tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-197595122024-03-13T00:17:23.946-05:00Sonic EventA discussion of new and emerging arts, particularly those that involve sound.Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-59080111117729035602010-04-27T22:50:00.002-05:002010-04-27T23:32:12.674-05:00Diddley BowHello again everyone!This semester has been a busy one, with hosting the 2010 SEAMUS National Conference, teaching, recovering, etc. I'm teaching a course in circuit bending/hacking this semester and it's gone quite well.We've explored all kinds of interesting circuits, based primarily on the work of Nic Collins. This has included a variety of microphones, from contact microphones to electret Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-41276874154455677542009-06-06T19:38:00.003-05:002009-06-06T19:59:13.405-05:00Star Trek MovieHi everyone:I've seriously neglected the blog for over a year. This isn't due to lack of interest - far from it. Rather, I've managed to busy myself with life and other writings, including regular columns for my local newspaper, a now defunct wine magazine...not to mention my job and life.Anyway, I recently traveled to Washington DC for a performance, and while there we went to a large IMAX Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-62697715586457520742008-08-19T11:41:00.001-05:002008-08-19T11:41:26.507-05:00Test PostHi, I'm showing off my blog!Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-47819420437126077432008-03-12T10:22:00.002-05:002008-03-12T10:27:42.102-05:00Crochet Graffitti!Via Neatorama, the Chicago Methods Reporter has posted an interesting article about the Micro-Fiber Militia - a group of urban knitters who have recently begun adding their knitted creations to Chicago's eyesores. The group notes the calm that comes from the act of knitting as a reason for their art, but they also enjoy the temporary aspect - if the weather is bad, their art is ruined. The Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-69400370138371371672008-02-04T20:29:00.000-06:002008-02-04T20:36:55.672-06:00Hit Songs and substance abuseMy TV crapped out the other night (R.I.P.). To help pass the time I watched "Half Baked" the other night...a DVD I ordered on a whim in my undergrad days (oh so long ago). Anyway, I couldn't help but click on a story about the percentage of popular songs that mention substance abuse.Researchers tracked the top 279 songs as measured by Billboard last year. How many mentioned substance abuse?1 Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-61118787043880026362008-01-16T06:03:00.000-06:002008-01-16T06:08:49.215-06:00Deep from my files...Woke up this morning at 3am and have failed miserably attempting to get those last few minutes of sleep. Yes, it's true - even professors get stressed when the new semester starts.Anyway, I decided to go through some old papers that I've written. I stumbled across a trove of brief papers that I wrote for graduate seminar (appropriately numbered MUSC 666) on Rock and Roll. These gave me a Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-2829454526232171602007-10-18T19:58:00.000-05:002007-10-18T20:02:27.195-05:00DIY AudioThis semester I'm teaching a course in circuit bending called "DIY Audio." Part of my motivation to teach this course is that electronic musicians rely so much on software to create and manipulate sounds that we sometimes lose sight of our roots. Students in this class are learning about basic electronics, soldering as well as getting a chance to be creative and really sniff out as many Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-62078113137361087652007-10-01T07:18:00.000-05:002007-10-01T07:40:54.431-05:00The Beep Heard Round the WorldBeep Beep.50 years ago this week, the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite. Weighing 183 pounds and about the size of a basketball, the polished sphere was the first object placed into orbit by humans. It travelled at about 170,000 miles an hour - about 98 minutes an orbit. It transmitted that beep for 22 days (until the batteries wore out) and returned to earth 3 months after Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-32460067044373498572007-08-15T13:38:00.000-05:002007-08-15T13:52:54.042-05:00Virtual ConcertOn September 14th the Liverpool Philharmonic will present a concert in Second Life. Reports of this event focus on the novelty of it, and I'll admit that a full symphony concert is a probably a first for SL.How does a symphony put on a concert in a virtual world like SL? It's actually quite simple. Like most live SL musical events, the audio is simply streamed in (like an internet radio Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-24284630790286947102007-08-14T09:26:00.000-05:002007-08-14T09:29:30.757-05:00Let Them Sing It For YouLet Them Sing It For You is a website that takes whatever text you input and then "sings" it by taking words (or bits of words) from popular music. I found myself spending hours inputting all sorts of inane banter, even writing many blues stanzas and plugging it in. It's great fun to hear the results and you can even attempt to name the source of the original (I think that "love" comes from Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1670716358429393332007-08-14T09:19:00.000-05:002007-08-14T09:26:36.490-05:00New Courses!On the St. Cloud State University homepage a story is currently posted about some new courses that I'll be teaching in the Fall. This is part of the rollout of a new major called Music and New Media that some of us have been working on introducing for the last few years.My basic conception of the program is that it addresses a fundamental aspect of composition - that is, collaboration. The Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1261726345209894562007-08-09T14:26:00.000-05:002007-08-09T14:30:04.783-05:00Another example of sound effects in videoI came across this video today. At first glance it is a cute video that a Dad shot with his two ninja kids. Very cute! But I found myself cringing every time the dad beat up on the kids. Why is that? Simply - the synchronous sounds. They are clearly edited in later, but this is exactly what they do in cinema to make a punch sound more "real." That's right - as I mentioned in a post about Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-22806677277237029942007-07-14T18:46:00.000-05:002007-07-14T19:29:17.516-05:00Transformers and soundCBS Sunday Morning featured a story about the new Transformers movie, which I just watched in my local theatre.Before I talk about the story, maybe I'll briefly talk about the experience. Many professionals have complained that the level of compression on movies and music has