The Wisdom Bar - “Train Jazz: How Can Music Be Made From the Real Time Data of NYC Subways?”

💭 Topic: "Train Jazz: How Can Music Be Made From the Real Time Data of NYC Subways?”
🎤 Lecturer: Joshua Wolk
📆 Date: September 4th
⏰ Doors Open: 6:30PM
📍 Location: Tribeca, Manhattan
🍻 Craft Beer and Snacks Included with Ticket Purchase!
🎟️ This is a ticketed event, purchase here: eventbrite.com/e/the-wisdom-bar-train-jazz-how-can-music-be-made-from-nyc-subway-data-tickets-1997055817710?aff=PATCH 🎟️

Expert-led lectures in bars and creative spaces across NYC.

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Here's what to look forward to during this groundbreaking lecture 🚅 🎵

Every dot is a real subway train. Eight hundred of them, give or take, form a small jazz combo (walking bass, piano, sax, vibes, brushes) that has been playing without pause for over a hundred years. On the platforms they are hot, screaming, full of complaint. This is the music inside the noise.

The harmony moves through a slow chorus. A note is placed precisely where the train happens to be along its route. Rush hour fills the band with held tones; at 3 a.m. the silences grow longer. Whatever is playing now has not played before and will not play again.

Share your location and the trains nearest you grow louder. The piece rearranges itself around your body. You are listening to a portrait of where you stand, played by the city you are standing in.

Joshua Wolk is a designer and engineer who leverages data to make art. Josh was recently featured in the New York Times for his avante garde melding of tech and music: "The New York City subway’s No. 1 line is an upright bass. The 7 is a vibraphone. Josh Wolk, a design engineer, assigned an instrument to every branch of the subway map and the result is surprisingly soothing jazz music, given the comparatively cacophonous experience of actually riding the thing."

We'll explore:

• The music all around us in every day life
• The science of sound design
• Basic music theory as applied to locomotives

This might be for you if you...

• Are a music enthusiast or have interest in sound design
• Are curious about music theory in a bite sized setting
• Are intrigued by the idea of finding the art in the ordinary
• Enjoy lecture-based and conversation-focused events of any kind — think Ted Talks in bars, Lectures on Tap, or micro learning meets dinner party
• Want to switch up your usual weeknight. Why not make it interesting? 🤓