This thesis is structured around three key phases in the process of collaborative music-making - composition, preparation, and performance - examining the function of indeterminacy at each stage, and the way in which musical factors are determined. At what point in the creative process a musical decision is made, the path chosen, and critically, by whom the decision is taken, are all explored in the context of a portfolio of pieces performed and recorded as part of this practice-led research. The portfolio comprises recordings of projects undertaken with composers, as well as pre-existing repertoire, and the written commentary explores my creative role as a performer in relation to that of the composers and the other performers I have worked with. Practical issues faced in collaboration, practice, and performance are dealt with, as are questions of musicality, and the notion of success in musical performance.

‘Art worlds’ (Becker 1982) tend to be treated as autonomous spheres but there have always been artistic enterprises that combine different art forms. Contemporary dance theatre is an example of such an intersection: the collaboration between music and dance worlds requires a network of different kinds of artists to produce a coherent artwork. This PhD research investigated the social interrelations of musicians and dancers and the development processes in a collaborative music-dance production. The artists are part of a multi-component network where all parties ideally need to cooperate closely in order to present a coherent artistic performance. In this context music and dance are codependent and an intrinsic understanding among the artists is expected. However, this is not inherent to all participants and projects. For artists from more than one discipline to make a coherent artwork means to challenge the conventional characteristics of their own art worlds (Cope 1976; Becker 1982). Otherwise barriers in communication and behaviour develop rapidly and irreparably. This study sought to understand the development of new music and dance productions and the involvement of their participants in a systematic way. This led to the investigation of cross-disciplinary communication, hierarchies and creative approaches. The research is based on two case studies, the ethnographies of work in progress of dance companies, using observation and interviews as the main methodology. The systematic study of the processes during collaborative work uncovered hindrances including limitations in the financial budget, committed production time and physical requirements of the artists and how those have been handled when approaching these projects. This study also defined differing expectations towards collaboration, varying listening approaches of musicians and dancers to music and differences in performance practice as challenges of the process. The overall aim was to provide new insights into the process of producing collaborative art works, improve the planning and execution of them and connect the academic fields of music and dance.

Over the last decade the internet has evolved at a tremendous rate, creating new technological and business opportunities. One such opportunity is real-time web-based collaborative music. Even though the internet has many advantages, one big disadvantage is the delay that is inherently present and that its behaviour cannot be predicted. The quality of a musician’s experience is negatively affected by network delay. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to quantify through opinion scores of musicians’ tolerances to an online jamming experience with various network delays. A low cost network emulator was developed using Linux and freeware utilities to enable inserting various delays. Subjective feedback through a questionnaire was obtained from the musicians, and also quantitative data was captured and analyzed. Our findings reveal that it is easier to play music than to just have a clapping rhythm between two musicians. Network delays of up to 50 ms could be tolerated for music sessions versus only 30 ms for clapping sessions.

Den digitala utvecklingen har gjort det möjligt för musikproducenter att samarbeta med musiker, artister och medproducenter på distans via internet under produktionsprocessen. Syftet med uppsatsen är att med hjälp av en intervjuundersökning med fyra musikproducenter nå fördjupad kunskap om deras arbetsprocess med andra via internet. Tidigare forskning om musikproduktion har pekat på tekniska möjligheter att använda moln-tjänster för musikproducenter (Kozsolko, 2015). Det är tekniskt nya möjligheter sedan Gullö (2010) pekade på musikproducenters multikompetens och arbete med DAWs under produktionsprocessen. Resultaten visar på att musikproducenterna som arbetar med distansproduktioner skickar ljudfiler fram och tillbaka mellan varandra via onlinetjänster som Dropbox, Sprend och We Transfer och ibland även egna servrar. Det är mycket ovanligt att de skickar hela projekt då de sällan använder samma musikprogram (DAW). Respondenternas tankar gällande ledarrollen är att det är den är väldigt viktig för att projektet ska flyta på, det fanns dock delade meningar över hur det kan se ut. Tre av de fyra intervjuade musikproducenterna föredrar att behålla så mycket kontroll som möjligt och har ibland svårt att helt lämna över en uppgift till någon annan. Deras tankar kring musikprogrammens cloud-funktioner där det går att arbeta i samma projekt med andra i realtid möttes av blandade reaktioner där några såg det som opraktiskt och rörigt och några som potentiellt intressant men inget de skulle prova på under den närmaste tiden. Diskussionen visar att producentyrket är svår att placera under konst eller hantverk då det innehåller båda aspekterna. Ledarrollen kan se olika ut men behöver vara aktiv för att fungera i ett distanssamarbete. Konventioner är viktiga för att fastställa nya arbetsmetoder.

The following thesis documents the collaboration process behind Idle Flux, a collaboration between Samuel A. Montgomery, a graduate composer at University of North Texas, and Emily Jensen, a graduate choreographer at Texas Woman's University. Comprising an 18-minute stereo fixed media composition and choreography for seven dancers, Idle Flux seeks to challenge the traditional spatial relationship between audience members and performers through restructuring seating and stage arrangements while featuring immersive sound design in multiple venues. This thesis considers multiple sources of inspiration, including Immersive Van Gogh® Exhibit Dallas, John Jasperse's Canyon, Zoe | Juniper's BeginAgain, Francisco López's installations, Alexander Ekman's A Swan Lake, Imagine Dragons' "Enemy," Son Lux's "Dream State (Dark Day)," and Ryan Lott's dance compositions. This thesis also examines the interdependent collaborative relationship between composer and choreographer by considering the issues of autonomy and creative control, examining previous collaborative models proposed or implemented by Van Stiefel, José Limón and Norman Lloyd, John Cage and Merce Cunningham, Doris Humphrey and Norman Lloyd. In addition, this thesis discusses the creative process and foundational concepts behind the fixed media composition, including the use of sound samples, exploration of timbre through synthesizers, development of motives and musical language, and the spatialization of sound in multiple venues. This thesis further considers the advantages and challenges associated with creating an immersive experience at each venue as well as an interdependent collaborative process that facilitates the autonomy and creative independence for both the composer and choreographer.

The purpose of this document is threefold. First, it demonstrates what Grieg contributes to the musical text compared with the original Peters edition, particularly, those additions that refer to expression, interpretation, and style. Second, this document focuses on presenting Grainger's changes that were approved by Grieg. Third, the document evaluates Grainger's own suggestions for pedaling, hand redistribution and fingering, addition of notes, tempo markings, and other performance guidelines.