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In another class I am taking this semester we listened to "Sonic Contours" by Vladimir Ussachevski. We spoke mainly about the history of the piece and the significance in that manor, but we just grazed the top of it analytically. So I will, for purposes of this class re-skim what I thought about the piece and how it affects me musically.

Throughout the piece there is a dichotomy between sounds that are very tonal in their nature, and those that are more rich regarding their spectrum. The latter of these sounds have more inharmonic spectra (frequencies in between what we would call "notes" in a tonal structure). These two sounds are intertwined in the first section showing relationships between their range and also the specific frequencies present- one just has more differing frequencies (and is probably derived from the first sound [the """"piano"""" sounding thing] but I will not go too much into the source of these sounds.) A similarity in these first two sounds, or gestures from now on, is their almost chordal structure. There usually is an interval in the first gesture or a similar intervalic range produced in the second gesture; only in the second this interval is filled in or has some frequency material between the frequency maximum and minimum.

The second "section" that I noticed was more melodic by far, not being driven by intervals harmonically, but rather- you guessed it: melodically. I wouldn't classify it as a classic lullaby, but its softness does offer a rather delicate nature often becoming more active dynamically but then receding back to its almost docile quality. This section is then accompanied by rich long tones and intervals that provide a background texture to add some color to the sound pallet. Soon this section reveals another instance of the """""""piano""""""" sounding thing and is much more agitated for a period of time. Now we are beginning to experience delay! Or at least a much greater semblance than we have heard so far. Now the melodic gestures are accompanied by themselves and create the intervalic material from well, itself. Then... There... Is... A... Slower... Section... Lots... Of... Space... Then... An alien talks. Well. No. Not really.

Being the humans we are, we immediately notice someones voice no matter how drastically changed it is. This is one source that I oftentimes have a real difficulty listening to and not just shouting, "HEY! I KNOW WHAT IT IS!!!" So I will. Just this once... maybe.

And then... MORE DELAY!!!! I CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS STUFF!!!

The delay that he used in the piece decays rather quickly, losing a lot of the frequencies from the original gesture in only 1 or 2 generations. At the 5th and 6th generation it is a totally different sound. Almost like the difference between the dichotomy of the two sounds/gestures in the beginning...

But I really don't know. So I'll leave you with that for now.