Sound Broom Installation

I am posting about something I’m working on because I need some help with it.

I’m trying to develop an interactive sound installation based around a project that I made a few years ago, which I called a “sound brush.”

Using contact microphones I am making brooms that can amplify the sounds that they make as they move over surfaces, thus becoming tools for translating texture into sound. I want to set up a situation in which people can use these tools to explore an environment and also participate in creating a real time sound piece. I am planning on transplanting an area of ground into the gallery space from somewhere nearby that will offer a range of textures to be explored. Using the ground seems like a good choice to me because its relationship to the broom will be clear, and I like the idea that the act of brushing the ground surfaces will change them, so the exploration becomes somewhat infinite. A primary interest of mine with this piece is that the situation establishes a clear relationship between sound and physical space, so that the more abstract process of creating music remains tangible and meaningful. However I don’t think that just the brooms and the ground will be enough to hold people’s attention, or suggest a process for making music.

One thing that I've discovered is that it's very difficult to make the broom produce anything like rhythm. In order to give people the idea that the sounds they can make with it are a kind of music, I think a sense of rhythm and repetition is important. I've been thinking about using some kind of recorded loop to do this, as shown below. The idea is that it would allow sound textures to be layered on top of one and other, but would also cause them to fade out again over time– as if there is a rolling sonic object which can pick up and carry new textures for a certain period, but eventually deposits them as it moves on—like a glacier.



In the picture above, sound from the brooms is continuously being fed into a program that divides it into samples of several seconds in length. It can store up to five samples before the first one is recorded over. Once a sample is recorded, it is played back five times, and each time the volume lowers (like an echo) until on the fifth repetition it is nearly inaudible. Instead of waiting for the first sample to finish looping, the second sample begins playing along with the first as soon as it has been recorded, then the third, fourth, and fifth, layering on top of each other like a round. Once each sample fades away its space is recorded over with whatever the new mic signal is. In that way the sonic textures of the ground intermingle to describe the physical space that exists as a whole even as it is parsed into sections by the broom.

I think the loop idea is OK, but also welcome others. If anyone (Rod?) has tips for how to make it work (should I use MAX?) those would be really appreciated. I think one of our friends here, Peter, will be helping me as well as lending me the equipment needed to plug the brooms into a lap top, but since I have never done anything like this I wanted to see if anyone has some pointers. Also, seriously, any conceptual criticism or any ideas about what I could do differently are more than welcome, I always like to know what you guys think. Thanks!

-Cara