Having lived in university halls for just over a week now, it has become apparent that focus and concentration for researching may be difficult to maintain without earplugs, or wearing closed-cup headphones constantly. On the eve of the first lecture for the Research & Enquiry module, I am restlessly commencing my blog amid the multiple distracting sounds of living in a ground floor flat, overseeing a main thoroughfare on residential campus. Suddenly I have to leave the room as the dissonant, pulsating and piercing sound of the fire alarm alerts me to someone elsewhere in the building burning their dinner or attempting to have a sly cigarette in their room.

Upon my return, I sit here at my workstation reflecting back to my home music studio of four years. The muffled drone of the adjacent M27 motorway, occasional building work and abundance of birds singing would be the extent of uncontrollable sound passing into my range. As droves of fellow students pass by my window exerting the harmonic tones of friendly chatter, laughter and creating sonic waves of positive energy, I feel excited by the prospect of researching sound, yet wishing for some silent interludes. Why am I here? Can I work like this? I miss the solitude of my quiet studio wherein I would often dislike how isolated it sometimes was, how ironic.

Sound to many is words, music and noise from the resulting discharge of mechanical, communicative and motion process. It is everywhere and taking a more detailed look into sound, frequency is evident in all matter. I am keen to research the visual representation of sound and how it is used, manipulated and the way it affects our well-being in everyday life.

Along with researching new technologies and methodologies within musical practice, including the discipline I pursue, primarily being techno, my early interest is drawn towards cymatics. A fantastic, relevant phenomenon and visual representation of sound, which even WordPress does not contain within its dictionary. The dotted red line underneath ‘cymatics’ reminds me I have made a spelling error. I feel a strong desire to research and unveil the wonder of cymatics to a greater audience during my masters degree, perhaps via intuitive visual representation of music performance. Sound was there at the very beginning, whether determined as the word of God or the big bang, the visual representation of sound and definitive frequency could be matter in all forms.

(From Fear to Trust, 2007)

As I begin to explore the phenomenon of cymatics, one name proves to be a strong, recurring presence within many initial Google Scholar, YouTube and library book searches. Dr Hans Jenny. At this time, there seems to be few other initial pioneers in the cymatic field, if any. It appears that Jenny was responsible for defining this phenomenon of sound and establishing the term ‘cymatics’, however this requires further investigation to avoid drawing conclusion without thorough research.

When making a reflective comparison towards my own favoured style of music, I consider how techno was created and emerged. Having written my undergraduate dissertation on the distinction and commercial definition of contemporary techno, it is common knowledge within electronic music history that Detroit locals Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson were responsible for the emergence of ‘Techno, The New Dance Sound of Detroit’ in the 1980s. Branded as ‘The Bellville Three’, their music creations utilising drum machines and synthesizers reached critical acclaim and gained them legendary status hence forth.

However, others may argue that Kraftwerk were the original pioneers of technology in music, abbreviated as ‘techno’. Or that Atkins, May and Saunderson were merely the first that managed to successfully market and distribute their music globally through a major record label, while other Detroit artists being as significantly relevant in the creative techno field, yet remaining less exposed. Jeff Mills, Robert Hood and Underground Resistance spring to mind. So, my initial thought regarding cymatics and its origin is that there may be more than one pioneer, other than Jenny, behind its discovery and contextualisation in scientific discourse. Why is this relevant to my creative discipline? Perhaps this will become apparent as I blog further.

References:
From Fear To Trust (2007) ‘Cymatics – Bringing Matter To Life With Sound (Part 1 of 3)’. [Online]. Available at: https://youtu.be/05Io6lop3mk [Accessed: 01 October 2017].