I am Sitting in a Room

Web Recreation

"I am sitting in a room different from the one you are in now. I am recording the sound of my speaking voice and I am going to play it back into the room again and again until the resonant frequencies of the room reinforce themselves so that any semblance of my speech, with perhaps the exception of rhythm, is destroyed.

What you will hear, then, are the natural resonant frequencies of the room articulated by speech. I regard this activity not so much as a demonstration of a physical fact, but more as a way to smooth out any irregularities my speech might have." - Alvin Lucier (1969)

Please turn up your speakers.

More Information

Alvin Lucier's seminal 1969 piece I am Sitting in a Room explores the transformative properties of acoustic space and the recording equipment used.

To use this web-based implementation:

  1. Ensure headphones are disconnected and your speakers are turned up
  2. Click "Enable Audio" and give the website permission to use your microphone
  3. Click "Start Recording"
  4. Read the quoted text above aloud
  5. When you have finished reading click "Stop Recording"; the website will begin playing back the recording and simultaneously record it back
  6. Let the audio loop and repeat multiple times and listen to its gradual transformation
  7. When you are done listening, press "Stop Playback"

Note that on mobile devices you may need to press your volume up button after you press "Stop Recording" to allow the website to play audio.

For more information on I am Sitting in a Room click here.




Wireframe 3d model of a chair