The compositional aspect of the project is arguably the most important for three reasons.
Firstly it will have to fully utilise the lighting system, controller and Leap Motion to their fullest potential.
Secondly the pieces of music should be constructed in a way that they are predominantly loop based and simple to perform using the controller.
Finally they should be varied enough so that the songs contrast one another which again ties into utilising the lighting system properly.
With this in mind the compositional approach for the three songs written are as follows:
The Low Ground
The Low Ground begins with a swell of ambient noise which when connected to the various PWM output pins creates light that fades in accordance with the audio volume using the live.slider object.
An arpepggiated synthesizer part is then introduced which will involve the random switching on and off of LEDs to contrast the fluctuation of the LEDs being controlled by the noise.
Towards the middle of the song when it reaches a climax the instrumentation is stripped back to percussive elements. It is at this point the lit up LEDs will reduce in number and certain lights will correspond to different parts of the drum kit.
Then when the instrumentation is filled out once again, while the drum LEDs remain flashing the rest of the lights will switch on and off randomly to complement the rhythm of the bass instrument. By having the LEDs flash at a faster rate it will emphasise the increased energy in this section of the song. This is something to referred to by Brown and Kerr (2009) in their research on adaptive audio (in particular how to effectively convey mood) as an increase in ‘rhythmic density’. This is where more notes or musical content is played to convey a sense of heightened mood or intensity and I feel the same approach works well regards to the visual aspect of the piece.
Then finally the song will end as it begun, with some LEDs following the audio volume of the ambient noise that eventually fades out.
Almost Always At The End
This song is composed in direct contrast to the first, in that it contains no percussive elements, has a slower tempo and contains elongated, flowing phrases as opposed to the impactful crescendos of the previous piece (such as where the drums come in towards the middle of the piece). The song is composed in such a way so that it showcases the visual aspect of the project’s expressiveness.
The song begins with a single note being struck which will be reflected with a single LED.
As the instrumentation fills out more lights are introduced so that they follow the audio volume of certain instruments; this is to exhibit the more nuanced capabilities of the lighting system in comparison to the first song. It is interesting to note that the lighting system is so effective in replicating the expressiveness of the cello parts that you can actually see the light fluctuate with the vibrato. This is interesting as it demonstrates how even using technology and prerecorded material, subtleties can be communicated; providing an intriguing commentary on the relationship of technology and acoustic instruments.
The song then strips back to piano and a single cello and is reflected as such in the LEDs.
The song then returns to full instrumentation, with the piano playing an arpeggiated part which like the first song is imitated by the lights. Again like the first song the rate of the lights flashing is increased halfway through the later section to elevate the energy as the song reaches its peak before winding down as it did in the middle, except this time with a single cello.
Closure
This song is composed to be somewhat a combination of the previous two approaches, using a mixture of nuanced and impactful lighting.
The song begins with a single kick drum that fades, showcasing how the LEDs can perform in a percussive yet subtle manner.
Alternate lights begin to flash randomly in time with the arpeggiated piano while a reverse piano part which establishes the chord sequence fades in. This way the lights flashing on and off are a contrast to the ones in between fading in, this is designed to highlight the textural differences of the music.
When all the instruments but the arpeggiated piano drop out the lights turn off and fade in to accentuate the build up to the energetic final section.
Like the previous songs the rate of the lights switching off is double to highlight the increased energy in the latter part of the song while the lights fading in accordance with the reverse piano remain to provide contrast.
Finally when the song reaches its peak, like the middle section, only the three fading lights remain which dim in accordance with the ambient noise that slowly fades out.
Imagination & Junk 