Renzo Vitale: What should electric cars sound like?
Renzo Vitale: Como devem soar os carros elétricos?
Renzo Vitale explores the narrative between music, science and human perception -- envisioning sonic spaces for music to evolve, for cities to sing, for people to transcend. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
precious conditions for humans,
mais preciosas para os humanos,
the depth of our presence.
a profundidade da nossa presença.
why the advent of electric cars
o aparecimento dos carros elétricos
of enthusiasm among people.
entre as pessoas.
the concept of cars
o conceito de carro
podem ser silenciosos:
pode ser um problema.
when it comes to cars,
no que toca a carros,
um carro aproximar-se.
they can't even hear it.
nem sequer o ouvem.
as we are walking around the city,
enquanto caminhamos pela cidade,
and we detach from the surroundings.
e desligados do que nos rodeia.
our precious companion.
um companheiro precioso.
wonderful gifts of our universe.
dons do universo.
sound is also information.
o som é também informação.
feedback to the drivers,
aos condutores,
have introduced several regulations
introduziram várias regulamentações
for electric vehicles.
de um som para veículos elétricos.
minimum sound levels
is considered as sufficient.
é considerado suficiente.
have generated different reactions
geraram diferentes reações
and those who fear the presence
e os que temem a presença
as the noise of the car.
como barulho do carro.
and privileges, at the same time.
e privilégios, em simultâneo.
engine sounds like,
um motor a combustão,
how an electric engine sounds like.
um motor elétrico.
high-frequency pitch sound,
de alta frequência ascendente,
just amplify this sound,
amplificássemos este som,
the legal requirements.
de cumprir os requisitos legais.
to compose new sound.
de compor um novo som.
is already very chaotic,
já é muito caótico,
are a great case study
são um bom estudo de caso
cross purposes and disarray.
propósitos cruzados e desordem.
offers a great opportunity
uma grande oportunidade
on how to reduce this chaos.
de modo a reduzir este caos.
that tries to reduce the chaos
que tenta reduzir o caos
how an electric car could sound like,
como pode soar um carro elétrico,
a new sound world,
um novo mundo sonoro,
to our previous experience
à nossa experiência anterior,
para o futuro.
we create lots of sonic textures
criámos muitas texturas sónicas
feelings and frequencies
sentimentos e frequências
the legal requirements,
os requisitos legais,
and the identity of the car.
e identidade do carro.
"genética do som".
first of all, an aesthetic space of sound,
primeiro, um espaço estético de som,
I search for new, innovative methods
procuro novos métodos inovadores
that we don't know,
que não conhecemos;
to envision abstract worlds,
visionar mundos abstratos,
baseia-se em três passos.
of a sonic organism,
de um organismo sónico,
of sonic variations,
de variações sónicas,
is the composition of sound genes.
de genes sonoros.
is based on a cluster of properties
baseia-se num grupo de propriedades
that I compose should have.
que eu componho devem ter.
such as the sound of a car,
entidade sonora, como o som de um carro,
of sound in the air.
trajetórias de som no ar.
the sound of a car.
o som de um carro.
coming back home.
voltando para casa.
an unexpected sense of wonder,
uma sensação inesperada de maravilha,
we define the sonic variations.
definimos as variações sónicas.
generate different voices,
diferentes corpos geram diferentes vozes,
have a different acoustic behavior
têm um comportamento acústico diferente,
the geometry and the materials.
how this car propagates the sound outside
como o carro propaga o som no exterior
to produce different tones and timbres,
de produzir diferentes tons e timbres,
different sonic variations
diferentes variações sónicas
of eight words that I defined.
que eu defini.
to me, really important,
muito importantes,
of "dynamic," of "embracing."
e de "abrangência".
these two aspects,
o "prisma de identidade"
the sonic identity card of a car.
de identidade sónica de um carro.
we enter the world of the sound design,
entramos no mundo do "design" sonoro,
a sound field into a melody.
um campo de som numa melodia.
which would propagate in this hall,
que se iria propagar neste corredor,
would hit the side walls
iria atingir as paredes laterais
several ways of sound to hit side walls.
de o som atingir as paredes laterais.
by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Orchestra pediu-me
that they were going to play.
que eles iriam tocar.
to start from this sound field.
a partir deste campo sonoro.
over the distribution
dos músicos em palco,
the blooming of the sound field
do campo de som
for each instrument,
de cada instrumento,
the string section playing very softly,
de cordas a tocar suavemente,
as the brasses, the woods will jump in,
enquanto os metais e as madeiras entram,
with a harp and a piano
com uma harpa e um piano
actually, in the morning.
de manhã.
that I showed you.
que eu vos mostrei.
how a potential sound,
como poderá soar um som potencial,
for electric cars, could sound like.
para carros elétricos.
distance and journey,
da distância e da viagem,
of intelligence and complexity,
de inteligência e de complexidade,
performative art installations.
performativa complexa.
through sound genetics
através da genética do som
to celebrate this complexity
celebrar esta complexidade,
a more elegant and safe space.
num lugar mais elegante e seguro.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Renzo Vitale - Sound geneticist, musician, acoustic engineerRenzo Vitale explores the narrative between music, science and human perception -- envisioning sonic spaces for music to evolve, for cities to sing, for people to transcend.
Why you should listen
Renzo Vitale is an Italian pianist, composer, sound designer, acoustic engineer and artist. His creative process involves an interrogation of the relation between music, science and human perception.
As a musician, Vitale has composed a wide spectrum of works ranging from dance theater to performative installation pieces and virtual reality experiences. His solo works focus on vulnerable states of human condition, such as the sublimity of emotional gravities and the irrational nature of disorders. As a scientist, his research encompasses architectural acoustics, psychoacoustics, vehicle acoustics and music communication.
Vitale holds a PhD in Acoustics from RWTH Aachen University, two master's degrees in electronic engineering and in piano performance as well as further studies in electronic music, composition and conducting. Previously he has been a research scholar at the Institute of Technical Acoustics in Aachen, Pratt Institute in New York and KTH in Stockholm.
In 2015, Vitale joined the Research and Innovation Center of BMW Group as a Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) engineer. Since 2017 he designs the sounds of electric vehicles. He conceived a new generation of sounds through a novel approach that he calls "sound genetics," which defines the aesthetic space of sounds in order to generate soundscapes to enable us to envision abstract worlds and make them tangible and audible.
Renzo Vitale | Speaker | TED.com