Spectromorphology Flashcards
Spectro-morphology
Concentrates on the spectrum and its shaping over time
Electroacoustic arts
Musical exploration and extensions of sounding models through signal processing and synthesis
Perceptual affinity
Partnership between composer and listener in aural perception
Mimesis
Involvement in music, representation of imitation of the real world in art/literature
Reduced Listening
- Charting spectromorphological process, ignoring how sound was made or caused
- Analytical and aesthetic attitude as investigative strategy
Abstract/Concrete
Both elements present in all sounds
1.Spectral Typology
Note-Node-Noise
Note to noise continuum
1a. Note
- Note proper: traditional pitch perceptional, fundamental is more important than spectrum
- Harmonic Spectrum: Harmonic relationships of the spectrum, less fundamental pitch, when spectral fusion is reduced I.e. overtone singing
- Inharmonic Spectrum: Internal behaviours of components in inharmonic spectra, resisting spectral fusion (i.e. metallic sounds)
1aa. Note proper
Traditional pitch perceptional, fundamental is more important than spectrum
1ab. Harmonic spectrum
Harmonic relationships of the spectrum, less fundamental pitch, when spectral fusion is reduced (i.e. overtone singing)
1ac. Inharmonic spectrum
Internal behaviours of components in inharmonic spectra, resisting spectral fusion (i.e. metallic sounds)
1b. Node
- Nodal spectrum: band or knot of sound resisting pitch identification. (eg. sound densities whose compactness makes pitch structure unclear)
- Lies toward noise boundary of note-noise continuum
- Examples are cymbal heard at a distance, note cluster
1c. Noise
- Noise spectrum: Impossible to hear any internal pitch structure
- Partials are dense and compressed (I.e. wind, sea)
Pitch-effluvium continuum
- Effluvium: Ear can no longer resolve spectra into component pitches
- Follows momentum of external shaping, increased spectral density and compression
Morphology
- Temporal shaping
- Instrumental notes, sounds in natural world
- Aural experience monitored by spectral and dynamic profiles in relations to energy
- Morphological Archetypes
- Attack-impulse
- Attack-decay (Closed or open)
- Graduated continuant
2a. Attack-impulse
- Single detached note, produced by sudden onset and sudden termination
2b. Attack-decay
- Attack onset extended by resonance (eg. bell or plucked string)
- Closed attack decay: Quick decay, strong attack
- Open attack decay: More gradual decay, drawn to continuing behaviour of sound on way to termination, phases: attack, decay, termination
2c. Graduated continuant
- Sustained instrumental sounds,
- graduated onset/continuant phase/graduated termination
- Morphological Models
- Attack-impulse archetype
- Closed attack-decay archetype (reversed form)
- Open attack-decay archetype (reversed form)
- Linear attack-decay (reversed form)
- Linear graduated continuant
- Swelled graduated continuant
- Graduated continuant archetype
Correspondence
- Point where a morphological shift takes place: a morphological modulation
- Idea or expectations can be changed in music to frustrate
Morphological Strings
- Linking or merging of morphologies to create hybrids
- Types: Open continuant phases, merged correspondences through cross fading, reversed onset-terminations leading to new onsets
Attack-effluvium continuum
- Temporal counterpart of pitch-effluvium continuum, ear does not resolve the separate components, turns to morphologies of the larger structural motion
- Four principal points:
1. Separated attack-impulses
2. Iteration
3. Grain
4. Effluvial state
- Motion/Motion Typology
- Music is motion in time
- Applies to different structural levels/time scales (gesture external contouring vs. texture internal behaviour
- Motion types always imply a direction/orientation
4a. Linear
- Unidirectional: ascent-descent-plane
- bi-directional: divergence/convergence, dilation/contraction
- Refraction: linear motion deflected off course, changes of angle in direction that can become curvilinear
4b. Curvilinear
- Three phases: ascent-peak-descent OR descent-trough-ascent
- Reciprocal
- centric/cyclic
- eccentric/multidirectional
4bb. Reciprocal
- Motion in one direction balances by reciprocation in opposite direction
- Types:
1. parabola/inverted parabola (eg. thrown or bounced motion)
2. oscillation: curvilinear oscillation between two points
3. undulation: shapes of varied dimensions tracing motions (eg. surface of ocean as waves pass)
4. convolution: complex interweaving of motion shapes (eg. surface of lake as waves from boats intersect)
4bc. Centric/cyclic
- Radiating from centre or converging on it
- Doesn’t have to be exact repetitions
- Types:
1. centrifugence/centripetence: sounds flying off from centre or towards centre
2. pericentricity: motion around a centre
3. vortex: movement of particles around axis
4. helix: spiral shape, implies acceleration or deceleration
4bd. Eccentric/Multi-directional
- Lack of central focus
- Multi-direction: expansion of linear divergence/convergence developed toward eccentricity
- Growth processes: transformations where morphological outcome is radically different from initial state
- Types:
1. accumulation: exogeny (additions to exterior of sound) vs. endogeny (growth from within)
2. dissipation
3. confraction: breaking up into smaller fragments
4. conglomeration: forming of compact mass or object from fragments
Motion Style
- Delineates boundaries affecting internal motion
- Types:
1. synchrony/asynchrony: whether components act together or individually
2. Continuity/discontinuity: continuous or non-continuous flow of music
