THE VISION

I think I've finally got my thoughts in order for this Interactive Exhibit class. I see...A VISION. THE vision. I've already indicated on my website that I'm interested in creating something that conveys information through music. Admittedly, I had absolutely no idea HOW I would go about doing this, or even WHAT such an exhibit would look like, what kind of information it would be transmitting, or how people could use it. Enter: the vision.

I envision an exhibit that allows visitors to VIEW how people have historically used vocal expression to convey meaning. Not everyone is musically inclined and can't quite understand how music, or even sound, is really a rich language to be interpreted. I plan on taking a look at a couple different vocal media; for example, Inuit throat singing, opera, or perhaps even political speeches. The idea is that the visitor would be allowed to look at the visualization of the sounds and gather information about what the vocalist is trying to say without necessarily understanding the language of the words they are using. Sound does not need words to communicate. Perhaps by seeing the visualization of the sound, visitors who never had before will learn to Listen.

Ideally, the interactive part of the exhibit would be to create a way for visitors to visualize their own voices. This would require a real time translation of sound into visual design.

I'm not entirely sure HOW I'm going to pull all of this together. At the moment, I'm just trying not to overwhelm myself, so I'm taking "Processing: A Programming Hangbook for Visual Designers and Artists" by Casey Reas and Ben Fry, a day at a time. Thus far, I've been reading about the components of sound and essentially trying to re-learn a lot of high school physics (amplitude, frequency, oscillators, etc.). I think it helps a bit that I have a strong musical background and a general understanding of musical vocabulary like pitch, octaves, modulation, transposition, etc.

As far as digital representation of sound and music, this is where it starts getting a little complicated for me, as it combines a lot of math and digital code (there is a reason why I study history). However, I'm getting the general idea of sound synthesis and processing. For example, from what I understand, sampling allows you to synthesize all kinds of frequencies just by processing a single sound. Then you can either sustain the sound, modulate it, or even create echo and reverberation effects.

I've just begun tapping into the world of Audio Analysis, or the derivation of information from digitized sound. This allows us to create interactive systems that "listen" to audio input and tell us what it means. The most obvious example of this type of technology is speech recognition.One thing I've found that will probably be useful is the idea of "attack detection", which is programming a computer to trigger an event at the onset of a sound, or when the sound reaches a certain frequency or amplitude. In other words, you could create a program that would synchronize a visual action with just the percussive sounds of a recording. Another concept that I'll probably find useful is "timbral analysis," which allows us to transform audio signals into data that can then be mapped to interactive computer events. One way to derive data from a signal is to count the number of times the signal turns from positive to negative - or even filtering out the loudest frequencies to test their harmonics or timbre. Of course, all that I've mentioned thus far are nothing but concepts in a book, so I only very vaguely understand them. If I can get my hands on the technology and actually see, hear, and feel how these concepts work, I think this could be something I might be good at.

As I'm reading along, I haven't really come across anything that is going to map out exactly what I have to do with this project. It's going to be a learning experience that I'll have to piece together myself - and perhaps just let my interests take me where they will. I'm really interested in how digital technology has changed the face of the music industry, for example, but I've never understood how sound engineering works. I'm learning now though, because of this project (which only illustrates further the beauty of this degree).

I suppose it's only natural that I lean toward sound for this project - my mother being both an audiologist and a musician on the side. Conversations of music theory and hearing aides were not uncommon around my dinner table. Though I can't say that I ever foresaw myself studying these things seriously...or the convergence of several of my passions in one class!

Digital Humanities: Not So Scary After All

I can hardly believe I'm writing this post already. Not only does it mean that I'm back in Central New York and none of this term seems as though it's happened, but it means that I'm actually having to confront the fact that I am a completely changed historian.

I felt it was necessary to wait until the absolute last minute before writing this post so that I could give a complete image of what my first term at Western has done to me so far. What has this course done to me so far? I suppose it's done just what it's supposed to do. It's challenged every aspect of academia that I've ever known and it's hurled me forward into the future of the humanities - and indeed into a field that I find so mind-boggling and fascinating that I'm not quite sure what I would have done had I chosen to pursue an MA (or heaven-forbid, a PhD) in History. I've finally learned that that path is not for me. I just don't have the heart for the ivory tower - and it's OKAY!

I think that the field of public history is so important. I think that this course was important for me to take. I think that it's important that I'm blogging. It's wonderful. I also think it's very appropriate that I'm watching "Julie and Julia" right now (a fine example of how a blogging skeptic built a career off a tiny blog project). I was so hesitant at first - and I suppose I still am (a bit) because I feared that people would read this...and they would JUDGE ME...and maybe that's true, but again, it's OKAY! This blog is for self-reflection. Yes, I do hope that other eyes see these words and take something away - even if it's just a chuckle...but really, this is MY blog.

I love blogging now. I wish I had more time for it. I want to start a personal blog. I want to start a travel blog. I want to start an anonymous blog about my time in Canada and my observation of Canadians! Yes, these are projects for the future. Digital history has released blog-mania within my being!

One of the most fascinating things that I've learned from this course so far is that historians CAN work on teams - WE CAN! I've learned more from trying to figure things out with my 9+ classmates than I've ever learned from reading a textbook. The trials of creating a website and trying to find sources and speaking for the public and spending hours in the archives and working on teams to get a project done on time. We've done it together. These are mutual experiences. This is our web of colleagues and friends that will remain well into the future - and this is a field where that's extremely important. I have seen the light of collective intelligence!

The way I think about everything is slightly altered - not just history. I think most of that can be attributed to the discussion of our Digital History class, most of which (I will gladly admit) I spent with a headache just trying to follow the words that were coming out of my colleagues' mouths, let alone form my own opinions about them and then apply them to real-life situations. But what I'm realizing now - now that I'm outside the classroom and putting my melted mind under a magnifying glass - is that I really CAN apply what I've absorbed in class, and I DO. Sometimes I can't turn it off. Like I said, this whole experience has changed the way I think, in addition to the way I read, learn, and quite frankly, the way I speak! These are all good things.

I do have to admit, I'm slightly terrified about the second half of the digital history course: Interactive Exhibit Design. The only word I'm quasi-comfortable with there is EXHIBIT. I could, of course, drop it and go for the archiving course instead - but this year is for taking chances. I want to do something out of the ordinary, and if that involves feeling completely LOST for another term with programing and electronics whirling through my head, then so be it! It can only lead to a learning experience of the greatest kind: the kind where you learn from your epic failures and short-comings. I have no shame.

Tally-ho!