"I am sitting in a room different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice and I am going to play it back into the room again and again until the resonant frequencies of the room reinforce themselves so that any semblance of my speech, with perhaps the exception of rhythm, is destroyed. What you will hear, then, are the natural resonant frequencies of the room articulated by speech. I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have."
— The words spoken by Alvin Lucier
I Am Sitting In A Room is an audiovisual piece from Avant-Garde Music composer Alvin Lucier, which was made in 1969. This piece is known for its composition, where Alvin records himself reading text in a room (different from the one where you are in), and then play it again until the natural resonant frequencies of the room reinforce themselves to nothing. It's a highly regarded example of taking an unconventional source (in this case the tones caused by a resonating voice) and creating music with it.
Tropes provided with this:
- Epic Rocking: The piece lasts for 45 minutes.
- Everything Is an Instrument: Reinforced frequencies made from voice can be instruments.
- The Unintelligible: Lucier's voice becomes progressively more distorted with every playback as the resonant frequencies overpower his voice. Eventually, any semblance of language is erased and only the frequencies can be heard.
