This is a piece for mixed chamber ensemble (flute doubling piccolo and alto flute, bass clarinet, piano, percussion [crotales and vibraphone] violins 1&2, viola, and cello). The total performance length of the piece is approximately fifteen minutes. The structure of the work is based on the exploration of formlessness as form, a piece of music where the drifting, seemingly aimless instrumental lines create a complex texture that becomes more than the sum of its parts. Instead of relying on a clearly delineated form based on goal-oriented structures, this work gradually transforms its elements without ever feeling the need to go anywhere other than where it already is. In this sense, the music is in a constant state of becoming itself, a goal that it can never really achieve.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis presents practical research into sound production on instruments, working collaboratively with players, in order to build an understanding of the sounds available. I have explored the way in which instrumental technique can be extended in such a way as to function as the basis for musical material. The function of ‘figuration’ has also be brought into question, by employing seemingly primitive, residual material pushed to such a degree that it is possible to hear what happens underneath a gesture. Research in this area has been conducted by, among others, Helmut Lachenmann and Rebecca Saunders; I am drawn to the way their work highlights the tangible quality of sound. The exploration of the physicality of sound production inevitably encounters the problem that the finished work becomes a catalogue of extended techniques. My research has drawn on the work of these composers and has attempted to resolve this problem by exploring the way in which texture can suggest ‘line’ and the structural implications of sculpting self-referential material through angular and polarized divisions. This facilitates a Braille-like reading of a sound’s progress by foregrounding a non-thematic sound-surface of resonance and decay. This takes a positive and active approach to the problems of musical language, by questioning the functions and expectations put upon music. The possible solutions have been worked through in a series of works for mixed chamber ensembles, in order to investigate the palette possibilities of fusing instruments in intimate settings.

As composers continue to explore new horizons of classical music, performers are asked to stretch and explore their abilities as well. However, there is little pedagogical material that prepares students to learn the style and structure of this contemporary music. Many students primarily study etudes written in the style of pre-1900 music, leaving them without the tools to learn most music written since 1900. The pedagogical literature that does include music from the twentieth century is often very advanced, and lacks an introduction for younger students. This thesis includes a method of teaching contemporary techniques to junior high and high school level students, along with sixty-four original etudes composed to teach the scales, rhythms, meters, styles, and extended techniques that are often used in contemporary music. The accompanying text provides a detailed explanation of the process and pedagogical philosophy behind the etudes, including examples from different systems of music education. The etudes are specifically composed to teach fundamental skills for bassoonists, such as technical facility, solid subdivision and comprehension of meter, an understanding of different styles of music, and extended techniques that require proper fundamentals of tone production. They may also be used as sight-reading pieces or for students who have a specific need to learn certain techniques. Each section of etudes also includes an introductory section that guides the student through the process of learning the skill and performing the etude correctly.

Technology plays a vital role in the creation of any form of art. In music this has been dominated by a stationary condition in which contemporary ‘academic music’ (new music created in institutions and descending from traditional European models) is in its majority still generated exclusively by a technology of more than a century ago. Additionally, the totality of sound as musical material is now commonly acknowledged, posing problems about the nature and efficiency of the already existing musical instruments and the development of new ones. The current situation in the creation of contemporary music offers a myriad of possibilities in which tools, controllers and instruments have an impact on the creation and conceptualization of music, giving rise to different aesthetic positions and creating new dilemmas in which present, past and future are in constant assessment. This thesis seeks to examine some of the concepts and ideas behind a number of my works in which instrumental sound exploration is essential for the development of the compositional process. As a result, a series of questions, systems and techniques are analyzed, investigating the relation between tools, technique, notation, composition and musical result. This text is intended as an illustration of my own choices and methods, hoping to offer an insight into my own compositional practice as a product of an exercise of self-analysis and rationalization of my current musical output.

Efter att ha gått en kurs i fri improvisation där jag fick utforska min violas möjligheter till att producera ljud, väcktes en nyfikenhet hos mig kring utökade speltekniker som kan förekomma i nutida konstmusik, så kallade extended techniques. Jag fick tips om etydsamlingen Viola Spaces av Garth Knox där olika extended techniques presenteras och bestämde mig för att studera in fyra av dem. De etyderna jag valde behandlar olika stråktekniker, nämligen sul ponticello, sul tasto, tremolo och olika sätt att dra stråken på. Under arbetets gång redogör jag för de svårigheter jag stötte på under min inlärningsprocess av etyderna samt hur jag gick till väga för att lösa dem. Arbetet redovisas dels genom videoinspelningar som jag gjorde i samband med mina övningstillfällen och dels genom material från de anteckningar jag förde under processen. Jag tar också upp tolkningsfrågor av notationen och reflekterar kring instruktionerna om hur musiken ska framföras. Arbetet har resulterat i att jag känner mig bättre förberedd på att spela nutida konstmusik än vad jag gjorde tidigare. Jag har också utökat min kunskap om olika stråktekniker.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.