Creative Applications of Sound

from James Wyness

Dear Commonty
I'm getting in touch to let you know of a workshop/performance package that I'm wanting to tour this year and which might be of interest to you and the people and organisations that you support and represent. (see below for details)

I want to offer the package to a range of organisations, particularly in rural and semi-rural regions of Scotland like the Borders where I live, and where I know that a lot of creative practitioners reside who are generally well represented by their local and regional arts organisations. I'll be doing this in the form of a tour of these regions, some time between May and July 2013. The kind of package that I'm offering work has been found to be of interest to a range of people, from visual and performance artists wishing to work with sound, to oral historians, to schools trying to incorporate new music into their curricula. 

-The Creative Applications of Sound

Description: In working with recorded sound as a sound artist and composer I’m seeing a growing interest and appreciation of the sonic arts, outside of popular music. With ease of access to new technologies more people are becoming involved in activities like field recording for a range of purposes, creative, recreational and professional. But I’ve also found that in general it can be difficult to find a ‘way in’ to the technicalities and to the wonderful range of practices and influences of the sonic arts. My main aim in offering this package is to help a cross-section of people to understand and appreciate the creative applications of sound, and ultimately to create their own work.

This is a general description of the one day package that I’m offering. It can easily be extended to two or three days depending on the number of participants and the range of interests. It has proven to be of interest to a range of creatively minded people including artists, musicians, media technicians, schoolchildren of all ages, teachers of the creative arts, archivists, local historians and members of the public.

Having set up a successful series of Creative Labs in the Borders to explore the creative applications of sound by means of indoor and outdoor sessions, I’m putting together a summer tour of Scotland, most likely between late May and early July, to extend the project and take it to other rural or semi-rural regions like the Borders. This project description is to make individuals and organisations aware of my work and to seek expressions of interest.

The package I’m offering is flexible and consists of a creative lab/workshop session, or a series of sessions, and a live performance. A one day session would incorporate the workshop into a daytime session with a performance in the evening. The sessions will include such topics as listening strategies, an introduction to the diversity of creative applications of sound, an overview of studio and field recording equipment and techniques (including the use of equipment which I will provide), the creation of a personal sound archive and finding a vocabulary with which to talk about sound. An extended session would afford time over a second or third day to engage with the natural environment and to gain practical experience of field recording and sound editing. The performance will offer a chance for participants to gain an understanding of the kind of contemporary work being produced for live performance using recorded environmental sound, and will hopefully encourage some to go on to develop their own work.

Cost:  £150.00/day. Some of this could be recovered from a charge to participants. I normally charge £20.00 per individual for a workshop or field trip session. Concert prices vary according to the venue.  I’ll also be working towards securing Creative Scotland public engagement funding for the overall tour.

Numbers: depending on resources up to 15 can normally be accommodated..

Technical requirements are broadly quite simple – a comfortable indoor space with tables, chairs, mains electricity and a sound system for the performance. In the case of field recording the environment usually takes care of itself.

contact James - here