Artist Statement
For this project, I created an audio track titled "4:33 Meditation." This four-minute and thirty-three-second piece is designed to help listeners, myself included, in finding a sense of calm and mindfulness in under five minutes.
The project's initial challenge was finding ten suitable sound clips from the classroom's Google Drive that matched the ambiance I pictured. Then I stumbled upon a ringing bell clip, which I instantly recognized as the perfect meditative sound to subject my track. Using Audition, I cut out the best part of the bell's ring and copied and pasted it numerous times to establish a rhythmic pattern. This helped me craft three distinct sounds from the single clip, providing a clear beginning, middle, and end to the piece.
After I had the foundation set, I went back into Google Drive to find more clips that would go well with meditation. However, I was only able to find clips of a water stream and birds in a backyard. This limitation made me push my creativity, leading me to find everyday sounds and turn them into the natural, meditative soundscape I imagined. For example, the sound of someone typing on the keyboard was transformed to mimic a crackling fire, while the noise of a shower and other ambient sounds were edited to evoke rain and wind. After spending a few years already working in Audition and sound design, I found the rest of the process easy in terms of finding effects and editing the clips to how I wanted them to sound.
To finish the project, and in need of additional audio, I incorporated an ambient coffee shop sound from our class drive folder. This addition was strategic, intending to gradually disengage the listener from everyday noises and ease them into a meditative state. On the other hand, the track ends by suddenly reintroducing the sounds of the coffee shop, guiding listeners back from their meditation and indicating that the meditation is over.
I'm truly pleased and proud of the final outcome of this project and hope people can find it beneficial, especially during stressful times!
SoundCloud to Audio Track: https://soundcloud.com/jake-summers-640167428/sit-back-n-relax?si=c9ffe338f9d64ca7b8b3388933bcc6b4&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
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