News
Not your father’s speaker system
MSU poised for production of immersive musical events.
If you’ve been to the movies or an elaborate home theater, chances are you have experienced surround sound. But have you ever heard of ambisonics? Two Michigan State University music composition professors are working so that someday you will, and it just might shape the future of sound experiences.
While surround sound is a system of multiple audio channels that increases the depth and fidelity of sound, an ambisonic speaker system takes surround sound one step further. Ambisonics closely creates a 360-degree listening sphere through speaker placements and filter algorithms that place sound in precise locations and allow smooth transitions from one location to the next.
Michigan State University College of Music assistant professors Lyn Goeringer and Alexis Bacon are composers in the Composition Area of the College. Goeringer did not miss the opportunity to pitch the idea of a futuristic sound system when asked for input during the planning phase of the new Billman Music Pavilion on campus. Bacon supported her concept. As cutting-edge composers who use technology in their works and performances, Goeringer and Bacon were impressed with advances in ambisonsics and got approval to create a new composition lab and performance space.
Once funding is secured, a new on-campus studio that harnesses the creative and technological capabilities of ambisonics will focus on creating sound experiences. The studio will be located in the new pavilion, specifically in Eichler Hall which was built, in part, to feature the advanced system. The studio will be among the first ambisonic educational lab and performance spaces in Michigan that explores the “theater of the ear” through the production of fully immersive musical experiences for groups of listeners. The lab and space will also provide an environment for students, visiting artists, and guests to hold innovative electroacoustic and electronic music concerts.
“Ambisonics is flexible and allows composers to create works that can easily be transferred from one ambisonic performance space to another,” said Goeringer. “Students will be able to create works that will help them gain off-campus recognition and performance experience. It’s exciting to think about the possibilities.”
Covering all the angles
While composers have long invested in exploring spatialized sound, ambisonics build on immersive listening by extending it beyond solo listening via headphones to communal or group experiences.
While surround sound allows for very specific constructed sonic spaces using quadrophonic, eight-channel audio, and theatre standard sound systems, ambisonics expands on that experience by providing front-to-back or back-to-front listening, sound elevation, and the aural illusion of perceiving sounds where they are not. By creating a more accurate spatial illusion than what is possible with surround sound, ambisonics is becoming increasingly popular for virtual reality environments, gaming and simulation, as well for 3D listening and performance for communal audiences.
“Ambisonic systems allow us to create immersive audio worlds that feel much different than the actual space,” said Bacon. “We’re excited about working with these systems here at MSU, and attracting students interested in both the art and craft of musical composition and the science and psychology of how our brains interpret sound.”
Concerts, events, and master classes leveraging the ambisonic systems of the educational lab and performance space in Eichler Hall will be open to composers, performers, and the greater community. Students will be able to create portfolio works for applying to electronic music festivals, residencies, and performance opportunities, as well as for further study in electronic music, sound art installation, entertainment and film, and video game systems.
Goeringer and Bacon hope to plan a major debut of the system in Eichler Hall by early 2023. All students on campus will be welcomed in classes in electronic music and given an opportunity to learn how to work with ambisonic speaker systems.
“As our musical world extends into the 21st century, this lab and event space will provide our students the opportunity to learn and experience large-scale electro-acoustic performances,” said Goeringer. “The recitals and chamber concerts held in Eichler Hall will also invite performers and audiences to participate in immersive environments of music-making and listening, bringing a one-of-a-kind experience to everyone involved.”
Interested in getting a sense of the ambisonic experience? Get out your headphones! The links below are samples of ambisonic sound encoding adapted for headphone listening.
- Adrian Moore: "Inside and out… again"
- Natasha Barrett: New York Times article with with links to ambisonic works
- Doug McCausland (MM ‘16): “Convergence”; Winner of the 2021 Prix Ars Electronica and the 2021 ASCAP/SEAMUS Student Composition Commission
- Rob Hamilton: “108 Troubles”
If you would like to support MSU’s ambisonic installation, contact College of Music Senior Director of Advancement Ann-Marie Lindley at (517) 432-4889 or alindley@msu.edu.