3. conjunction/disjunction: contouring is evenly or unevenly graduated
4. periodicity/aperiodicity: Regular or not motion change
Categories of internal motion design (Motion Style)
- Flocked motion: individual components behave in coherent groups, is monomorphological, ear follows entire flock
- Streamed motion: concurrent flow of motion that maintain their separate identity
- Contorted motion: components entangled and considered whole, is polymorphological
Ways of Motion Styles
- Monomorphological: made up of a single morphological type
2. Polymorphological: made of a mixture of morphologies
Stable pitch-space settings
- Linear and consistent tessitura, doesn’t have to have internal consistent motion
- Other events may occur within space
- Canopied: activity beneath high pitched area
- Rooted: activity above low pitch (eg. drones, pedal points)
- Framed: Combination of canopied and rooted
- Centred-pivoted: Central reference or pivot of musical activity
Canopied (Pitch-Space)
Activity beneath high pitched area
Rooted (Pitch-Space)
Activity above low pitch (eg. drones, pedal points)
Framed (Pitch-Space)
Combination of canopied and rooted
Centred-pivoted (Pitch-Space)
Central reference or pivot of musical activity
Spectral Texture (Pitch-Space)
- Vertical distribution of constituent parts or components in pitch-space
- Fusion and diffusion/dispersal
- Opacity and Transparency
- Occupying sites within boundaries of pitch-space
- Spectral weighting
Opacity (Pitch-Space)
state where effluvial criteria block out detail
Transparency (Pitch-Space)
Opens up textural spaces to create spatial clarity
Sites (Pitch-Space)
Place within the pitch-space boundary that has a dimension (eg. pitch, localization)
Spectral Weighting (Pitch-Space)
- Textures may be weighted in favour of another site
- Factors: spectral type, morphology, dynamic prominence, component between textural gaps, dimensions of spaces
Structuring Processes
- Level and focus, structures should be multi-levelled
- Switch perception through range of levels
- Fractured hierarchies of various temporal dimensions
Gesture and texture (Structuring)
- structuring strategies that work in consort (collaborative)
- share structural workload
- structures can be gesture-carried or texture-carried
Gesture
- Intangible link with human activity
- Action directed away from previous goal
- Application of energy and its consequences
- Intervention, growth, progress; Causality
Texture
- Internal behaviour patterns, energy directed inwards
- Self-propogating, continues behaving
Surrogacy
- Mechanisms where musical texture and gesture are linked to their sources
- First Order Surrogacy
- Second Order Surrogacy
- Remote Surrogacy
- Dislocated surrogacy
First Order Surrogacy
Human link by use of instrument, associated with exertion or physical energy
Second Order Surrogacy
Instrumental cause cannot exist, energetic, maintains human link by sound alone
Remote Surrogacy
Physical cause cannot be deduced, only a psychological interpretation
Dislocated surrogacy
No direct gestural ties, challenge for listener as in the remoteness of sound and human link
Structural Functions
- Three linked temporal phases, morphological design (onset, continuant, termination)
as models of time passing
Termination (Structural Function)
- Plane: Ambiguous, stable as goal
- Immersion
- Release
- Resolution
- Closure
Continuant (Structural Function)
- Maintenance: what has been set in course continues
- Statement
- Prolongation: Stretching as continuity
- Transition: Intermediate stage between functions
Termination (Structural Function)
- Plane: Ambiguous, stable as goal
- Immersion
- Release
- Resolution
- Closure
Structural Levels (Structural Function)
Dependent on aural focus and structural unveiling
Order:
- Local Scale
- Regional Functions
- Global functions: reassessment of structure in light of whole experience
Function Chains (Structural Function)
- Linking of material with different structural functions
- Attribution may change from start to end depending on evolution
Function Weighting (Structural Function)
- is varied to create balance of temporal stress
Structural Relationships
- relationship of structural components, how independent components interact Types: - Interaction/Equality - Reaction/Inequality - Interpolation
Interaction/Equality (Structural Relationships)
- Means cooperation
- confluence and reciprocity
Reaction/Inequality (Structural Relationships)
- Degree of active-passive role playing
- Competition and causality
Interpolation (Structural Relationships)
- Interruption or change at a stroke
- Vicissitude: Progression, one element willingly gives place to the next
- Displacement: Progression by displacement, one event resists batwing replaced
Spectral space
- texture suggest spatial analogies
- equilibrium of spatial spread
Time as space
- Spectral motion is perceived in time
Resonance
- Inner space
- Resonance structures: stretch out new imagined resonances that can stretch into fantasy
Spatial articulation
- outer/realistic/fictitious space where sound structure interacts and inhabits
- Spatial trajectories: reflect gestures
- Spatial distribution: reflects textures
Spatial articulation aspects
- setting: real/fictitious, dimensions (open/confined)
- behaviour: stationary/moving (distribution/trajectory)
- Spatio-morphology: morphology set in a sequence of spaces, no change in shape,, change may occur in space
Transference
- listening environment
- music transferred by loudspeakers to new acoustic space
- sound diffusion
- reinterpretation of musical structure within performance space
