Masters composition portfolio

Smith, Peter Alexander (2009) Masters composition portfolio. MMus(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This portfolio will consist of three related parts. The first will part will be an essay in which I will consider listening in relation to ‘acousmatic’ music looking at some of the ideas and concepts that have been influential in the development of my own approach to listening over the course of this masters. I will also attempt to justify this approach with reference to ecological acoustics and the importance of the role of source recognition to listener
interpretation, and as a result composition. As will become evident from this study two dominant influences that have emerged in relation to my compositional listening practice
over the course of this masters, are the, to some extent contradictory, positions occupied by the soundscape and musique concrete traditions. I will try and reconcile elements of these influences by arguing that Denis Smalley’s recent ‘space-form’ approach to listening and
composition can act as a middle ground providing an approach that takes account of the referential and indicative aspects of sounds and the role played by ‘source-bonding’, whilst at the same considering relations at the intrinsic level of ‘spectromorphology’. Following on from this, the second part of this portfolio will consist of a more direct commentary on my own compositions, which I will relate to the discussion in the first half. I will therefore talk about specific elements of my compositions in light of my earlier considerations, directly applying some of the terms and concepts that were introduced in the first part to aspects of my own work. The final, and third part will be recordings of the compositions themselves.

• Item Type: Thesis (MMus(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Smalley, Soundscape, Acousmatic, Acoustics, Specromorphology, Sound Object, Michael Chion, space-form, Shafer, Windsor, Barry Truax, Development of a compositional listening strategy, sound
• Subjects: M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music; M Music and Books on Music > MT Musical instruction and study; M Music and Books on Music > M Music
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Music
• Supervisor's Name: Fells, Dr. Nick
• Date of Award: 2009
• Depositing User: Mr P A Smith
• Unique ID: glathesis:2009-687
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 28 Apr 2009
• Last Modified: 10 Dec 2012 13:24
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/687