INTRODUCTION

Over the past couple weeks in Contemporary Composing, we've looked at how language, sound, and music influence and define composing. We've explored how these elements can heighten a piece or make it more resonant by virtue of their identities.

STARTING POINTS

Essentially, I knew that language, sound, and music had power in that they are all auditory elements. A lot of good art achieves a great impact by making a strong impact on the senses- either one in particular or in combination. Auditory media is unique because it is fleeting in a sense.  Unlike written word, you cannot immediately refer back to it. We hear and process it in that moment.

WHAT I LEARNED

I learned several things about how language, sound, and music can impact composing, and moreover, how they can interact and create a dynamic effect. I learned that language spoken orally can have a more human and evocative impact that written language. I learned that when you layer different forms of sound, you can achieve maximum impact on the auditory sense, as we learned in Bruno Loucharn's lecture. I was very intrigued by the idea of layering and boundary blending in sound and brought this to practical application in my own composing, with our assignment from last weekend. Unfortunately, I had trouble uploading my wav files to soundcloud, but I did email them to our instructor, Bob King. I found a sound clip of Bill Clinton addressing his affair with Monica Lewinsky, and I used music and sound to make a comment about the falsehoods he was expressing. 

WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT

I'm interested in learning more about how language spoken orally differs from written language because this contrast is very relevant to me as an actor. I'm banking on the bright and human impact of hearing language spoken aloud. This is why plays pack more punch when read aloud than read on a page.

CONCLUSION

Language, Sound, and Music offer a unique element and impact to composing, especially when layered and manipulated within and around each other.