Speare: Inside the Cable Car Barn

Within this excerpt there is an abundance of sounds created from multiple layers and seemingly
multiple machines but I have selected phenomena and sections of the excerpt that are the most
apparent or sonically important to me. Due to the monotonous nature of the work, and that of
mechanics, an overall formal form or structure is not apparent. However, the excerpt, to me, clearly
dictates a journey. The opening settles into the pulsing mechanical rhythm leading to the middle
which features elements that imply the listener is moving or at least something is passing by the
listener. The end of the excerpt reduces in volume and intensity where it reaches its conclusion.
Very close to the beginning of the excerpt a constant pitch emerges. This is predominately panned
left. I am enthralled by a singular pitch as the piece progresses. Perhaps this is because the tone is
the most familiar or recognisable to me. I am drawn to what I know. It sits at around 960 Hz.
Throughout the work, my ears fixate on the pitch and at the end I begin to question if the pitch is still
present or am I being tricked by my ears and am hallucinating the pitch. The singular pitch is like the
hum of machinery, an engine constantly vibrating. The pitch is held relatively steady, especially in
comparison to the rest of the rhythmic whirring that sits below it.
The centre of the pitch is sometimes obscured by a very high whirring. This whirring is not as stable
as my pitch and it waivers around, almost like when two tones are so close together they beat. The
interaction of the very high whine makes the ~960 Hz pitch sometimes waiver and sometimes
become fully obscured. The very high tone is on the edge of my hearing ability. It sounds like the
ringing in your ears after going to a very loud rock concert, where the loudness is still echoing
around your ears and head.
Alongside the ongoing pitch is a lower constant rhythmic mechanic chugging. It sounds like a wheel
grinding. There is almost the resistance of the weight of the car and then the clunking relief when
the wheel pushes through the point of most resistance only to begin the battle again. The weight of
the car does not change and neither does the resistance or the rhythm of the chug. The sound
follows the pattern of increasing tension and sudden release. This repetition is both meditative and
trance-like. The movement of the cable car is made up of repetitive motions, a never ending motor
driving the motion of the car, which is truly reflected in the sound world. Having these constant
rhythms allows me to relax into the sound and feel quite comforted by the regularity of it. It is the
unexpected, that startles me out of the trance.
Even within monotonous movement there are highlights. An unexpected flutter. This flutter stood
out to me as it sounded organic in contrast to the mostly mechanical sound world. Rather than
metal, it sounded like it was produced by wings but more likely by strips of plastic being passed
through. It happened only once, but was different from the lower regulated sounds that I noticed it
immediately.
The odd bit of clinking is littered throughout the middle to end of the excerpt. There is rhythmic
clinking, as a part of the machinery, and non-rhythmic clinking. The monotony of the low mechanic
subsides when the clinking passes by. It is panned in a way where they travel from one ear to the
next and get louder as we get closer and then seemingly move away as they become quieter. This
‘moving’ sound has a faster rhythm, over double that of the low chugging, and also sits much higher
in my listening range. It is comprised of multiple tones around the same range alternating, creating
this metallic rhythm that sounds like it could be recreated by jangling keys together.
I wish I had experienced this piece without knowing the title. I do not believe I would have
associated the piece with the workings of a cable car without the given context. It is hard to say what
I would have original assumed the mechanical sounds to be. I would have guessed that the sound
was another form of mechanic, like a dryer on a slow cycle. I may have even believed that the
mechanic sounds were created by acoustic instruments. The constant middle ~960 Hz pitch sounded
like a metal instrument being bowed; a vibraphone, cymbal, or even the bell of a tuba.

 Do you hear strong pitch content? Where is it?

Noise? Is it pitched or banded?
Are these sounds static? Changing? How fast?
Do any of these behaviors yield a form or pattern?