Introduction
Airplanes
Coins
Dialects
Drum Set
Metallic
Pipe Instrument
SGB
Tube-o-phone
Volleyball
Page Turns
Lewis Sound Archives
The Lewis Sounds Archives contain short recordings that capture moments and sounds of Lewis University. Composers and sound artists are encouraged to use these sounds however they see fit. For artistic works that use sounds from this website, citation of the Lewis Music Sound Archive is appreciated, but not a requirement for the use of these sounds. These sounds are given freely to the world in the hope that artists will find beauty in them and use them to create.Loosely inspired by the concept of the Soundscape, as developed by the work of R. Murray Schafer, the Lewis Music Sound Archive is intended essentially to be a sound preservation repository for sounds that reflect the soundscape at Lewis University. Not only do these sounds collect and document the natural organic sounds, but also many other samples that make up our sound environment. From the sounds of our airplanes to the dialects of our people, the Lewis Music Sound Archive attempts to document the soundscape of this place at this time.
Airplanes
Lewis University's roots can be traced to it aviation program. In 1932, the school was founded as a boys technical school with courses focusing on aviation technology. During World War II the school closed and was given to the US Navy to train pilots. Today, the Department of Aviation continues to be one of the most popular programs at Lewis University. Corporate, private, and test flights are constantly taking off and landing at the campus airport. Hearing these planes is inevitable on a walk around campus. For the recordings below, I stood close to the runway and recorded as the planes taxied around the runway. I also recorded several airplanes starting up their engines. This audio was recorded with a Marantz Solid State Recorder (PMD660) and a Shure SM57. These common, frequent sounds are important to the soundscape of Lewis University and are unique to this school, which was founded on aviation.
Rudy Brynac
December 2009
December 2009
Rudy Brynac (class of 2013) was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended St. Louis University High School, where he won two back-to-back Missouri State Volleyball Championships in 2007 and 2008. Rudy plays volleyball for Lewis University. He started playing the piano by ear at the age of 5 and still plays the piano, keyboards, and the accordion. He was exposed to music from his grandfathers who played the piano and Croatian Tamburiza music. His favorite artists include Phish, Stevie Wonder, Oscar Peterson, and The Roots just to name a few. Rudy is majoring in Music Merchandising and minoring in Music Technology at Lewis with aspirations to work for a record label in the near future.
Coins
I often have coins rattling around in my pockets, and I enjoy the wide variety of sounds they make. Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters all shaped different sizes, producing different sounds. The focus of these recordings is to examine the differences in the rattling, dropping and shaking of five coins from each four-coin group.
Patrick Jefferson
December 2012
December 2012
Patrick Jefferson (class of 2015) was born and raised in Chicago, IL, where he graduated from DuSable- Bronzeville High School. He is currently a sophomore at Lewis University majoring in music merchandising and minoring in music technology. He has had a huge interest in the art of hip-hop music since a young child. He enjoys writing lyrics, listening to music and recording his own music.
Dialects
The set of audio samples below is a collection of sounds of Lewis University students and faculty reciting the five distinct values from the University's Mission Statement: Knowledge, Fidelity, Wisdom, Justice, and Association. The purpose of these recordings was to capture the various dialects of the Lewis community, demonstrating the institution's diversity in a unique way. Using a Zoom H2 recorder, I walked the campus, asking people to recite the five values from a piece of paper. The audio files were then edited to isolate the person's voice from the surrounding soundscape, in an effort to clearly depict each person's tone, accent, and timbre of their voice.
Dorian Starks
December 2009
December 2009
Dorian Starks (class of 2012) studied Music Merchandising major and Music Technology at Lewis University. His musical interests include jazz, gospel, and classical music.
Drumset
This collection of samples includes drum hits from Sonor and Ludwig kits. These have been recorded in the Sancta Alberta Chapel and Ives Hall at Lewis University. Each drum was recorded with at least one close microphone and up to two ambient or room microphones. The inspiration for these samples came from the necessity and drive to archive a number of usable samples for production use. While the drums are not saturated in the sound of the rooms, they are mixed with both close and ambient microphones for use in a variety of applications. Below are both the raw recording and a processed version of the samples.
