Suds, Skills and Syntax - Andrew’s Epic Car Wash Movie

Written by Andrew

This is a blog about car washing, making music and working  together.  We hope you learn about the project - where we made the music from some of Andrews  favourite things.

Andrew's movie was about car washing -  we learned music for it; we went around with the microphone recording sounds of trains, cars and let's not forget the kettle. We then put the samples on the computer.

We started editing the sounds, we made them:
- longer
- higher and lower
- quieter and louder
- louder over time

Don't let go because the train hasn't left the station! By making sounds with our voices we could explain. Andrew's EPIC car wash movie was great when we worked to together. By showing me what to do with the sounds we explained with our words

'Don’t let go' helped Andrew remember - the  hard bit was remembering it all, as it took weeks to make.

We put it on the projector and we showed it to  everyone in the Friday music session, it was good. We talked about it, we got feed back and they really liked. It looked like a big bubble bath; if we opened the cars windows then Andrew would have had wash

Written by Tom Wood

I hope that reflecting in this way about the project details some of the skills learnt, but also how they were learnt. I believe what this project examples best is the power of language and the efficacy of taking a Social Model Approach.  

By recording the sounds with the microphone we were challenged to think about how to sensitively record; being quiet and thinking about how close or far to stand from the thing making the sound. 

We edited the sounds together using a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) on a laptop, using techniques such as increasing volume over time with automation, changing pitch and time-stretching to change the sounds of a train leaving the station to create a weird and wonderful soundscape. By recording the sounds of some of Andrew's favourite things, such as trains, cars and kettles for tea, the project took on an additional element of fun, interest and engagement. 

What allowed us to create the project and learn the techniques involved was Andrew and I coming up with a way to discuss these techniques together, for example, by pressing 'A for Andrew' to bring up automation. Or 'don’t let go' of the clip we’re stretching, as it is a 'train and it hasn’t left the station yet'.

The way Andrew and I discussed these techniques created a, sort of, language between us. Not only do we both remember parts of our language a month on, it made explaining some quite complex techniques quicker and easier. This was particularly useful, given that the project spanned several weeks and we needed a way to jump back into where we had ended last week.

In regards to how it sharpened my understanding of a Social Model Approach - Andrew showed a thoughtfulness when recording and when explained with our shared language, took naturally to many of the music technology processes involved. It made me realise that when ideas were presented in an accessible way and in an #Inclusive environment, we were entirely able to delve into the gears and cogs of music technology together. From there, we could work together to make a weird and wonderful soundtrack to Andrew’s car wash journey with Jane.

Written by Andrew andTom Wood, Edited and Published by Dom Palfreman