Room Modes explores the physical nature of resonance within a space. Every room has a collection of resonances that exist within that space. By using low frequency sounds we can excite those resonances, and just like exposing film to light, we can create an image of how those resonances exist within that space.

For this piece I composed a composition based on the room modes of the Black Box Theater. I calculated the frequencies at which standing waves were created and used two subwoofers, one producing sound on the length dimension of the room and one on the width, to stimulate the room modes. I only ever played two frequencies at the same time but found ones that created interesting patterns of sound within the space. As people moved around the room they could experience points where the sound was intense and overwhelming as well as islands where the sound would disappear.

Visually this piece was accompanied by a Quartz Composer sketch that Marshall Orton had created which triggered different colors of sine waves to move around the space based on audio reactive elements.