althoughtheymay be used musically,some featuresof theiroriginalcontextremain.
Smalley usestheterm in
transcontextualityorder toexplain thesituationinwhich a non-
musicalsoundis inserted intoa musicaldiscourse;suchsoundsinhabittwocontexts,
themusicaland theoriginalone.Whether one context becomesmoreimportant than
theotherdependson theapproachofthecomposer.'Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast'
and 'RevolutionNine'areexamplesofthis.Accessto thetotality ofthesoundworld
allowsthecomposer/group/songwriter to organisethemusicaldiscourseat different
levels:themusicallevel,thediscoursebased on theintrinsic featureofsoundsand
musicalparameters, can be connectedwith a levelin which elements ofmimesiscan
playa certainrole.Therecorded the
space, sonic space,permits thiskind ofpossibility.
Sonicmatterbecomestheonlymediumof musicalcommunication, withno extra
visualcontent,an added valueinexploring newmusicalpaths.

References
Bayle,F. 1993. MusiqueAcousmatique. . . . Positions(Parigi,Buchet/Chastel)
Propositions
Camilleri,L. 2005. Il Peso del Suono(Milan,Apoeeo)
Chion,M. 1991. L'Artdes SonsFixsou la MusiqueConcrtement (Fontaine,EditionsMetamkine)
Doyle, P. 2005. Echo and Reverb:Fabricating Space in PopularMusic Recording, 1900-1960 (Middletown,
WesleyanUniversity Press)
Delalande, F. 1998. 'Music analysisand receptionbehaviours:Sommeilby PierreHenry7, 27/1-2
Interface,
Goodman,N. 1976. LanguagesofArt:An Approachto a TheoryofSymbols(New York,Hackett)
Gracyk,T. 1996. Rhythm and Noise:An AestheticsofRock(Durham,Duke University Press)
Martin,G. 1994. SummerofLove:TheMakingofSgt.Pepper(London,Macmillan)
Moore,A. 1992. Rock:thePrimaryText(Buckingham, Open University Press)
Schaeffer,P., 1966. Traitdes ObjetsMusicaux(Paris,Editionsdu Seuil)
Schafer,R.M. 1972. TheSoundScape(Rochester,DestinyBooks)
Smalley,D. 1997. 'Spectromorphology: explainingsound-shapes',OrganisedSound,2/2
Smalley,D. 2007. 'Space-formand the acousmaticimage', OrganisedSound,12/1
Wishart,T. 2000. AudibleDesign(York,Orpheus The Pantomime)
Zak, A. 2001. ThePoeticsofRock.CuttingTracks, MakingRecords(Berkeley, of CaliforniaPress)
University

Discography
The Beach Boys,PetSounds.Capital.1967
The Beatles,Sgt.Pepper'sLonelyHeartsClubBand.Parlophone.1967
The Beatles,TheBeatles.Parlophone.1968
Caravan,Caravan.Verve.1969
GentleGiant,ThreeFriends.Columbia.1971
GentleGiant,Octopus.Vertigo.1972
HenryCow, Legend.East Side Digital.1973
HenryCow, Legend.RerMegacorp.1973
HenryCow, Unrest.RerMegacorp.1974
KingCrimson,Lizard.EG. 1970
King Crimson,Islands.Virgin.1971
King Lnmson,Larks Longuesin Aspic.hG. 1973
PinkFloyd,AtomHeartMother.EMI. 1970
PinkFloyd,DarkSide oftheMoon. EMI. 1973
SoftMachine,Third.Columbia.1970
Yes, Fragile.Elektra.1970
Yes, Closeto theEdge.Elektra.1971
Zappa, F. and the Mothersof Invention,We Are in it OnlyfortheMoney.Rykodisc.1967
Zappa, F., LumpyGravy.Rykodisc.1967

This content downloaded from 200.17.203.24 on Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:15:57 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions