The main teapot function...

I have been thinking about a way of involving the teapot in the main sound making part of the project and have decided to use another LDR which will, when the teapots lid is lifted, will apply an audio effect to whichever teacups buffer is playing. I think a relatively subtle reverb or delay could work well with the more the lid is lifted the more the reverb affects the sound recorded in the teacup. This way the user can control two parameters at once, by lifting the lid of the teacup which will choose the sample to playback, the amount of the teacups effect that is being used and also how much of the teapots effect is being heard also. I think this will make the experience more interactive and engaging and will go some way to enabling the user to really 'play' the teaset as an instrument.

Documenting the final piece

Having had talks with a lecturer of mine, I've decided to produce a DVD documenting the full process of the project, start to finish. I think it should include as much as possible about the project and be well enough produced in itself to be interesting to watch without using the final tea set.

Things I want to include on the DVD are:

This Blog, tracking the idea development

Nicely shot footage of the end product in its environment

Footage of it in use

A collection of good quality still photographs of the piece

The Max/Msp patch used for the project

Full instruction on how to do it for yourself

Recordings of music it has produced

More to come I think....

A performance within a performance?

The notions of the 'Chado' (Japanese tea ceremony or 'way of the tea') being a performance in itself is something I'm reading about at the moment. I'm looking for ways to explore this concept within the framework of my installation, perhaps promoting questions about the idea of the music people create using the tea set being a performance within a performance, and what sort of significance that has.

Idea's of the tea room itself being a stage of sorts, with the whole performance only viewable to the select few who are actually involved are also conceptual area's I'm looking at exploring sonically in the piece.

Wabi-Sabi

I've just got a new book all about the concept of 'Wabi-Sabi', the ancient Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in the modest and humble.

These are concepts that have been intrinsically linked with the tea ceremony since it began and I'm keen to find out more about how I can adopt some of the principles of these teachings in my project.

Drilling the holes

I've had a bit of a lull in progress lately so I thought I'd get on with all the drilling that needs to be done. Last night I drilled out all the individual tea cups and the tea pot ready for the microphones and light detecting diode wires to go through. This was a very slow process as the

tea set is made of something very dense, maybe terra-cotta, and I couldn't afford to break anything from drill pressure or the friction that was generated. While I had the drill out I made the necessary holes in the new sewing box, one for each of the tea cups and pot, one in the bottom of the box for power and another for ventilation of the Mac Mini.

Small microphones

I've been thinking these small tie clip style microphones are probably the best option for placement in the tea cups. I'll need four, each connected to the small mixer and then to the computer. I think the fact the they will be inside ceramic tea cups will color the sound interestingly and add to the sonic experience for the user.

The use of contact microphones instead of standard clip type mics is something I've been thinking about. This would certainly have a massive effect on the sounds being played/spoken into each cup but might detract from the users understanding if the sounds were changed beyond recognition. I'm going to purchase a cheap, small, contact microphone this afternoon to experiment with how it colors the sound I make into one of the tea cups.

A new box, thats big enough!

Unfortunately the first box I bought didn't fit the Mac Mini inside it, which makes it pretty much useless. This is a sewing box I've just bought from a flea market and which is definitely big enough to house all the necessary things, and leave enough space to keep all the electronics cool. I've been thinking about ways to use the rotation of the tea cups as something which might control a parameter of the audio playback, but this is something thats going to take a bit of consideration. Perhaps rotation could effect playback speed or pitch with the amount the lid is lifted effecting something different.