This study explores the popularity of lute instruction in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England and the ways in which this accomplishment was used in constructions of social status. The opening chapter outlines the functions of the lute in early modern English culture and surveys previous research on the instrument and its repertory. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the hierarchical structure of Elizabethan society, highlighting shifting conceptions of “gentle” status during the sixteenth century. The complex position of music within early modern discourses on elite identity is discussed, alongside the potential of lute-playing skills to contribute towards social advancement. Four case studies follow, each exploring the uses of lute-playing amongst practitioners located on the hazily defined boundaries between “gentle” and lower-class status. Chapter 3 uses the autobiography of Thomas Whythorne as a focal point in order to examine the ambiguous role of musicians in household service. By teaching coveted “courtly” skills to their social superiors, these music tutors were in an advantageous position to secure further rewards and enhance their status. Chapter 4 reassesses the Mynshall lutebook, highlighting the roles of music-making and literary production amongst a circle of mercantile-class men in provincial England. It reveals how lute-playing and poetic exchange facilitated social interaction and consolidated kinship bonds within this group as they sought to forge a collective identity grounded in the cultural practices of more elite circles. The role of recreational music-making amongst university men is examined in Chapter 5 through a reappraisal of the Dallis lutebook, showing how playing and collecting lute music could form a strand in the fashioning of a distinctively learned “scholarly” identity. My final case study assesses the printed tutor books marketed from the 1560s onwards, paying close attention to the material forms of extant copies (as evidence of their usage) and their paratextual materials. A close reading of Thomas Robinson’s Schoole of Musicke (1603) reveals how this publication was designed to appeal simultaneously to two very different markets: aspirant middle-class autodidacts, and wealthier “gentleman” readers who could provide further patronage and career advancement to the author.

This thesis tracks my journey through eight creative works which employ a broad range of methodologies to map the dynamic life of lines and that focus on concepts of ephemerality, gestural tracing, grains and swarms of sound, and temporal independence. My original contribution to knowledge in composition is led by my personal relationship to sound as mediated through physical gesture in performance. Drawing upon the work of anthropologist Tim Ingold, I have worked with video as a medium for my own sketch processes and as a scoring platform. Video is used to capture and document qualities of motion that bring choreographic and multimodal thinking into my music, propagating divergent approaches to structuring and determining parameters. Through this I have developed ways of thinking compositionally through the visual medium and worked with micro and macro qualities in timbre and movement to achieve effects that I term 'dynamic stasis'. Central to my thinking is an expanded concept of the line as gestalts of sound, video, bodily and mechanical movement, with form arising from a meshwork of such lines. The line as represented in video and musical action contributes to the tendencies and behaviours of precisely notated sound and physical movements in my music, that are reflected in irregular divisions of time and frequent fluctuations of sound characteristics. My discussion of the visual and choreographic perspectives of my notation and multimodal ways of thinking about composition is contextualised with examples from composers such as Jennifer Walshe, Simon Steen- Andersen and Stefan Prins, and the video scoring systems of Cat Hope.

In this doctoral thesis, I examine the influence of multi-ethnic cultures and heritage of East and Southeast Asia on my compositional development. Although the imitation of the outward features of other cultures is an important part of the attempt to compose cross-cultural pieces, such imitation is only one part of the learning process. The most difficult task is to make a meaningful cultural confluence out of these influences. My original contribution to music lies in the way in which I have activated the legacy of my multicultural Malaysian heritage and combined a strong focus on Chinese cultural traditions with a wider Malaysian context that involves theatre, philosophy, rituals, and spirituality. Over the past few years, I have composed cross-cultural works for traditional East and Southeast Asian and Western instruments, collaborating with multiple musicians in Asia, the United States, and Europe. The compositions discussed in this thesis reveal the various elements of my writing for Chinese instruments that are at once original and eclectic. I am particularly interested in incorporating various East and Southeast Asian musical practices such as Chinese dialect folk songs (especially Hakka storytelling and mountain songs), Gamelan music from South East Asia, Indian ritual and ceremonial music, ancient Chinese court music, and chanting of classical Chinese poetry, Korean Pansori music, and Japanese Gagaku music to create my own compositional techniques and languages. Using my compositions as examples, I illustrate the incorporation of East and Southeast Asian vocal and instrumental techniques into Western musical languages. In the first two chapters, I focus more on the importance of Chinese sources of poetry and philosophical thinking in a number of large-scale works. In the third chapter, I examine the key compositional roles played by elements such as sonic mobility and spatialisation, the interplay and interchange of roles in instrumental writing, and the concept of “living ornamentation” in creating heterophony and vocalisation, and present a detailed analysis of one of my works Yuan-Liu (2009). I explain how sonic mobility and spatialisation, as realised through unique instrumental setups in my compositions, are deeply informed by my childhood experience of listening to the acoustics of nature in the woods. In the concluding chapter, I discuss how I use the concepts of time, narrative, and cultural confluence in my music.

