The aim of my degree project has been to study the process of combining two artistic disciplines, music composition and textile art. My partner in this collaboration has been Finnish textile artist and clothing designer Riikka Peltola. In the text I set out to answer the following questions: What methods are there to work with music and textile art? How can textile/knitting patterns be translated into music? How to deal with the problem of the language barrier between a composer and a textile artist, and between music and textile art? In addition to a brief overview of relevant projects by other composers and artists, two related works which are part of my degree project are examined: an acoustic concert piece titled Five-Minute Forests and an installation piece Five-Minute Forests II consisting of electroacoustic music played back through headphones and a textile sculpture made by Peltola. Based on the review of the processes, there are two primary ways of working: One is establishing so called loose connections between music and the textile element – for example, agreeing on common themes and concepts but not having the musical and textile objects correlate in a constant way. The other is mapping the music to the textile element such as a textile pattern, for example, in a way in which the musical objects and textile objects do correlate in a constant way. Of the two works which are part of the degree projects, Five-Minute Forests is based on conceptual discussion between me and the textile artist. In the installation piece, I employ both a loose connections approach and a mapping-based approach. The language barrier proved to be challenging to break within the time allocated to the project.

Mémoire en recherche-création / Ce mémoire de maîtrise présente mon cheminement dans le développement d’une pratique en improvisation électroacoustique en direct ainsi que du logiciel Système d’interprétation de modèles énergétiques acousmatiques (SIMÉA). Le projet témoigne d’une approche hybride combinant une pensée autant basée sur l’improvisation libre que la composition acousmatique. Pour faciliter la formalisation des improvisations électroacoustiques faites avec SIMÉA, les modèles énergétiques acousmatiques sont utilisés comme base théorique au développement de modules de traitements sonores. / This master's thesis explores my journey in the development of a software for live musical play and the theoric framework concerning free improvisation made with that software. This project conveys a mixed approach combining free improvisation theory and acousmatic composition. To simplify the formalization of my electroacoustic improvisations made with SIMÉA, the acousmatic energetic models are used as a theoretical base for the development sound processing modules.

Musiker müssen ihr Gehör ständig weiterentwickeln und schärfen. Es ist essentiell für Komponisten, Bühnenmusiker und Musikwissenschaftler, sowohl subkutane als auch offensichtliche Strukturen in der Musik so akkurat wie möglich wahrnehmen zu können. Daraus folgt, dass Gehörbildung eine zentrale Rolle im Lehrplan einer jeden akademischen Institution einnehmen sollte, die eine musikalische Ausbildung anbietet. Die konventionellen Methoden der Gehörbildung wie Melodie- und Rhythmusdiktat oder Stilanalyse reichen jedoch in vielen Fällen nicht aus, um die ganze Palette musikalischen Ausdrucks zeitgenössischer klassischer Werke zu erfassen. Deren Sprache basiert oft nicht nur auf Tonhöhe und Takt, sondern auf spektraler Wandlung und Beschaffenheit. Es besteht daher die dringende Notwendigkeit, sowohl die Rolle als auch die Methoden der Gehörbildung neu zu überdenken. Ein einzigartiges Beispiel einer neuen Herangehensweise findet sich in der französischen elektroakustischen Musik. Der Schriftsteller, Administrator und Komponist Pierre Schaeffer (1910–95) formulierte ein theoretisches System zur Kategorisierung und Beschreibung von Klängen, sein Programme de la Recherche Musicale. Schaeffers Klangmaterialien existierten als Aufnahmen, von denen viele studiotechnisch bearbeitet waren. Dies machte die unmittelbare visuelle Identifikation ihrer Klangquellen unmöglich. Die von Schaeffer entwickelte Methode verlangt daher die eingehende, rein gehörmäßige Untersuchung aller wahrnehmbaren Eigenschaften eines Klangs. Diese Vorgehensweise führt zwingend zu erhöhter Sensibilität gegenüber dem Ausdruckspotential klanglicher Qualitäten, beispielsweise dem allure oder grain – Charakteristiken, die von Komponisten oft übergangen werden. Schaeffers Herangehensweise beschränkt sich darin nicht nur auf das Tonstudio, sondern kann auch auf Vokal- und Instrumentalmusik angewandt werden. / All musicians must develop and refine their listening skills. It is essential for composers, performers and musicologists to perceive as accurately as possible the interaction between low-level and high-level structures in music. Consequently, aural training occupies a central position in the curriculum of all music schools. However, traditional aural skills such as melodic/rhythmic dictation and style analysis are not necessarily suitable to the demands of contemporary musical languages. Such languages are often based not solely on pitch and metre, but on spectral transformation and texture. There is, therefore, an urgent need to reconsider both the role and the methods of aural training in music education. A unique example of a new approach originated from French electroacoustic music. The writer, administrator and composer, Pierre Schaeffer (1910–95) formulated a theoretical framework for the classification and description of sounds. This is his Programme de la Recherche Musicale. Schaeffer’s sound material existed as recordings, many of which were transformed by studio techniques. As a result, visual corroboration of sound sources was impossible. Schaeffer’s method, therefore, demanded the scrupulous examination of all perceptible features of sound by aural perception alone. This process inevitably leads to a greater sensitivity to the musical potential of characteristics often ignored by composers such as allure and grain. Furthermore, Schaeffer’s systematic approach is not limited to the studio but can be applied to vocal and instrumental music.

