As part of the technology component for our Stage 6 music curriculum classes, I had my first brief introduction to the Flip Sampler app, a music making app for iOS which allows you to create tracks out of sounds around you. We walked the halls of Conservatorium to find interesting sounds to record onto the 9 available pads.
The most enlightening part of this process was how deeply I became aware of sounds in my environment which were previously filtered out as background noise or registered only in my subconscious mind. I also became aware of sound possibilities, that is, the potential for existing objects to make sounds, or the potential to create sounds by interacting with my surroundings.
I was reminded of a video of the composer R. Murray Schafer: Listen which James shared last year. Schafer invites us to be still and listen carefully to the “soundscape”- our sonic environment – every day sounds which surround us. He takes us on a “soundwalk” to help us become more discerning of these sounds and all their nuances.
When composing music is understood as ‘organising sound’, then all kinds of possibilities open up for composition when the sound library is expanded beyond acoustic and electronic instruments to include recorded sounds from the environment. In the mid-20th century, Musique Concrete was based entirely on found sounds.
Flip Sampler contains many features of digital audio workstations, enabling recorded sounds to be edited with tools and effects and sequenced into a track. I only had a short time playing with the app on the iPad to work with my recorded sounds, and most of this time I spent trimming my sound samples (some of which were quite long), to make them more usable. Here was my first shoddy attempt at a quick loop.
Thankfully, I was able to export my samples, but I still couldn’t do anything at home with them without having access to Flip on an iPad. I have since explored what I could use as an alternative that is available for Android or Windows. I came across Koala Sampler developed by Elf Audio which is currently compatible with iOS, Android and Mac (free version). It was cheaper than Flip at $7.99, and has an extremely intuitive interface. There are 4 banks of 16 pads for sampling, making 64 pads in total available for recording sound samples. Samples can be instantly recorded or sounds can be easily imported. The sequencing buttons are organised into 4 banks of 8, meaning you can store up to 32 sequences in total for a single project.
I imported my sounds collected at the Conservatorium into the Koala Sampler app and had a go at creating some sequences by layering sound patterns.
I also had a go at performing the track using the performance effects.
Here are some resources I created, called Creating a Groove from Your Sonic Environment. The functions of Koala are explained in detail and framed within an educational context around the themes of listening and groove. As part of this project, I created a new set of samples from everyday sounds around the home. I used these samples to compose a set of sequences, demonstrating how the sounds have been gradually layered into the track. I then performed the track using the effects provided in the app.