I Am Sitting in a Room
Encyclopedia
I am sitting in a room is one of composer Alvin Lucier
's best known works, featuring Lucier recording himself narrating
a text, and then playing the recording
back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms have characteristic resonance
or formant
frequencies (e.g. different between a large hall and a small room), the effect is that certain frequencies
are emphasized as they resonate in the room, until eventually the words become unintelligible, replaced by the pure resonant harmonies and tones of the room itself. The recited text describes this process in action—it begins "I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice," and the rationale, concluding, "I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have," referring to his own stuttering
.
Lucier had also specified that a performance need not use his text and the performance may be recorded in any room. The composer himself has recorded the piece in at least one room he did not find aesthetically acceptable.
The first recording of I am sitting in a room was made at the Electronic Music Studio at Brandeis University in 1969.
Alvin Lucier
Alvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
's best known works, featuring Lucier recording himself narrating
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
a text, and then playing the recording
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
back into the room, re-recording it. The new recording is then played back and re-recorded, and this process is repeated. Since all rooms have characteristic resonance
Resonance
In physics, resonance is the tendency of a system to oscillate at a greater amplitude at some frequencies than at others. These are known as the system's resonant frequencies...
or formant
Formant
Formants are defined by Gunnar Fant as 'the spectral peaks of the sound spectrum |P|' of the voice. In speech science and phonetics, formant is also used to mean an acoustic resonance of the human vocal tract...
frequencies (e.g. different between a large hall and a small room), the effect is that certain frequencies
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
are emphasized as they resonate in the room, until eventually the words become unintelligible, replaced by the pure resonant harmonies and tones of the room itself. The recited text describes this process in action—it begins "I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice," and the rationale, concluding, "I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have," referring to his own stuttering
Stuttering
Stuttering , also known as stammering , is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases, and involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the stutterer is unable to produce sounds...
.
Lucier had also specified that a performance need not use his text and the performance may be recorded in any room. The composer himself has recorded the piece in at least one room he did not find aesthetically acceptable.
The first recording of I am sitting in a room was made at the Electronic Music Studio at Brandeis University in 1969.
Full text
External links
- I am sitting in a room by atabarut Labaratuar [LAB] performance, research and project company develops a modern dance performance on the basis of the text by Lucier.
- I am sitting in a video room by canzona A video is ripped from YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and re-encoded 1000 times with the intention of removing human qualities from the voice and body.
Listening
- I am sitting in a room by Residuum Collage artist Residuum takes the text by Lucier and let the computer speak it. And as a computer can only speak virtually, the technique is applied to virtual space.
- Untitled piece by David Tinapple and Joel Kraut digital/new media artists Joel Kraut and David Tinapple created a live, interactive digital version of Lucier's piece.
- Alvin Lucier at UBUWEB Has a copy of the original 1969 performance for download, as well as a 2001 interview / documentary.