Music 256a hw1
Reading response + design etude + ChucK exercise
Part 1a: Reading response
Principle 1.15. Design not only from needs — but from the values behind them.
Reading Chapter 1 of Artful Design, I found so many of the themes personally refreshing and, in a way, even self-affirming. During the introductions we had on Monday of week 1, our discussion of majoring in CS but studying “CS?” really resonated with me. In my academic and professional life, I long feel like I’ve been at this crossroads of what’s worthwhile because it’ll help get me to the next step vs. because it’s an opportunity I’d personally just like to try or see exist in the world. For example, I have a handful of extra units, so should I take CS 221: Artificial Intelligence because it’ll increase my future job prospects, because I’m at a world-renowned computer science institution, and because it’ll help me graduate my co-term earlier? Or, should I take StudiArt 179: Digital Art I because I personally miss taking art classes, because it looks like you learn how to make cool things, and because it’s something I’ve never gotten to explore before and don’t know when I’ll get the next opportunity to? I think both can be viewed as valid reasons to take one over the other, and personally, I chose to take Digital Art.
First of all, who’s to say that there isn’t value in learning how to make interactive collages or non-narrative GIFs? Who’s to say that they can’t inform my future career? (There’s that old story about how Steve Jobs found inspiration in taking a typography class…) But even then, even if these digital art skills in no way positively impacted my professional life, I agree with Principle 1.15 and believe there’s still so much worth in the values behind them — the value in creating your own art just because it’s personally fulfilling. This art is both personally useful and aesthetically beautiful.
I felt like this principle in particular spoke to some of these seemingly conflicting ideals in a way that validates both as reasons enough to design something. I know I’m speaking in terms of classes here, but I think this perceived divide between needs = practical and values = superfluous is oftentimes too reductive. I really appreciated how Chapter 1 makes this distinction in design and rejects the need to always separate them. In many ways, I feel like I’ve subconsciously been waiting for someone to just say this and put these feelings into words.
Sometimes, I find myself succumbing to this oversimplification, thinking “why would I spend more money on that?” or “when will I ever use that in life?” but I agree that intangible things like joy, fulfillment, or even just because can be reasons enough. I think it can often be easy to lose sight of that when you’re expected to have a linear path in life or an answer to “why?” at all times. Why can’t “why not?” be a good enough answer?
Principle 1.16. Design is a radical synthesis of means and ends into a third type of a thing — both useful and beautiful.
With Principle 1.16, some questions come up, like how exactly do we define what is considered useful or what is beautiful? And who gets to define this and for whom? Additionally, while many designs can be primarily values-motivated and not necessarily solve things like hunger, climate change, transportation, etc., how do we reconcile this with the fact that so many fundamental needs are still unmet for so many historically marginalized people? How can we justify not directing most, if not all, of our resources and efforts towards these needs before values?
Extra
While I was taking Digital Art I, I was nearing the end of my senior year and grappling with a lot of these questions about needs vs. values, particularly in terms of job prospects. For my final project, I made this sort-of LinkedIn parody called LinkedOut (clever, I know). Here’s a link to it and a little blurb about it.
As I’m coming to the end of my undergraduate career, it can feel like I’m being asked to define myself now more than ever — What did I major in? Do I have an internship for the summer? What are my post-grad plans? Etc. Most people are well-meaning and just genuinely curious, but it often makes me think about the ways in which I’m asked to present myself solely in terms of professional achievements or academic success. It makes me reflect on the value of all these other, I think, even more defining experiences that just go unacknowledged on things like a resume or LinkedIn page. Here, I wanted to re-write that and sort of flip that on it’s head with “LinkedOut” — re-focusing on the experiences and accomplishments that I’m most proud of from these past few years beyond any class or job, for instance. At the end of the day, I want to define myself and my time in college more by these experiences and less by the professional, or oversimplified ones.
Part 1b: Design etude
1. Dance blocking
In a dance set, blocking refers to the formations in which the dancers perform the choreography on stage. It’s the difference between a bunch of dancers just standing next to each other and individually doing the same choreography from them actually performing as a team and dancing together as one unit. Think of the difference between many musicians individually playing the same piece vs. an orchestra playing cohesively as one.
Functional analysis
Blocking has its functional purposes, as it organizes dancers into intentional formations, groups, and levels. If not for blocking, dancers would likely just be thrown in a randomized “clump,” making it easy for dancers to trip over each other and obscuring the dancers who are toward the back. However, with some organization, dancers can more reliably swap lines and share the opportunity to be seen at the front or in the center. This way, the audience can see different people on stage at different times, and every dancer has their “moment” to be featured. Additionally, by arranging dancers into rigid blocking patterns like rows and columns, the choreographer can achieve a sense of “uniformity,” allowing them to highlight specific movements that break out of formation. This way, specific movements are accentuated and more easily noticed by the audience.
Aesthetic analysis
Perhaps even more moving is the artistic or emotional effect that blocking can have on a piece. I find blocking particularly beautiful because it can transform steps which, on their own, are somewhat simple or “unimpressive” into a powerful show of unity and movement. For instance, individually, just getting up from the ground might not be considered “dance” or “artistry,” but by timing it so that dancers rise like an undulating wave from left to right, the blocking makes the movement of just getting up feel more dramatic. This particular device in blocking is called a rolloff.