This study concerns the manuscript music book of Robert Edward (c. 1614–c. 1697), minister, author and musician. The manuscript, formerly part of the library at Panmure House, is now held in the National Library of Scotland and is commonly referred to as ‘Robert Edward’s Commonplace Book’ (GB-En MS.9450). The present study is in two parts and begins with an exploration of the physical book, including the structure, compilation, hands and ownership before a second chapter explores the biography of the eponymous owner, contextualising GB-En MS.9450 locally and nationally. The third chapter concerns the function of the manuscript which, it is argued, is closely related to pedagogy. The final three chapters discuss the content of the manuscript, taking in turn the vocal music, instrumental music and the selection of Italian three-part villanelle.

The baroque, one-keyed flute has, within the last half century, been rediscovered for performance, particularly within early music settings, and more recently has been welcomed into the area of contemporary music. This research continues to widen the boundaries of the modern baroque flute by building on its rich history in both technical aspects and practical performance, and by continuing to expand its musical and technical horizon through the extension of historical ideas and the introduction of new ideas within a contemporary idiom. This document begins with a general description of the instrument itself, and explains tonal concepts and technical concerns of the baroque flute. An overview of historical ideas regarding tone production with descriptions by musicians of the 18th through the 21st century provides a basis from which to proceed to new techniques for tone production and their expressive potential. Audio examples are given of all new techniques. Lastly, an explanation is given of how the practice of new tonal-technique exercises a positive influence on conventional sound production. An historical basis is provided by surveying a selection of major tutors from the 18th century through to the 21st and is illustrated with examples showing the evolution of ideas for articulation. An explanation of new, 'extended techniques' focussed on articulation is given and all are demonstrated with audio examples. The effects on conventional flute playing that are enhanced by the practice and integration of new techniques into the musician's sonic repertoire are also described. Practical musical integration of new techniques into a composition and within ecosonic improvisation is explored. A brief explanation of the ecosonic system is given and the process used in developing directional ecosonic improvisation and new techniques for performance within the piece, Less, by Jo Thomas is explained. Notated and sound examples are used to illustrate the aptitude of the baroque flute as a contemporary musical voice. The final section asserts the expressive potential of new techniques, as regards both tone production and articulation, within various models employed through ecosonic improvisation. Finally, the mapping of multiphonics for the baroque flute is documented in two complete catalogues; one is organised based on ecosonic fingering and the other is based on conventional fingering. Each catalogue entry is demonstrated with recorded examples.

Adolphe Sax believed his invention, the saxophone, was the link between louder and quieter instruments. Changes to the instrument and to playing techniques have lessened the saxophone’s ability to play quietly, and subtone techniques are now utilized for playing at lower-end dynamics. This PhD proposes a new method for playing the saxophone at lower-end dynamic levels. This method uses breath control to allow lower-end dynamic playing on the saxophone. The new method has been tested through its use in different musical compositions and in combination with different extended techniques. The new method for playing the saxophone at lower-end dynamic levels has been found to have greater applicability than existing techniques and is demonstrated in numerous recordings that accompany this work. Prominent saxophonists have said that the saxophone is not able to play notes between the semitones. Modifications to the saxophone keywork mechanisms have made some microtones possible whilst prohibiting others. Existing saxophone literature has documented quarter-tone scales but has been slow to expand further microtonal possibilities. This research has developed and proposed new models and new techniques for microtonal saxophone playing. This has been demonstrated on different saxophones, including those with distinct keywork mechanisms. The numerous fingering patterns that have resulted from this work are documented in the appendices. The microtonality that results from using extended techniques, slap-tonguing and key percussion, has also been documented. Recordings of the new models for microtonal saxophone playing accompany this research. The use of microtonal saxophone playing has been discussed in relation to different compositions. The research documented here is of relevance to saxophonists and composers who wish to play or use such techniques.

