Mean Time Between Failure
2018
|
INSTRUMENTATION
mezzo-soprano, bassoon, electronics |
DURATION
ca. 7-8 minutes |
Mean Time Between Failure, for bassoon, voice, and electronics, uses both fixed media and live signal processing to tell the story of a robot, Unit 098 S1-10, who undergoes a transformation from a mechanical device to a sentient being, exceeding its original programming and expressing needs of its own. The title of the piece comes from a term in engineering which refers to the predicted amount of time that a device will function without failure. In the beginning of the composition, the bassoon and voice act as a singular entity, reacting to and anticipating the actions of the other. The voice initiates the existential crisis, triggered by a new sonic environment in the fixed media; then the bassoon leads the disturbed voice towards a newfound peace and an awareness of self, despite the tumultuous change in character.
The sampled recordings in the fixed media include pre-recorded bassoon, played by Natalie Law, and printer sounds from the Selma D. and Stanley C. Hollander MakeCentral: Makerspace at the MSU Library. Growing up above my parents’ printing and graphics design business, I was accustomed to hearing the ticking, ringing, and shifting of digital printers and old fashioned printing presses. Once I knew this composition was going to be about a robot, these sounds immediately popped into my head as a way of communicating a mechanical and musical environment. The staff at Hollander MakeCentral were accommodating enough to assist me with this project by allowing me to record sounds of their equipment, including the Espresso Book Machine, the MakerBot Replicator 3D printer, and the USCutter Laserpoint II vinyl cutter.
The sampled recordings in the fixed media include pre-recorded bassoon, played by Natalie Law, and printer sounds from the Selma D. and Stanley C. Hollander MakeCentral: Makerspace at the MSU Library. Growing up above my parents’ printing and graphics design business, I was accustomed to hearing the ticking, ringing, and shifting of digital printers and old fashioned printing presses. Once I knew this composition was going to be about a robot, these sounds immediately popped into my head as a way of communicating a mechanical and musical environment. The staff at Hollander MakeCentral were accommodating enough to assist me with this project by allowing me to record sounds of their equipment, including the Espresso Book Machine, the MakerBot Replicator 3D printer, and the USCutter Laserpoint II vinyl cutter.