FOOTPRINTS OF THE FOREST : Exploring the indoor space as an artistic quality in herding call

Sammanfattning: This project is based on questions about the significance of the acoustic space for kulning (herding calls). Swedish vocal folk music and in particular kulning, is at the center of my expressive, musical language. I was seduced by the tonality, variety, flexibility in Swedish folk singing as well as the individual freedom of expression. In this work I want to reflect past and present, based on the voice and singing style from my own perspective. The questions were: How can I kula if I don´t have a forest, the natural environment for kulning? Can I create a virtual forest indoors, for my voice to sound in a similar way as outdoors, that would feel like kulning outdoors? Can I find an analog or electronic backdoor to a perfect kulning sound in indoor spaces? Can I create new music with the idea that the room is an extension of the kulning sound? and in the end, how do I convey the artistic qualities of kulning to someone else? I have investigated those questions in the artistic project - The Dome - Part I, Part II and Part III by creating spatial music for voices, in two different dome-shaped indoor spaces. The insight that the room is an extension of the sound of kulning made me understand the importance of uncompromising acoustics. I revalue techniques, directions and positions. Try out tools to create - virtual SoundScapesusing digital technology. Experiment with exercises that can give my voice long durability. Try out composition models to get musical ideas to implement in new music. The artistic outcomes of this research are new concepts for kulning in electroacoustic and analog indoor spaces. The result of the project has become a number of methods for composition, improvisation, performing and teaching.    The project has been documented in a website: http://footprints.mariamisgeld.se