Guy Creek 1990-1996 and Onancock 2010-2021
Sonifications by Rah Hite
The variables water level depth, precipitation, and evapotranspiration, were converted into different sonic parameters through a MaxMSP patch:
The primary data point, water level depth, determined the overall tempo of the piece. The time is kept using the rhythms of popular breakbeats “Amen Brother,” by The Winstons and “Funky Drummer,” by James Brown. Throughout points of equilibrium, the Amen breakbeat is sustained to represent normalcy. This is due to the relatively common rhythm which employs listener’s familiarity. This is in comparison to Funky by James Brown, which contains more percussive syncopation fueled by brighter accents upon 16th note subdivisions which aids as a sonic indicator for data levels of concern.
Daily precipitation levels are mapped to synthesizer pitch. As a result, days where there is no precipitation are sounded by bass frequencies. In addition to pitch, the waveform of synthesizers is dependent on the status of water levels as well. In cases of normalcy, smoother timbres are projected through sine waves (~cycle object in Max). As the data approaches extremes in the range of water level depth, this synthesizer transforms into sawtooth waves (~phasor object in Max). This indicates the enhanced perspective of precipitation (or lack thereof) in times of concerning water levels.
In the Guy Creek dataset, evapotranspiration is part of the provided variables. To represent this, it added changes to a continuous field recording from a creek at Morven Farm, Charlottesville VA, that is dubbed in during times of extreme water levels throughout both sets. The evapotranspiration data effected the cutoff frequency of a low-pass filter applied onto the stream’s field recording. The higher the measurement of evapotranspiration, the more filtered it would sound. This contributed to key differences in the overall soundscape of the Guy Creek sonification. While there are more drastic changes in its data, the added element of evapotranspiration and other low pass events imposed on drum samples ultimately adds to the perceptual characteristics. While Guy Creek could be considered more eventful in listening, the
additional qualities may aid listeners in perceiving the emotional urgency associated with extreme water conditions.
Composer notes by Rah Hite