Technique

Beschreibung

The aural shapes concert is purely acoustic, so it needs an acoustically space to be played. Preferably the audience should be completely surrounded by the instruments. For the instruments and wind machines is 230 Volt 16 Amp necessary. For special instruments is a 400 Volt three-phase current connector necessary (compressor and big windmachine).

Setup Aural Shape-Konzert

The setup can generally be done in the morning or at noon, if the concert is to take place in the evening.

Controlling of the soundmachines

In order to play these machines, Schläger initially used an industrial control system by Klöckner Möller, which is still in use for the regulation of waterworks, railways, and traffic lights. However, this method of programming proved to be cumbersome, he therefore decided to apply the data transfer protocol MIDI (musical instrument digital interface) which offered him much more convenient options. However, it is necessary to interpose a laptop with sequencers, compositional and notation programs between the two. With MIDI the programming of the operations of motors and magnetic pickups is enabled. Although the sound machines are then ready for use in performances and in installations, they are not considered completed, rather they are subject to an ongoing process of modification, a constant fine-tuning and adjustment of their sound characteristics. The construction of a machine is not a completed process, but a never-ending exploration of the best-possible form. On a pragmatic level Christof Schläger knows in advance the kinds of components he requires and he will search until he finds the precise part he is looking for; usually it will require some physical alteration to fit into the structure of his sound machine. On an artistic level, while Schläger has a sound in his imagination and which he strives for, he is not rigid in his intention. The sounds evolve and come into being in the interplay of imagination, the constant adjustment of the sound machines, and the listening experiences of the sounds produced.