Spatial Audio Research

Tactile musical experiences that live and move in space.
  • Year: 2015–present
  • Type: Research project

Overview

My research in spatial audio explores how immersive sound systems change the way we compose, perform, and experience music.

I’ve worked with systems ranging from 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos (in my home studio) to 102-speaker Meyer Sound Constellation systems (at National Sawdust), and I’m particularly interested in how spatial movement becomes a compositional parameter.

Research Questions

  • How does spatial movement affect musical perception and emotion?
  • What compositional techniques are unique to spatial audio?
  • How can performers control spatial parameters in real-time?
  • What is the relationship between physical space and musical gesture?

Technical Systems

I’ve worked extensively with:

  • Ambisonics (first-order through seventh-order)
  • Dolby Atmos (7.1.4 and 9.1.6 configurations)
  • Meyer Sound Constellation (102-speaker system)
  • Wave Field Synthesis
  • Vector Base Amplitude Panning (VBAP)

Each system has different strengths, limitations, and aesthetic possibilities.

Performance Practice

Spatial audio performance requires new skills:

  • Spatial choreography: planning sound movement through space
  • Real-time control: manipulating spatial parameters during performance
  • Audience positioning: considering listener location and perspective
  • Room acoustics: working with (or against) the physical space

These are fundamentally different from traditional stereo or mono performance practices.

Selected Performances

  • The Clearing — UCC Keene, 2026 (live sound perfomance and distribution)
  • Music in the Constellation — National Sawdust, 2022 (102-speaker system)
  • Spatial Improvisations — Experimental Sound Studio, 2018 (16-channel ambisonics)
  • Atmos Sessions — Home studio, ongoing (7.1.4 Dolby Atmos)

Future Directions

Currently exploring:

  • Binaural spatial audio for headphone listening
  • Interactive spatial systems that respond to performer gesture
  • Spatial audio for VR/AR applications
  • Pedagogical approaches to teaching spatial composition
Categories: research 
Tags: spatial-audio ambisonics dolby-atmos acoustics 

See also

What Was the Question? Human-AI collaboration, spatial audio, and compositional evolution. Music in the Constellation An immersive journey through 70 years of spatial audio history. Vampyr (1932) Score LIVE! A solo score for Carl Theodor Dreyer's masterpiece.