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Ce document présente le processus en recherche-création de l’album Imaginaire Drumscape et de son adaptation en performance audiovisuelle conçu dans le cadre d’une maîtrise en composition électroacoustique. Développé dès 2012 sous le pseudonyme Black Givre, ce projet solo s’inscrit dans la continuité historique de l’esthétique répétitive intrinsèque aux musiques expérimentales minimalistes américaines, au krautrock allemand et au cinéma structuraliste. Souhaitant renouveler ma méthodologie en contexte de création, d’improvisation et de performance en concert après plus de dix années d’activités, j’ai développé une batterie augmentée d’un dispositif audiovisuel interactif intégrant avec un ordinateur, des capteurs, des synthétiseurs ainsi que des outils de traitements visuels et audionumériques. Ce nouvel instrument offre une plus grande flexibilité dans son utilisation et permet de s’adapter à différents contextes créatifs de manière innovante. Les compositions Imaginaire Drumscape et Perturbation réalisées pour l’album avec mon dispositif découlent de l’élaboration d’une nouvelle méthode interactive et créative offrant la possibilité de concevoir de riches conceptions sonores percussives. La cohabitation d’univers eurythmiques, composés de paysages sonores, de sons de synthèse et de batterie répétitive s’avère propre à ma démarche. Mes expérimentations sous la forme de routines pragmatiques de comprovisation ont généré les ébauches préparatoires à la réalisation d’une session d’enregistrement audiovisuelle en studio. Lors de cette session, les matériaux nécessaires aux étapes inhérentes à la composition de l’album ont été produits. En situation de concert, l’interprétation d’Imaginaire Drumscape a bénéficié de l’adaptabilité caractéristique de mon instrument. / This document presents the research-creation process of the Imaginaire Drumscape album and its adaptation into an audiovisual performance designed as part of a master's degree in electroacoustic composition. Developed in 2012 under the pseudonym Black Givre, this solo project is part of the historical continuity of the repetitive aesthetic intrinsic to American minimalist experimental music, German krautrock, and structuralist cinema. In a desire to renew my methodology in the context of creation, improvisation, and performance after more than ten years of activity, I developed an augmented drumkit (hyperinstrument) by use of an interactive audiovisual device. The device integrates with a computer, sensors, synthesizers as well as visual and audio-digital processing tools. This new instrument offers greater flexibility in its use and makes it possible to adapt to different creative contexts in an innovative way. The compositions Imaginary Drumscape and Perturbation made for the album with my device stem from the development of a new interactive and creative method, offering the possibility of conceiving rich percussive sound designs. The cohabitation of eurythmic universes composed of soundscapes, synthetic sounds, and repetitive drums prove to be specific to my approach. My experiments in the form of pragmatic comprovisation routines generated the preparatory sketches for the realization of an audiovisual recording session in the studio. During this session, the materials necessary for the steps inherent in the composition of the album were produced. In a concert situation, the interpretation of Imaginaire Drumscape benefits from the characteristic adaptability of my instrument.