2. Loofah
Of all the objects I was considering for this etude, the loofah is the one that most surprised me. Admittedly, in search of these 3 items, I started going around my apartment and mentally breaking down the design of the things that I saw… until I happened upon my loofah. It actually reminded me a lot of the pencil case from Artful Design in that unraveling the loofah leaves us with a long piece of mesh fabric.
Functional analysis
I realized that, functionally, the loofah makes a lot of sense in that having such a long piece of mesh loosely hanging in your shower would be quite cumbersome. Instead, the loofah holds together all of this cloth compactly without sacrificing any of the bubbling power — this is because its folds catch whatever product you pour into it, creating foamy bubbles which make for a more enjoyable shower experience. This way, the loofah’s form enhances its function. Because the loofah has no separate or protruding handle, just holding the loofah entails using it.. and the more you use it, the more bubbles you create! In other words, a loofah’s usage equates to improved performance, which I think is probably ideal in most designs.
Aesthetic analysis
I think a large part of my appreciation for the loofah comes from how it looks: it’s fun! Usually in bright and playful colors, the loofah is meant to elicit a fun response. Yes, loofahs can often be used as an exfoliating tool, but their existence is largely unnecessary and just “nice to have.” One could completely take a shower without the aid of an orange puffball and just as effectively use a bar of soap, but personally, I find it fun to squish a loofah and make it as foamy as possible. I think that in itself is enough for loofahs to exist and to be beautiful!
On an entirely separate note, loofahs have, in my experience, made for funny and easy DIY Halloween costumes — yet another example of aesthetic beauty.
3. Kubuswoningen (Rotterdam cube houses)
Located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, these houses were designed by Piet Blom in an attempt to “revive the city centre which was considered too businesslike.” Nowadays, these houses have become a huge attraction for tourists like me when I visited earlier this summer.
Functional analysis
I was surprised to find out that these houses are actually fully-fledged and occupied residences. The houses are 3 stories tall, and functionally, they have all the rooms and amenities that you’d find in a more traditional home: a formal entrance, kitchen, living room, bathroom, 2 bedrooms, and even a rooftop garden! 50 years since they were created, the houses are still fully occupied, which I think speaks to their functional beauty.
Aesthetic analysis
Personally, I find the fact that these houses even exist to be beautiful. Looking at their topsy-turvy design and playful color just make me smile, and I find the sleek silver lines and beaming natural light particularly elegant. I just love that they were created for no other reason than to exist — they challenge our definition of what a house is and dare us to imagine what the inside could possibly look like. I’ve read that it can actually be sometimes difficult to find furniture which fits inside the cubes, but I love that that’s part of the fun of living in one.
Guerrilla design
This week, I added aesthetics to my personal journal, as it’s something I used to do often but have recently shied away from. It can sound silly to say out loud, but I think I’d been a bit more hesitant to try out different colors, designs, and fonts in my journal because of the retrospective judgment I feel for past choices in past journal entries. For example, maybe I’d use a certain color on one page and then stress out that the colors on the adjacent page don’t match; or maybe I’d use a certain font like bubble letters on one page and then stress out that I’ve used bubble letters too often.
As a result, I’ve found myself resorting to a minimalist vibe (which in itself is an aesthetic!), but I wanted to use this as an opportunity with experiment with something new and more playful.
This time, I got out my colored markers and used big bubble letters, inviting myself not to worry if I colored out of the lines or if the text ended up off-center. I included some drawings of a margarita and some mac n cheese to embody some of the funny memories from this weekend when some friends and I got margaritas from Treehouse and made some mac n cheese. It’s sort of silly, but I like how it captures those memories and matches the funny “vibe” of that night.
Part 2: ChucK exercise
For my first ChucK program, I wanted to re-create the tune from an unmistakeable intro — one that, once you hear it, you immediately know what song it’s from.
This summer, I spent a lot of time listening to the Beatles and their solo, post-breakup work. “Band on the Run” by Paul McCartney and Wings quickly became one of my favorites for its distinct three-part medley and immediately recognizable intro! I tried to re-create that here.
The code isn’t the cleanest, I’m sure, but it was fun to play around with different frequencies and timings to try to find the melody!
// synthesis patch
SinOsc foo => ADSR e => dac;
e.set( 10::ms, 8::ms, .5, 50::ms );
.5 => foo.gain;// first phrase
369.99 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
50::ms => now;220 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.125::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
.125::second => now;for( 0 => int i; i < 6 ; i++ ) {
440 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.125::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
493.88 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.125::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
}440 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;// second phrase
293.66 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;329.63 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
2::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
50::ms => now;220 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.125::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
.125::second => now;for( 0 => int i; i < 6 ; i++ ) {
392 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.125::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
440 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.125::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;
}392 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;// third phrase
220 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;329.63 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;293.66 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;246.94 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;220 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
.3::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;185 => foo.freq;
e.keyOn();
1::second => now;
e.keyOff();
e.releaseTime() => now;