John Cage Songbooks

I'm performing electronics on a concert of John Cage Songbooks, and I was having difficulty with one of the pieces.

The text states, "Use electronics to so transform the voice that it ressembles singing wires, not strident, but whirring (aeolian harp, musical saw)." Everything I try is just not working. A big problem I'm having is tracking the pitch element. Also, nothing I'm doing sounds like an aoelian harp. Any help would be wonderful. The smallest of ideas might trigger something. Thanks.

 

resonators.

 

The musical saw is like a thermin-type of control (via XY Pad). I don't recall the names but there have been a couple of thermin-like ensembles (search in the 'special' catagory perhaps). With some modification and realtime playing lazyfish's HEISHERE might be an option as would rachmiel's organism's. Oh, and resonators...

 

GRM Tools Comb Filters VST Plugin

Or maybe you can get something like this with Smart Electronix SupaPhaser--the ring my bell preset gives a bell like sound to voice, maybe could be stretched into aeolian.

 

another resonator suggestion

two free resonator plugin suggestions:
1)
if you search for Oli Larkin, you will find his SynthEdit VSTs.
You might find that his Drone Box will work.

2)
PSPaudioware provides a PianoVerb which does a nice job of getting particular notes to ring.

 

It might be a bit old fashioned, but I think that a vocoder, using the voice as the carrier, could produce an appropriate effect. The resonances will be at only one or two frequencies, but the pitch will come across, and as the amplitude of the vocal ebbs and flows, you scould get some nice 'hi-tension wires clinking in the wind' sort of sounds.