if all rings were grooves...

yesterday i was able to visit my favorite japanese temple/garden - commonly known as ginkakuji temple, and even though i have been there many times over the last 15 years or so, i always manage to see things i'd not noticed before, or even more interestingly, seeing things i had seen before but in a new light.

one such moment occurred near the entrance, where there is a small shrine at the top of a few steps on a very small path of rocks. i'd seen it from the ground, but never knew one could walk up to the shrine itself. the shrine is small and not such a big deal, but turning around to walk back down the few steps, i realized i could see my favorite part of the landscape (a mound of sand known as "kogetsudai" which is evocative of mount fuji) from an entirely different angle and height.

seeing the large sand mound from above, i noticed the gravel around it had been "combed" in concentric circles by some sort of rake, and i began to notice, of course, the resemblance between the circular rakings around the larger mound, and the circular grooves found on the surface of a record.

normally, this kind of visual one to one relationship is where such a thought would end, but in light of the recent advances of technology in relation to "reading" grooves, i began to wonder about it more. it got me thinking about edouard-léon scott de martinville's phonoautograph machine, which made drawings from voices with soot and a stylus; and how a few years ago some scientists were able to "read" the stylus drawings and translate them back into sound.

obviously a path of raked stones would not contain soundwaves or information connected to the vibration of a stylus, nonetheless i wonder what might the sound be like if someone were able to "play" these circular sand lines. in all likelihood, it would sound like a wall of noise in all its splendor; yet i can't help but wonder, if within such a thing, there might be a bit of the essence of the landscape or some audible residue of all that has sounded upon this site...

workshop...

i was invited by SASSAS to create a one night class which will happen in eagle rock on april 15th. it it is part of a series called Make it, Install it, Perform it: Listen

i didn't realize until today that class reservations must be made by APRIL 14, and are limited to 15 people... so i'm posting a note here in case anyone local is interested:

Steve Roden leads a workshop using the concept of the Phonoautograph as a means to explore the notation of sound towards the making of a score and improvising music. Invented in 1850, The Photoautograph translated sound into a drawing etched into a field of soot. That drawing, recently translated via a computer program into audible sound, is now considered the earliest known audio recording. The movement back and forth between sound and image is the basis for the workshop. Steve will begin with an introduction to his own work and will then lead the group in two hands on components -- the first exploring various listening and notation strategies directly on to 16mm film stock, the second, to view the film projected, and to explore ensemble improvisation using the film as a "score.” This will be a decidedly low tech affair, and rather than focus on specific techniques, the hope is that participants can share much in the way of dialogue surrounding listening, drawing, translating, improvising, composing, etc.

Participants must bring their own instruments and amplification if needed.

Wednesday, April 15th
7pm -10 pm
Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock
2225 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041
more info reservations here: sassas workshops

there are 4 classes total, each with a different artist and a different plan:
Steve Roden – April 15
Carole Kim – April 22
Nina Waisman – April 29
Rick Potts – May 6

Tuition: $200 for the four class series, or $75 per class
($65 for CFAER and SASSAS members)