SINES TAKEN FOR WONDERS I

[mwp]

SINES TAKEN FOR WONDERS I
2005

http://www.kunst.no/bjornmag/mpphp2004/EPUSConv012005.mp3
 (3MB mp3 audio file)
This is my first stab at creating a work that has been on my mind a 
long time. Basically, the idea involves making a sine wave reduction of 
an audio file. That is, what it is supposed to do is sample the 
original audio file in blocks of a certain size, -- fractions of a 
second, usually -- then reduce the wealth of spectral information in 
each block to its two most prominent spectral peaks that get converted 
into sine waves. (I am using FFT and other neat functions in Matlab to 
accomplish this.) My expectation was that the result would be a greatly 
simplified version of the original audio file, still retaining much of 
the character of the original, but being a bit like an orchestral score 
played on a pair of flutes. From there, I could play with increasing 
the number of sine waves, utilizing different waveforms, and other 
variations.

It seems to have worked reasonably well in this case, in which the 
original file is Ezra Pound’s reading of his poem Usura.

mwp