The purpose of the processed samples is to provide an idea for what the sample would sound like when put into use in a recording, with neutral Compression and EQ. The processed samples have unique Compression and EQ settings, as they each have a different character.
The Samples are as follows:
The purpose of the processed samples is to provide an idea for what the sample would sound like when put into use in a recording, with neutral Compression and EQ. The processed samples have unique Compression and EQ settings, as they each have a different character.
The Samples are as follows:
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001- Sonor Kick- Ives Hall- Raw
002- Sonor Kick- ives Hall- Processed
003- Ludwig Kick- SA Chapel- Raw
004- Ludwig Kick- SA Chapel- Processed
005- Ludwig Kick (2)- SA Chapel- Raw
006- Ludwig Kick (2)- SA Chapel- Processed
007- Sonor Snare- SA Chapel- Raw
008- Sonor Snare- SA Chapel- Processed
009- Sonor Snare (2)- SA Chapel- Raw
010- Sonor Snare (2)- SA Chapel- Processed
011- Sonor Snare- Ives Hall- Raw
012- Sonor Snare- Ives Hall- Processed
013- Sonor Rack Tom- SA Chapel- Raw
014- Sonor Rack Tom- SA Chapel- Processed
015- Sonor Floor Tom- SA Chapel- Raw
016- Sonor Floor Tom- SA Chapel- Processed
017- Sonor Kit with Ludwig Kick (Far Room Mic)- SA Chapel- Raw
018- Sonor Kit with Ludwig Kick (Far Room Mic)- SA Chapel- Processed
019- Sonor Kit with Ludwig Kick (Close Room Mic)- SA Chapel- Raw
020- Sonor Kit with Ludwig Kick (Close Room Mic)- SA Chapel- Processed
Jeff Wegrzyn
December 2012
December 2012
Jeff Wegrzyn(class of 2015) was born in Chicago, Illinois and now lives in Plainfield, Illinois where he attended Plainfield North High School. Today, he is at Lewis University pursuing a Music Merchandising Degree with a Music Technology minor. Jeff's Love of music includes writing and performing his own works, as well as running his own Recording Studio, Front Door studios in his home in Plainfield. When Jeff isn't playing or recording music in his studio, you can see and hear Jeff in numerous bands in the area.
Metallic
The sounds were created from using a metal pipe striking a certain object. The objects ranged from signs, a manhole cover, doorknobs, metal railings, and other metallic substances. For this project, I wanted to collect sounds that could be used in musique concrete compositions. My goal is to take non-instrumental objects and incorporate them into my music.
Anthony Wonaitis
December 2012
December 2012
Pipe Instrument
This pipe instrument was designed, built, and recorded by Thomas Salata during the spring, 2011 academic semester at Lewis University.
Thomas Salata
May 2011
May 2011
Tom Salata (class of 2012) is a senior at Lewis University, majoring in music merchandising with a minor in musing technology. For the past couple of years he has been working as a technician for the local rock band Fickles Lot. The place he goes to get away is right back to his home town of Streator, IL where enjoys spending time with his family, friends, and dog, Dagger. Some fun fact about him is that other than music he enjoys Blackhawks and White Sox games, Nascar races, hanging out with his friends, camping, bicycle riding, and running.
Student Governing Board
The audio samples below are sounds that you would hear during the convening of the Lewis University Student Governing Board (SGB) general assembly. From the raps of the gavel to the movement of chairs. All of these sounds are unique to the Student Union where all SGB official business takes place. The samples included in this sound archive are as follows: raps from the president's gavel, name plates being collected, supplies being placed in a box, sifting through papers, moving a couch, moving a chair, and a section of The Leader's prayer. Enjoy!
Brittani Alston
December 2012
December 2012
Brittani Alston (class of 2015) studies Music Merchandising with minors in Music Technology and Marketing.
