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That would be outstanding. Perhaps putting the
recording in the control room of the MRI facility and having the wires run into
the room, two stereo microphones on either side of the machine would be ideal,
but that may not be feasible. Even a basis minidisc recorder with a small
stereo microphone attached would be good enough raw material for me!
:)
Your comment about the headphones explains why the
headphones they put on me were attached to plastic tubing that ran to the
control room...just the like good ol' fashion communication system in boats and
submarines! I think a mic would be fine outside the machine. When I had my
MRI, there were plenty of objects in the room around the machine...I just
couldn't have any metallic objects on my body inside it. They were really
concerned about that. I was shot in the leg by a .357 magnum when I was a
teenager, which left several pieces of soft lead in my leg, which were removed
surgically. That was enough for them to open their manual and search for data on
that caliber of gun, types of bullets, copper vs. lead shells,
etc.
Kris
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2005 5:01
PM
Subject: RE: The MRI and Looping: For
Ambient & Experimental Music?
I
have connections and could probably sneak into one, the challenge is recording
it with something non-magnetic. It's been a challenge to design
headphones that won't rip off your head (read that as you like;-) ) or mess up
the images. Let me think about a technique....
I just had a most exhilarating experience: my
first MRI (on my lower back). This was amazing. I laid down on a
sliding table, and they pushed me into a sarcophagus like tube with
mere inches around my entire body. They put large headphones on
my head, and then for the next 30 minutes I was eased into a seemingly
euphoric and meditative state. What I heard were a series of interesting
sounds...from jackhammer-like hammering, to buzzing or vibrating cycles,
bizarre sci-fi industrial like sounds, and so on. It was delightful.
The MRI technician said it was a rarity for someone to actually
enjoy that procedure. At one point in time, I was in a half
waking/dream state and was awoke by my leg twitching. I could have
stayed in there most of the day. And the amazing thing is that
when I asked about the source of the sounds, he said they were not
mechanically generated; rather, around my body, encased in metal, was a
giant electrical coil surrounded by helium, chilled down to a cool minus 270
degrees. The sounds were a result of changes they were making in the
electrical current and the resulting vibrations to the machine.
Unbelievable...not sure how all that produces an image of my back,
however.
...anyway, I started thinking, I would love to
have that 30 minutes captured on a digital recorder so that I could use it
for looping or as an ambient backdrop to my more experimental
looping.
Are there any MRI technicians on the
list?
Kris
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