Audacity

editing sound samples is not easy. perhaps the learning curve is a very different shape from composing a contrapuntal fugue or even learning to play an instrument, but it is challenging, can be frustrating, and requires a great deal of direction and creativity to create a satisfying final product. i'm not sure if i've reached it.


My thoughts on my experience with audacity are scattered and I'm not sure exactly what the appropriate terminology is, but here is what I'm thinking about:

Too often, I think people see composing with computers as some kind of junior composing. After working to create my :40 song, I can no longer identify with that position at all. Composition and editing technologies give a very different sense of control to the author.

The prerequisite skills in editing sounds in audacity and composing a piece with traditional notation do not necessarily overlap. I think this scares people away from creating music on computers, as that might send a message that more traditional composition is no longer worthwhile (the medium is the message, perhaps...can anyone tell me if I'm using this phrase correctly? I still get a bit confused).

In a way, the instruments on Audacity are sound samples that exist within the computer. The notation is illustrated in waves rather than notes. Form can remain a guiding principle. In some ways, I think audacity allows people to experiment with music making in a medium that does not have strict rules of right and wrong, inappropriate or otherwise. It can open the doors to composition in way that three semesters of music theory just can't do.



I think the following clip uses sound/video editing to spectacular effect (see 1:40, though the whole clip is rather hilarious and that bit with the copy machine is kind of staggering...)