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The Sound Effect COPYRIGHT AND USE OF THIS THESIS This thesis must be used in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Reproduction of material protected by copyright may be an infringement of copyright and copyright owners may be entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. Section 51 (2) of the Copyright Act permits an authorized officer of a university library or archives to provide a copy (by communication or otherwise) of an unpublished thesis kept in the library or archives, to a person who satisfies the authorized officer that he or she requires the reproduction for the purposes of research or study. The Copyright Act grants the creator of a work a number of moral rights, specifically the right of attribution, the right against false attribution and the right of integrity. You may infringe the author’s moral rights if you: - fail to acknowledge the author of this thesis if you quote sections from the work - attribute this thesis to another author - subject this thesis to derogatory treatment which may prejudice the author’s reputation For further information contact the University’s Director of Copyright Services sydney.edu.au/copyright The Sound Effect: a Study in Radical Sound Design Ian Robert Stevenson A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Architecture, Design & Planning The University of Sydney 2015 ABSTRACT ABSTRACT This research project combines a theoretical intervention into sound ontology, with an empirical investigation into listening experience, in parallel with two technologically focused, research-led creative practice projects. The design follows an iterative cycle of research and creative practice that integrates theory, practice and empirical approaches. The research makes an initial contribution to the field of sound studies by re- appraising the work of pioneers in the field—Pierre Schaeffer and R. Murray Schafer—in light of the concept of the sonic effect. This concept was introduced by sociologist and musicologist Jean-François Augoyard in the study of urban ambiences and is further developed here as an effective tool for both sound studies and sound design. This theoretical work attempts to critically and creatively examine the ontology or mode of existence of sonic phenomena and is informed by the post-structural theory of the effect. The theory of the sonic effect is empirically investigated by examining verbal accounts of listening experience elicited by semi-structured interview. Finally, having deconstructed sonic phenomena in terms of their potential to be actualised in diverse contexts, sonic effects are interrogated as a creative strategy in the field of sound design for performance and installed sonic art. Two projects are documented. One is a hybrid live performance installation utilising a novel software design for sound composition and projection. The other is a sound installation work demonstrating a novel loudspeaker design for the creation of very dense sound fields. In this context, design occurs as an effect at the intersection of new technologies of sound production and the production of audible sense. This approach enacts a radical pragmatism that underlies the radical sound design strategy outlined in the thesis. 3 ABSTRACT Despite the linear presentation of the research in this document, in the overall research project, creative practice is treated not as an outcome of the research but rather as a research method or mode of enquiry that is integral to the development of the concepts applied in the theoretical and empirical sections. In this way, the utility of the results is enhanced through a balance between the theoretical and the practical. 4 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the support and guidance offered by my supervisors Dr. Densil Cabrera of the University of Sydney and Associate Professor Lawrence Harvey of RMIT University. I thank the Deans of the Schools of Communication Arts and Humanities and Communication Arts at the University of Western Sydney, Professor Lynette Sheridan Burns and Professor Peter Hutchings for the provision of time, space and material support to complete this research. I thank the artist collaborators I worked with on the project Ghost Quarters—in particular Tess de Quincey, Professor Jane Goodall and Sam James. I am indebted for the contribution to the research made by my interview participants. I also thank my colleagues in the music programme at the University of Western Sydney for creating a stimulating work environment in which my research could develop, and for their encouragement and support of my endeavours. I am also indebted to the generosity of the developers of the free and open source software of which I made use in the research. Finally, I thank my wife and family for sacrificing so many weekends to allow me to pursue this study. This thesis was edited by Elite Editing, and editorial intervention was restricted to Standards D and E of the Australian Standards for Editing Practice. 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8 CONTENTS CONTENTS ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................3 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION................................................................................................... 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................ 7 CONTENTS................................................................................................................................9 List of Tables................................................................................................................... 13 List of Illustrations...........................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 17 Key Terms........................................................................................................................18 Sound......................................................................................................................18 Effects.....................................................................................................................20 Radical....................................................................................................................21 Design.................................................................................................................... 21 Motivations......................................................................................................................22 Research Questions................................................................................................ 23 Epistemology and Methodology......................................................................................25 The Problematic of Sound......................................................................................26 Methodology.......................................................................................................... 28 Chapter Overview............................................................................................................29 Chapter 2 The Sound Effect: a Theoretical Intervention.......................................29 Chapter 3 Accounts of Sonic Experience: An Empirical Investigation.................30 Chapter 4 Radical Sound Design: A Practical Interrogation..................................31 Conclusions............................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER 2 THE SOUND EFFECT: A THEORETICAL INTERVENTION........................33 Introduction..................................................................................................................... 33 The problem of sound—a web of concepts............................................................33 Sound Ontology...............................................................................................................37 Schaeffer and the Sound Object (Music as Sound)......................................................... 48 Schaeffer’s Structuralism....................................................................................... 48 Exploring the Sound Object................................................................................... 51 9 CONTENTS Schaeffer’s Sound Effects...................................................................................... 53 Modes of Listening................................................................................................ 58 Schaeffer’s Four Listening Modes......................................................................... 59 Schaeffer’s Structuralism Revisited....................................................................... 66 Schafer and the Composition of Soundscape (Sound as Music)..................................... 72 Schafer’s Sound Effects......................................................................................... 75 Soundscape Analysis and its Synthetic Sound Effects...........................................80 Augoyard’s Sonic Effects................................................................................................ 84 The Sonic Effect—a Monstrous Object................................................................
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