Sonic Art & Sound Design- P20:Sonic art is a new art form, or rather, forms. As we shall see, it can encompass a wide range of activities, perhaps wider than almost any other art form. It is an unusual case, based upon a medium that has traditionally been regarded as inferior and subservient to other creative or expressive forms. | THE COMPUTER Of equal importance is the monitor system. Small computer speakers are rarely adequate for serious sound work and without high-quality monitoring it is difficult to make precise adjustments. Headphones too require some thought especially since low frequencies are normally felt rather than heard and headphones cannot reproduce this effect. Microphones are important too. The best quality is obtained from large condenser microphones but these require a power source. Not all audio interfaces offer this option so this may need to be taken into consideration when choosing an interface. The keyboard and mouse is a useful general-purpose interface but for sound work it may be worth considering an additional controller. Especially where performance is under consideration a USB MIDI controller and keyboard may prove a useful and relatively inexpensive way of entering data and controlling the system. Many high-end software manufacturers offer their own dedicated controllers but these are often restricted to particular applications in this respect at least the cheaper units are often more flexible. 11. Commenting upon the ubiquity of the computer in his fascinating book Electric Sound The Past and Promise of Electronic Music 1997 New Jersey Prentice Hall Joel Chadabe observes Indeed one could say that by the late 1980s the age of computer music was over because everything was computer music. Left Tascam workstation controller It may be worth considering an additional controller to the generalpurpose keyboard and mouse interface when working with sound. Image courtesy of TEAC Corporation Tyo. Far left USB audio interface A useful and relatively inexpensive way of entering data and controlling a system. Image courtesy of M Audio. 94 95 PROCESS AND PRACTICE Operating systems and software At present the two main platforms -Macintosh and Windows - have little to choose between them for most sound activities. Recently applications previously unique to one or other have
