A dramaturgy of spatiality

31 January 2011 - In this article Oomen introduces a variety of general and specific aspects of spatiality that have been vital in the development of 4DSOUND, a new procedure for spatial sound synthesis. 732 words

MAIN TEXT

Our awareness of spatiality is strongly dependent on the omnidirectional and non-selective reception of our hearing. While the eyes are conditioned for complex rendering of objects and their characteristics, the hearing primarily follows continuity in time and space.

Therefore the ears detect with great accuracy the slightest changes in speed, direction and distance between ourselves and the environment. More than any of the senses, the specificity of hearing is vital to experience spatiality. 

Spatial sound synthesis is the art of reproducing such spatiality in its sonic form, be it as part of sound art, music, soundtracks or other audio productions. The history of spatial sound synthesis since the 1950s shows two major directions of development. The one direction focuses on physical analysis of sound reverberations in space and intends to restore these sound pressure constellations. The other direction deals with the cognitive perception of the listener, and intends to manipulate the hearing to perceive a virtually reconstructed spatiality. 

Both directions ignore to a large extend the real-time physical presence of the listener. The sounding result is, in the case of a physically reproduced wave fields, entirely independent on the listener’s behaviour in space, or in the case of manipulation of cognitive perception, entirely dependent on an exact-positioned and motionless perceiver. one of the intentions behind the development of 4D SOUND has been to center this relation between musician and listener in the process of spatializing music, therefore restoring play and interaction as a vital dimension of a lifelike spatiality.

From a musical point of view, it is entirely dependent on the musical context whether and which approach to spatiality makes sense, and to which extend spatial attributes should be enlarged or diminished in relation to their ‘correct’ natural appearance. 

The appearance of sound as perceived by the listener is inseparable from their spatiality. Rhythmic and pitched intervals are determined by direction and speed of movement, timbres of sounds are gravely influences by distance, elevation and angle of their spatial position, volume and intensity of sounds depend entirely on the degree of distance towards the perceiver. 

A spatiality that is restored musically means the listener becomes a subject in a musical discourse. The musician has a control both on the sounding environment the perceiver is in, and has an influence on the perceiver’s sense of his own physical movement. While manipulating the environment stimulates movement from the listener, seduces to move and explore the exterior surrounding, the manipulation of the listeners physical sense of movement stimulates an interior concentrates and forces the listener towards stillness. 

From a listener’s point of view, it is essential that such reciprocal relation with the sounding space is restored. In daily life we are exposed to continuous movement in the environment around, above and beneath us. And in this environment we move ourselves in complex patterns, sometimes fast and straight, then slow and hesitant, turning back and forth, possibly laying, standing, bending or sitting. We are continuously affected by changes of movement surrounding us, but equally, by our patterns of behaviour we influence our perception of this environment and stimulate the movement in the environment itself. 

In this light, the physical sense that spatial sound evokes, deserves special attention in the article. Obviously, sound waves are physically present in space and therefore interact not exclusively with the ears, but with the entire body. This physical sense of sound is usually only experienced subconscious. The ears are privileged to make us conscious of sound because of the close neural connection between the ears and the brain. Only under extreme physical circumstances one will experience sound physically instead of cerebrally. One has to be literally shaken to become aware of this dimension of sound. 

Interesting enough, spatial sound synthesis enhances strongly this physical awareness of sound. The physical source that produces the sound, which is not there but simulated virtually, has to be cerebrally reassured. Therefore, a sounding object moving in space is involuntarily complemented with the awareness of a ‘physical phantom’. Through this synesthetic detour, spatiality in sound reproduction, and specifically in music, has the potential to enlarge the experience of listening with a new dimension – the conscious awakening of physical sense.

The art of musical spatiality can be characterized by the interplay between the subtle manipulations of the hearing, that have a grave effects on the spatial perception of sound, and the intense physical experiences they can evoke.