"Tube-O-Phone"
The "Tube-O-Phone" began as a project for the course, Electronic Music Techniques. The assignment was to design and build an instrument that would later be recorded for use in an electroacoustic composition as well as featured in a percussion ensemble concert. It was built using 2" PVC and scrap cabinet wood. When a PVC tube is struck directly on the top, the sound is created by waves bouncing back and forth from one side of the tube to the other. The frequency of the sound is affected directly by the length of the tube (the longer the tube, the lower the frequency).
The lengths of the tubes for the desired frequency of the notes were calculated using the following equation:
Using this equation, the lengths of the tubes for the following pitches were chosen:
Special thanks to Dr. Joseph Kozminski, a professor in the Department of Physics at Lewis University, for his technical expertise and help.
The lengths of the tubes for the desired frequency of the notes were calculated using the following equation:
f = v/2(L + 0.8d)
f = frequency, v= speed of sound, L= length of tube, and d= diameter of tube
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F# (92.499 hz)
G# (103.826 hz)
A (109.547 hz)
B (123.471 hz)
C# (138.591 hz)
D# (155.563 hz)
E (164.814 hz)
Special thanks to Dr. Joseph Kozminski, a professor in the Department of Physics at Lewis University, for his technical expertise and help.
William Blocker
April 2011
April 2011
William Blocker (class of 2010) was born in the small town of New Lenox, IL where he graduated from Lincoln-Way Central High School. He is currently a senior at Lewis University majoring in Music Merchandising and minoring in Music Technology.
He is the creator and builder of the instrument found on this website that he has named the "Tube-O-Phone". His musical interests include creating and recording sounds as well as composing music. He participates in recording ensemble at Lewis. He has also participated in Lewis Jazz Combo. Some of his musical influences include Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, Keith Moseley, Victor Wooten, and Bela Fleck. When he is not working on music related activities, he enjoys watching Chicago sports and hanging out with his dog Maddie.
Volleyball
The Lewis Men's Volleyball team is one of the top programs in the country. A Division II program, the team competes at the Division I level playing the likes of Ohio State, Penn State, and Long Beach State. Lewis founded its men's team in 1994. Paul Ruddy, the athletic director at the time, started the program and named Dave Deuser its head coach. The Flyers made it to the NCAA Final Four under Deuser in 1996, 1998, and 2004. In 2003, the Lewis Men's Volleyball team won the NCAA Championship, upsetting BYU. Coach Dan Friend took over the team for the 2004-05 season and has been the head coach ever since. The team continues to be ranked consistently within the top 15 in the country.
This is a collection of sounds, recorded in the Lewis University's Neil Carey Arena, from a volleyball, the net, and various other common sounds one can hearfrom a practice or match. These sounds were recorded with a Marantz Solid State Recorder (PMD660) and a Shure SM57.
This is a collection of sounds, recorded in the Lewis University's Neil Carey Arena, from a volleyball, the net, and various other common sounds one can hearfrom a practice or match. These sounds were recorded with a Marantz Solid State Recorder (PMD660) and a Shure SM57.
Rudy Brynac
May 2011
May 2011
Rudy Brynac (class of 2013) was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended St. Louis University High School, where he won two back-to-back Missouri State Volleyball Championships in 2007 and 2008. Rudy plays volleyball for Lewis University. He started playing the piano by ear at the age of 5 and still plays the piano, keyboards, and the accordion. He was exposed to music from his grandfathers who played the piano and Croatian Tamburiza music. His favorite artists include Phish, Stevie Wonder, Oscar Peterson, and The Roots just to name a few. Rudy is majoring in Music Merchandising and minoring in Music Technology at Lewis with aspirations to work for a record label in the near future.
Page Turns
As a music major in college, there's a sound I hear constantly: the turning of music pages. The samples below are the different page turns of music such as spiral bound music verses stapled music.
Jessica McKenzie
May 2011
May 2011
Jessica ("Jay") McKenzie (class of 2014) lives in Baileyville. Jay has always been involved in music and hte arts for her entire life. She plans on pursuing a career as a music therapist.