Ce mémoire décrit ma réflexion et mon approche méthodologique de la composition et de l'analyse des oeuvres produites dans le cadre du Gamelan Elektronik, un terme que j'utilise pour englober mon approche et mes techniques de composition. Ce dernier se concentre sur la recherche et la collecte de diverses méthodes et techniques adaptées à la combinaison du gamelan balinais et de la musique électronique. La recherche a été influencée par l'apprentissage de théories, de techniques et de pratiques de composition musicale qui crée un pont entre les mondes disparates du gamelan et de l'électronique, tout en développant un cadre d'analyse de ces compositions. Gamelan Elektronik vise donc à intégrer la pratique, la composition et la culture du gamelan à l'étude de l'histoire, de la technique et de la pratique de la musique électronique. En documentant mes façons créatives d'utiliser la technologie et sa relation avec les approches du gamelan balinais, J'espère que cette recherche pourra servir de point de départ à d'autres compositeurs créatifs et chercheurs dans ces domaines. / This Master’s thesis describes my thinking and methodological approach in composing and analyzing works that have been produced under the umbrella of Gamelan Elektronik, a term I use to encompass my perspective and methods in my compositional process. Gamelan Elektronik focuses on seeking and collecting various methods and techniques suitable for combining Balinese gamelan and electronic music. The research was affected through learning theories, techniques, and practices for composing music which bridges the disparate worlds of gamelan and electronics, while developing a framework for analyzing these compositions. Therefore, Gamelan Elektronik aims to integrate gamelan practice, composition and culture, with a study of electronic music history, technique and practice. By documenting my creative ways of using technology and its relationship to Balinese gamelan approaches, I hope this research can be a point of departure for future development by other innovative composers and researchers in these fields. / Tesis ini menguraikan pemikiran dan pendekatan metodologis saya dalam menyusun dan menganalisis karya-karya yang dihasilkan di bawah payung Gamelan Elektronik, sebuah istilah yang saya gunakan untuk menjabarkan sudut pandang dan metode dalam proses komposisi saya. Gamelan Elektronik berfokus pada pencarian dan pengumpulan berbagai metode dan teknik yang cocok untuk menggabungkan gamelan Bali dan musik elektronik. Penelitian ini dipengaruhi melalui pembelajaran teori, teknik, dan praktik untuk menggarap musik yang menjembatani perbedaan dunia gamelan dan elektronik, sekaligus mengembangkan kerangka kerja untuk menganalisis komposisi tersebut. Oleh karena itu, Gamelan Elektronik bertujuan untuk mengintegrasikan praktik, komposisi, dan budaya gamelan dengan kajian sejarah, teknik, dan praktik musik elektronik. Dengan mendokumentasikan cara-cara kreatif saya dalam menggunakan teknologi dan hubungannya dengan pendekatan gamelan Bali, saya berharap penelitian ini dapat menjadi titik tolak pengembangan di masa depan oleh para komposer dan peneliti inovatif di bidang ini.

Starting in the mid-2010s VR's high cost of entry became low enough for consumers and artists to explore and experiment with the technology. There have been a few VR operas developed by medium to large sized teams such as Michel Van Der Aa's Eight (2018) and Alexander Schubert's ⁂ASTERISM⁂ (2021), but no widespread work has been produced by a small team comprising only a librettist and composer. Vessels engages in this process with a libretto written by Bea Goodwin and music, audio processing, visual design, and programming by Christopher Poovey. The first step in the process of creating Vessels was the creation of the song cycle Songs from Vessels for soprano, extended tenor, flute, bass flute, A clarinet, viola, contrabass, percussion, and live electronics. These songs are the basis of the micro-opera Vessels which presents recordings of the songs with live processing alongside two songs exclusive to the opera in a VR environment with immersive projections and audio. The development of an ensemble and electronic work along with a VR micro-opera necessitates the implementation and creation of software. Both the Grainflow and cpDelayNetworks packages for Cycling ‘74 Max are pivotal to audio processing in both versions of the work. In addition to these packages and other programming done in Max, the VR opera version of the work relies on custom scripts and implementations of tools for VR interaction, networking, spatial audio, and procedural animations to create an immersive environment to be shared between a VR participant and their audience.

This paper presents the history and the theoretical study of mixed music and focuses on two piano solo works and two mixed electroacoustic compositions for piano and electronics. By discussing the working process and giving the analysis of the original composition Alchemy for piano and electronics, this paper investigates the relationship between cause, source and spectromorphology, reflecting how the concept of energy-motion trajectory are embodied in this mixed electroacoustic work. Alchemy is a mixed composition for piano solo and 8-channel fixed electronics focusing on the gestural play and sonic expression. The live piano part explores the gestural sound played with a slide (cup), paper clip, and objects placed inside the piano. The 8-channel electronics part is mainly derived from the recorded acoustic piano. It extends the sonic potential of source materials and presents the diverse vectorial movements of spatialization.

