What are Wordsound compositions?

Wordsound compositions are sound sculptures which are generated by or include words. The pieces are composed of sound and word elements with many of  the concerns a composer might have: timbre, volume, variation, repetition, and sometimes even pitch.  The arrangement or juxtaposition of disparate sound sources is also not unlike the compositions of a collage artist.

Each composition begins differently. Some begin with writings from a notebook, others begin with found text and/or sounds recorded on  cassette recorder or mini-disc player. The editing processes act as diacritical marks to the text, sometimes creating undercurrents and new connotations.
By putting two different tracks together, new combinations of words and phrases are created.  Also I try to create different voices (either different input files, or by filtering one voice in different ways).  

Even as a poet, I have always been interested in the acoustic quality of language. Phonetic sounds can create a specific mood or tone.  Wordsound compositions work with phonetic sounds, but also are able to convey a physical texture in a more direct way than written words. Wordsound compositions free language from the page into the aural realm.  

My work is indebted to many influences: sound artists and poets like Charles Amirkhanian and Henri Chopin, musique concrete, electronic music composers,   Steve Reich's tape loops,  cut up /collage poets, environmental recording artists.

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