been, well, bothersome. In popular music, the result of compression is that the dynamic range of music is squished, so Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-80609026662643727692007-05-13T11:15:00.000-05:002007-05-13T11:22:57.027-05:00Giovanni Sollima - Sogno ad Occhi Aperti (Daydream)Norwegian video artist (and YouTube star) Lasse Gjertsen has been working for 5 months on a collaboration with Italian cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima. The first video features the composition "Terra Aria" and the second, "Concerto Rotondo."The music is fairly straight ahead, influenced by popular music. However, Gjertsen picked up on some of the salient musical features and highlighted Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-81600080319583929852007-04-16T13:11:00.000-05:002007-04-16T13:23:34.944-05:00New BlogBecoming...Everything Else is a new blog written by composer Michael Boyd. Mike began the piece in 2004 during a composition seminar that we were both taking at the time. He had begun working in a highly improvisational style that requires/allows performers to take an active role in the compositional realization of the finished performance. Becoming...Everything Else is an attempt by Mike to Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-91705589928513075082007-04-01T11:36:00.000-05:002007-04-01T12:07:58.409-05:003D, Navigation and BrowsingSome of you know that I've managed to squeeze in a little Second Life time, looking for interesting things. As I mentioned earlier - SL is, at its core, an economical game. The cost of purchasing a suitable area for experimentation is prohibitive and nearly everything costs Lindens, which can be expensive. There are some jobs available, but for the most part these center around a very healthy Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1172152732984948892007-02-22T07:50:00.000-06:002007-02-22T07:58:52.996-06:00Aphorisms (realization of 2.8.2007)Fluxus-artists of the world, now is the time for action! To-days art has lost it's usefulness and must be rejected in favor of a new order. Consider the following:-Length is no measure of Art.-The piano has outlived its usefulness.-nobody writes manifestos anymore except for nut-jobs like the unibomber.-If not alienating the audience means writing Rimsky-Korsakov inspired film scores and doing Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1170950350737944132007-02-08T09:55:00.000-06:002007-02-08T09:59:10.750-06:002.8.2007 (Manifesto, After When Morty Met John)Procedure:-Collect one line of text from as many people as possible, each written in proper manifesto-tone.-Do not allow contributors to see any other contribution.-Without regard for organization or flow, construct a manifesto from the results. If necessary, apply random process to lines of text as to remove your aesthetic taste from the end result.Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1170855063414337892007-02-07T07:20:00.000-06:002007-02-07T07:31:03.430-06:002.7.2007 (Fire Piece #1)Last week two good friends visited me here in Minnesota for a week of performing, chatting and catching up. As part of this, I learned that they are working on a Fluxus inspired work, and, by their example, I am featuring a week of Fluxus here on Sonic Event! For the next week I will post a new Fluxus work, written that day. Please comment, especially if you realize any of them. I'll feature Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1170546398109181052007-02-03T17:36:00.000-06:002007-02-03T17:46:38.136-06:00Multimedia and Second LifeSecond Life, a virtual world produced by Linden Labs, has been written about in most major press outlets. I've spent a bit of time there over the last month, exploring and trying to get to know the place. My interest is mainly in the artistic and educational opportunites there. For the most part it is a social networking environment with a strong economic focus - most things cost money, and a Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1169584415487418962007-01-23T14:26:00.000-06:002007-01-23T14:33:35.513-06:00Charybdis, William Pye’s Vortex Water Sculpture.I stumbled across this stunning work of art: Charybdis, by British artist William Pye. Apparently the water level rises and falls over a regular period and the steps allow the visitor to see the vortex from above as well. As the excellent video below mentions, the choice of clear acrylic causes this to seem like self-contained block of writhing water.via NeatoramaKristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1169569727680367412007-01-23T10:25:00.000-06:002007-01-23T10:28:47.693-06:00Sonic Event featured on Podcast!Next week I'll be a featured guest on the St Cloud State University tech department's weekly podcast, Small Bytes. Topics to be discussed include a little background on my artistic background and how I came to incorporate technology in research and teaching, future uses of technology in art and on campus and other issues relating to technology and music. Fellow faculty member Glen Tuomaala willKristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1169517218589576582007-01-22T19:51:00.000-06:002007-01-22T19:54:07.893-06:00Heartbeat Orchestraan audio-visual performance during which the heartbeats of 12 classical musicians & the artist duo Terminalbeach control a computer composition & visualization environment. the musical score is generated in real time by the heartbeats of the musicians. they read & play this score from a computer screen placed in front of them.the musicians are equipped with ECG (electrocardiogram) sensors. a Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1169262686243354472007-01-19T21:09:00.000-06:002007-01-19T21:11:26.260-06:00Jeep WaterfallA few months ago I came across a great video of a similar waterfall that was used at an art gallery. This is slightly less aesthetically pleasing but still captivating. This video includes a bit of the technical background of how the system works. While I might not like the commercialism, it is still awesome!Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19759512.post-1166125362153121372006-12-14T12:59:00.000-06:002006-12-14T13:43:45.966-06:00It's Christmas Time in the City....December is a time for tradition - and don't we know that most of them are terrible! From fruit cake to sickly sweet cookies, we all have war stories to tell about the holidays.For me, one of the truely terrible traditions of the season are the painful tunes that we are blasted with day and night. You may remember Burl Ives and Dean Martin fondly, but are these guys going to perform at the Met?Kristian Twomblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12058643709058705447noreply@blogger.com6