Week 6: Some important Decision and What the Gong?
Date: 25th April, 2025
Time: 4-6pm
Place: PA11
Approaching to the end of the second week of Easter break, Genie and I realised our initial thought of doing an improvisatory might be too ambitious. We are confident that we have the ability to make it effective and good, however, it will take a good amount of time for us to practice. Considering the amount of work that we need to do in this upcoming month and the condition at the second last week of the semester after all the trauma, we have considered that maybe improvisatory performance might not be the best option on this occasion. Instead of a live performance, we have decided present our project in a portfolio that comprises a recording of our improvisation section and an integrated track that is composed through recorded materials of our voice.
Genie is getting ahead
Before suggesting to me that we should hand in a portfolio, Genie has already come to meeting well-prepared. She showed me a work-in-progress electronic project that she is doing. The project based the recording we did on Week 3 on the final 3 notes from Liebestod. In this track, Genie intended to honour the structure and the contour of the vocal lines. However electronic manipulation is added to elevate the voice and editing were made to highlight the prominent part of the improvisatory section. I was very impressed and amazed on the potential of this improvistory could have went, especially it was only based on from 3 notes. I also remembered that that I was not quite satisfied of how this section went on the day. But, I guess slight editing probably might have helped. Genie also explained the electronic methodology behinds the track with her use of reverb, delay, chorus and reverse reverb.
More potential plan for our Composition
Genie then elaborated that these elements can be adopted metaphoically in our composition that we are going to build with recorded materials. Got very interested on the concept of day and night in Tristan after my explainatiion of the opera from previous week, Genie raised that might be a good incooperate the concept of day and night through electronic manipulations. She suggested reverb and reverse reverb can be the representation of Day (the seperation. Reverb can be a signifier of departure as the voice disintegrate. Reverse Reverb could be the Tristan and Isolde’s yearning desires as the voice get closer despite it was played backwards. Meanwhile, dry voice can more representation of Night as it has a sense of closeness within it and distortion can be the presentation of illusion. I found this idea spectacular and got we excited about it.
Michelle’s Turn
After my individual research last week and rewinding the Turandot production that I watched in Royal Opera HOuse in Week 2 , I suggested to Genie that Gong sound and icy would be a good representation to Turandot persona. In the opera, Turandot’s pursurer would hit the gong as a symbolic gesture in expressing their desire in undertaking the riddle challenge that Turandot set for them. Having the gong sound also implied a sense of proximity to Turandot is. The sound of the gong also provide as a prominent soundscape in the opera in shaping the scenery of Puccini’s imaginary China. Due to its significance, I think Gong would be a worthwhile to include in our composition. On the hand, as we mentioned in the last blog, one riddle in the opera has referred Turandot as Ice. Therefore, icy sound also served as a representation of the character. The referencing from libretto has transformed into my source of creation.
Where are the Gong sticks? Well it guess a duster would do
After hearing my suggestion, Genie found it rather crazy to record a gong sound which she have no idea where to find one. As I know where the gong is in Pats and I got very curiosity to record a gong. Therefore, I suggested that we should do it at the moment as we have quite a bit of time left. Genie and I moved the gong from Studio One to Pa11, however, we did not mange to find the gong stick. Thereby, we made use of our creativity to find things that can replace a gong stick but does not hurt the gong at the same time. At the end, we found a duster next to the stores> we understand that is not ideal but the duster was our only choice at that moment. It also remembles a gong sick with the soft bit on top of a stick.
‘You will never know if you don’t try”. Intially I only found recording the gong rather funny, I would have never think that the recording amazed both of us. One might think that gong is just a big piece metal and it will create a metallic sound if you hit it. But you recording the gong with a very close mic position and navigating the mircopheon around the gong when it is vibrating. You will end recording something we did and very rich wobbly that changes pitch naturally with an audible harmonic that comes along with. This piece of gong really made our day. I recorded several 2 attempts but hitting the gong with duster and also another series gong sounds produced by hitting the gong with our fist and fingers.
Our Attempt of Gong sampling:
Audio Link for desktop users: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LYRON_Yw-j8ppYGThkkLT46QIKqOFS0P?usp=drive_link