This Bachelor Thesis in composition explores an alternative compositional process for creating improvised music through the approach of sound design. The questions addressed in the thesis are concerned with how the soundscape can be controlled by the composer while still maintaining the expressivity of an improvised performance. Thus, the composer’s role as both sound designer, producer and performer is investigated using live electronics and score design. The theoretical framework for the thesis is to be found in the intersection between Anglo-American experimental music, electronic music, sound design and electroacoustic improvisation. Key influences include indeterminacy as expressed in the music of John Cage, Deep Listening practices pioneered by Pauline Oliveros as well as the aesthetical paradigms of electronic and electroacoustic music. The artistic methods revolved around the following steps: studio workshops with musicians (Fredrik Ekenvi and José Louis Relova Gallego) exploring timbres, playing techniques and music technology in real-time followed by associative discussions about the soundscapes created; composing audio and graphical drafts influenced by the workshops; designing diagrams for the electronics and compiling these to a design document; workshopping and performing the final piece (Towards the Event Horizon). Towards the Event Horizon (for bass clarinet, electric guitar and live electronics) is the final result of the work, comprising a score with accompanying design document as well as a recording of the original performance at Studio Acusticum in Piteå 20th of March 2021. The artefacts and associated documentation are presented in their entirety on the dedicated Research Catalogue exposition. Conclusions include how composition and sound design are tied together and cannot be considered as isolated processes, especially in the context of live electronics; the interrelationship between the improviser, the acoustic soundscape and the artistic associations that inform the improvisation; the importance of form as the defining element of a composition and lastly; how a score for improvised music can be devised in the shape of a blueprint of form and texture, setting certain technical, sonic and gestural conditions while leaving the performer to play freely within this frame. / <p>Konstnärliga artefakter presenteras via Research Catalogue: https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1250652/1250651</p>

La version intégrale de ce mémoire est disponible uniquement pour consultation individuelle à la Bibliothèque de musique de l'Université de Montréal (www.bib.umontreal.ca/MU). / Ce mémoire expose les résultats de mon projet de recherche, qui consistait à élaborer et tester ma démarche compositionnelle s’appliquant aux musiques de pratique électroacoustique, instrumentale et mixte. Mon intention était d’uniformiser et de systématiser mon approche s’inscrivant essentiellement dans l’esthétique des romantiques. J’y combine musique à programme, partitions graphiques et autres techniques modernes de composition. Le premier chapitre est consacré à la description détaillée et commentée des trois étapes qui constituent mon travail de création : le programme, l’analyse ainsi que la structure et la forme. Pour expérimenter cette approche, j’ai composé trois pièces : Le chat noir, pièce mixte pour gamelan, bandes et traitements en temps réel et inspirée d’une nouvelle d’Edgar Allan Poe, La nébuleuse de la tour, pièce électroacoustique basée sur une partition graphique exécutée par une guitare et un trombone et, comme troisième pièce, Le livre de Thot, pour trio à cordes et piano, présentée en quatre mouvements inspirés d’autant de cartes du tarot. Les trois pièces sont décrites et analysées en fonction de ma démarche aux chapitres deux, trois et quatre, respectivement. / This thesis presents the results of my research project which consisted in elaborating and testing my compositional approach in three musical forms, namely, electroacoustic, instrumental, and mix. My aim was to systematize my approach—which belongs essentially with romantic aesthetics—and to make it uniform by combining program music, graphic partitions, and other modern compositional techniques. The first chapter is devoted to the detailed and commented description of the three stages of my creation process : program, analysis, as well as form and structure. To test my approach, I have composed three pieces, 1- Le chat noir, a mixed piece for gamelan, recording and real-time processing inspired by a novel by Edgar Allan Poes, 2- La nébuleuse de la tour, an electroacoustic piece based on a graphic partition and performed on guitar and trombone, and 3- Le livre de Thot, for string trio and piano and performed in four movements inspired by four tarot cards. These three pieces are described and analyzed in chapters two, three, and four respectively.