The theme for today is: found sound collages from 100+ sounds. The goal, however, is not the completion of a found sound collage. Instead, you will get started on a project, and in so doing, become familiar with a number of useful tools that will enable you to work with (find, access and/or store) large quantities of found sound from the web.
Group A: Jake, David, Ziyun, John, Jorge
Group B: Caroline, Michael, Miles, Adam
Step 1: As a group, create a concept for a project that uses 100+ sounds from Freesound.org. It could be interactive, it could involve data from other sites, it could be a website, it could be a fixed composition on a theme…whatever you want. Here are a few related links to check out. Feel free to search for and share other ideas/inspiration/examples with each other as well.
Step 2: Create a flow chart for your project describing the component parts/steps for the project. One step will involve gathering the sounds, and one step will involve playing them back. Fill in the blanks between these steps, including fleshing out the details of how the sounds will be gathered, and played back. After determining the different components, divide these elements amongst group members. More than one person may work on any particular task. Check out the resources I’ve compiled below as you consider the component parts and how to divide them.
Step 3: Get to work. If you end up with a task that you can’t fully complete in class, spend the time researching/reading/learning, and compile what you learn for your classmates. Check in periodically with your group as you work on your part of the project for additional help.
Step 4: Debrief and share materials at the end of class. Be sure to comment any code and explain concepts in person so that all materials are useful to all group members.
Resources
Freesound API
- Documentation for the FreeSound API
- Get API Key
- JavaScript Client (insert your API key and then open the website to see the examples run)
- Help with JavaScript and coding, generally (Also, intro to databases, and a separate tutorial on JavaScript and the SoundCloud API)
Max/MSP
Other sites to check out:
Please feel free to add to the resources listed above by commenting on the page!
I know this was already discovered, but here’s a simple Max patch that communicates with Freesound.
http://felicss.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/freesound-org-api-hack-for-maxmspjitter-5/