The Visual Sound-Shapes of Spectromorphology: an illustrative guide to composition

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuella Blackburn
Keyword(s):  
Music Analysis ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
Music Community

Since its conception, Denis Smalley's spectromorphology has equipped listeners and practitioners of electroacoustic music with appropriate and relevant vocabulary to describe the sound-shapes, sensations and evocations associated with experiences of acousmatic sound. This liberation has facilitated and permitted much-needed discussion about sound events, structures and other significant sonic detail. More than 20 years on, it is safe to assume that within the electroacoustic music community there is an agreed and collective understanding of spectromorphological vocabulary and its descriptive application. Spectromorphology's influence has been far reaching, inciting approaches to electroacoustic music analysis (Thoresen 2007), notation (Patton 2007), composition and education through its flexible functionality and accessible pool of vocabulary.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence inOrganised Sound

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo R. Miranda ◽  
Duncan Williams
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Artificial Life ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
The Other ◽  
Musical Form ◽  
Biologically Inspired ◽  
Interactive Performance ◽  
Music Community ◽  
The One ◽  
Artificial Intelligence Systems

Artificial Intelligence is a rich and still-developing field with a number of musical applications. This paper surveys the use of Artificial Intelligence in music in the pages ofOrganised Sound, from the first issue to the latest, at the time of writing. Traditionally, Artificial Intelligence systems for music have been designed with note-based composition in mind, but the research we present here finds that Artificial Intelligence has also had a significant impact in electroacoustic music, with contributions in the fields of sound analysis, real-time sonic interaction and interactive performance-driven composition, to cite but three. Two distinct categories emerged in theOrganised Soundpapers: on the one hand, philosophically and/or psychologically inspired, symbolic approaches and, on the other hand, biologically inspired approaches, also referred to as Artificial Life approaches. The two approaches are not mutually exclusive in their use, and in some cases are combined to achieve ‘best of both’ solutions. That said, asOrganised Soundis uniquely positioned in the electroacoustic music community, it is somewhat surprising that work addressing important compositional issues such as musical form and structure, which Artificial Intelligence can be readily applied to, is not more present in these pages.

scholarly journals Graphical representation: an analytical and publication tool for electroacoustic music

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
PIERRE COUPRIE
Keyword(s):  
Graphical Representation ◽  
Music Analysis ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
The Other ◽  
Music Research

When, in 1998, I began my research into the analysis of electroacoustic music, analysis and representation were two distinct disciplines. One was an integral part of music research and the other was just a possible option for publication.

scholarly journals On Style in Electroacoustic Music

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-14
Author(s):  
Andrew Hugill
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
Stylistic Analysis ◽  
Music Community ◽  
Elements Of Style

This article argues for the habilitation of a concept of style in electroacoustic music. It surveys the reasons for the neglect of style, looking in particular at the modernist embedding of electroacoustic theory and the consequences of postmodern genre formations. It considers the extent to which academic understanding of the materiality of music has moved from the analysis of sound to the analysis of media. It offers a critique of notions of sonic inclusivity and the differentiation of electroacoustic music from instrumental music. It emphasises the importance of comparative analysis and understanding the elements of style in electroacoustic music. It critically examines a number of techniques and frameworks for stylistic analysis. It concludes by encouraging the electroacoustic music community to engage more fully with notions of style.

The OREMA Project: A call for the liberation of sound analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-322
Author(s):  
Michael Gatt
Keyword(s):  
Music Analysis ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Sound Analysis ◽  
General Consensus ◽  
Musical Notation ◽  
Art Form ◽  
Universal Approach ◽  
Musical Works

Following Edgard Varèse’s influential lectures – translated and documented in ‘The Liberation of Sound’ – electroacoustic music has spawned many different styles and genres. His argument was for composers to follow their imagination and not be bound to the constraints of musical notation. This, arguably, was one of the catalysts for the emergence of electroacoustic musical works. With past and recent technological advancement, the varieties of genres and styles within electroacoustic music have only expanded, challenging the notion of how one could analyse such works. It is therefore unsurprising that there is no general consensus on analytical methodologies. But for an art form that celebrates all musical possibilities should the analysis of such musics be constraint to a set number of formalised analytical methodologies?Rather than propose a new all-encompassing methodology, this article will argue for a universal approach to electroacoustic music analysis and the liberation of sound analysis. The concept of an analytical community (a community that accepts multiple analyses whilst encouraging practitioners to find new and innovative ways to analyse such works) will be raised as a means to address the issues facing electroacoustic music analysis, using the OREMA (Online Repository for Electroacoustic Music Analysis) project as an example of such an initiative.

scholarly journals From Kerman to Merzbow: Notes on the metamorphoses of music analysis at the turn of the millennium

New Sound ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 23-46
Author(s):  
Jiří Kubíček
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Sound Production ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Music Analysis ◽  
Electroacoustic Music ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Peak Period ◽  
Starting Point

This paper aims to delineate changes in the approach to music analysis over the last decades of the nineteenth century and to examine different possibilities in analysing works which have a characteristic that virtually excludes the use of traditional methods. The starting point is Joseph Kerman's criticism of music analysis, formulated in the 1980s, which - together with successive discussions - reflects a tendency towards abandoning the excessively academic and formalizing approach to analysis, moving from an attempt at an objective analysis of a work towards an interpretation that also focuses on the listener. Since the mid-twentieth century, electroacoustic music has been one of the areas where the use of traditional analysis was inconvenient. Since electroacoustic music began to lose its exclusive, academic character in the 1990s in relation with the development of computer technologies, the question of its interpretation and finding suitable listener strategies has kept coming to the fore. This paper shows the possibilities of approach to this music in relation to its specificities. The last part of the paper focuses on a specific example from one fringe genre: noise music, specifically the subgenre japanoise. In its peak period in the 1990s, this sound production was probably the furthest away from what is usually associated with the term music. Based on an analysis of a selected composition, the inadequacy of the traditional approach and certain alternatives to grasping such music will be demonstrated. The very end of the paper features some current results which relate to, or result from, the study's conclusions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document