Making music with Light and Electronics

Join us for a weekend with Sound Artist Vicky Clarke. You will have the opportunity to build your own noise machine and compose music with light, electronics and radios.

Age: 16 – 22 years*
Prior experience: none
Location: University of Huddersfield
When: 17 – 18th August 2019
10am – 3pm

Course Description

Day 1: Build a Noise Machine

A hands on DIY audio electronics session for beginners where you will build your very own Noise Machine, which translates light into sound! What’s a Noise Machine? A simple synthesizer circuit that makes a buzzing droning electronic sound. The light sensor changes the tone of the sound. In the first part of this session, you’ll learn about electronic components, how a circuit works and build your own instrument. In the afternoon, we will experiment with turntables, light and paper to generate noise rhythms with your newly built machine and record the sounds.

Day 2: Radio Sampling Experiments and Soundscape

You will learn sampling techniques by recording audio content from radios and youtube and use this sonic material along with our light recordings from Day 1 to create your own soundscape. You will learn how to record into Ableton music software and use the Push controller to sequence and chop up the audio to create your own soundscape piece.

Activities:

Learn about electronic circuits, signal flow and components
Experience DIY approaches to music making
Study and discuss Sound Art History, links to Russian avantgarde Theremin/Noise machines and Radio Art
Learn to use Ableton and the Albeton Push Controller and develop insight into production software to create soundscapes
Learn sampling techniques using Ableton Push Controller: Chopping, looping, sequencing

On completion of this course, participants will have created a short showreel that may be submitted as part of an Arts Award or ASDAN qualification.

For more information visit https://gocomposehuddersfield.co.uk/?page_id=571