This thesis accompanies the portfolio of compositions written between 2006 and 2010 and discusses both the overall theoretical concepts, and the specific musical tools, that lie behind their construction. Chapter 1 presents theories of perceptual grouping mechanisms and temporality in reductive music, and applies these to the transformational surface layer from the sustained tones in my music. The use of repetition and gradual process in my music is explored, leading to the application of a decentralised approach towards my structural models. The notion of a 'closure spectrum' contextualises my own music with others, and facilitates a discussion of the teleological nature of my music. Chapter 2 describes the tools which are used in the application of these concepts; in particular, the use of harmony, glissando, duration, use of instruments and notation are reviewed. The individual portfolio pieces are discussed in chapter 3, detailing the various employments of the these tools in different instrumental contexts. This chapter also demonstrates the overall refinement in my compositional approach which took place throughout the doctoral course: my gradual shift towards simpler processes, indeterminacy in notation, and extended note-duration. Less successful aspects of these pieces are also considered in the context of this evolution, along with those aspects which were retained and employed in future pieces. The conclusion evaluates the overall progression, and discusses areas for future development which have arisen from my own research through composition.

This body of writing serves to accompany a portfolio of scored works composed between 2007 and 2011. The first chapter deals with the definition of “experimental music,” first asking the question “what is experimental music?”, and then by giving a possible working definition of the term based on certain processes informed not only by music, but also by historiography and philosophy. The second chapter lays out the relationship between a piece of music and the score in relation to a mathematical model of understanding. This chapter further explores the different ways in which scores operate in terms of performer interaction, the different types of notation that composers can use in these scores, and how these topics may be related in practice. The third chapter deals specifically with performance of scored experimental works. “Audience” is considered as the performers who receive scores from composers. This relationship is then explored in various ways, based not only on the types of scores and notation presented in the previous chapter, but also on the different types of performers who may encounter the work. Aspects inherent to the performance of experimental music are often discussed. Finally, the question is raised as whether or not such a thing exists as experimental music performance practice, and if this can be catered to by a composer through scores and notation. In these first three chapters, numerous visual examples and quotes from other composers are provided to give context for the work in the portfolio. In contrast, final chapter consists of commentaries on pieces within the accompanying portfolio. Appendices after the first three chapters lie somewhere in tone between these commentaries on individual works and the main chapters, by way of personalising the abstract concepts laid out therein.

This research project consists of a portfolio of musical compositions and an accompanying commentary on these works. It was undertaken from the fall of 2009 to the summer of 2012. I am concerned in this project with developing a wide range of musical materials to serve as a pool of resources that I may draw upon when composing. I engage with these materials in a painterly fashion, repeatedly reworking them with respect to their physical reality much like a painter reshapes an image on canvas. I cultivate different emphases within materials ― such as the tac)lity of sound produc)on, superimposed rhythmic layers, and stasis ― to explore diverse musical functionalities. I interweave common source materials to create extensive networks of relationships within and across individual pieces. These relationships lead to composite and multipartite structures built from material inter references. Transferring materials into different contexts allows me to develop the same musical idea in multiple directions, leading to a diversity of forms and durations, from five-second solos isolating a specific gesture to twenty-plus minute pieces incorporating a range of instrumental groupings and material combinations. This diversity is most evident in An Incomplete Survey of the Act of Impingement, an extended project integrating a variety of materials, structures, and independent compositions into a composite whose interconnections allow for multiple programming possibilities. My understanding of such interconnection between heterogeneous elements is extended through resonance with the work of other artists and philosophers: for instance, Gilles Deleuze's and Felix Guattari's concept of the rhizome, Anthony Braxton's interwoven musical system, Ben Marcus's approach to organizing and categorizing his writings, and Matthew Ritchie's multimedia installations. The materials and methodologies cultivated in this project provide a foundation for future developments in my work.

The main focus of this commentary is the examination of the Vox Circuit Trilogy (2007) consisting of The Suicided Voice (2003/2007), Hand-to-Mouth (2007) and Etch (2007). The innovative use of interactive technologies and the architecture of the Bodycoder System in terms of its software, hardware and human-computer interface will be examined. Kinaesonics will be discussed in relation to the coding of real-time one-to-one mapping of sound to gesture and its expression in terms of hardware and software design. The compositional processes will be discussed, in particular: the use of performance simulations, workshop collaboration with the performer and the negotiation of creation, composition and performance in the final work. Rehearsal processes will be examined with particular reference to The Suicided Voice. The notion of expressivity will be interrogated and how four principle forms of expressivity are interconnected, modelled and realized to generate a totally integrated performance modality.