Spectromorphological Reductions : Exploring and developing approaches for sound-based notation of live electronics

Abstract: In this master’s thesis, a sound-based notation system is explored and developed in the composition and performance of a musical work for live electronics. My approach builds on existing systems for electroacoustic music analysis, most notably Dennis Smalley’s (1997) theory of spectromorphology and the symbolic language of Lasse Thoresen & Andreas Hedman (2007) based on Pierre Schaeffer’s typo-morphology, as well as Mattias Sköld’s (2023) adaptation of this system for composition and transcription (Sound Notation).  By separating the compositional processes from the interpretational process in the creation of a mixed work for live electronics and acoustic instruments, the notation could be explored as an isolated activity in the writing of sound objects, later realized in a studio environment in the form playable instrument patches. This resulted in two performances of the piece Sonic Mechanics (2022) where the author performed the electronics part together with musicians from the ensembles Norrbotten NEO in Piteå (Sweden) and Ensemble mise-en in NYC (USA).  The thesis shows how symbolic notation does not need to be dismissed in live electronic performance, but that a sound-based score can complement the compositional and interpretational processes of instrument design and improvisation. The project thus demonstrates the plausibility of composing electronic music using a reduced sound- based notation system (spectromorphological reduction) and provides an example of how a sound-based score can be executed by an electronic performer, as well as investigating the affordances that this approach has for both the compositional and interpretational process. For composition, the affordances of sound-based notation are that it becomes a technology for thinking about sound and musical structures themselves, without interaction with audio technology. For performance, this approach enables different interpretations for other electronic instruments and setups.