PhD
Richard has been working towards a PhD in composition under the supervision of Brian Lock at Royal Holloway, University of London since 2008.
The Development of a cross-genre composition focusing on the combination of both acoustic and electronic sound sources - Richard Norris
Introduction
I am interested in exploring composition unaffected by the current mass culture trend of having to place music under one label. I see no reason why any arisen genre should be mutually exclusive from another; jazz with classical orchestration, acoustic with electro, sampling with traditional performing methods…However, it is within the combination and metamorphosis of acoustic and electronic composition that I am most interested. Narrowing this down further I would like to draw on my “popular” music experience of song-writing and band performance (predominantly guitar, bass guitar and piano) with my “classical” experience (piano, clarinet and organ performance, composition and listening) ranging from the Renaissance to the avant-garde.
The use of technology, from multitrack recording to MIDI sequencing, has raised the stakes of what is now obtainable and has opened massive creative possibilities that will allow the development of my proposed area of composition. Traditional sound sources can be morphed into unrecognisable sounds (pitched or unpitched) while sampling and synthesis allow us to reproduce acoustic sounds (although some are undoubtedly more effective than others). This expands our palate of raw materials and can turn an electronic machine into an instrument. This opens up doors that can potentially allow the metamorphosis of acoustic and electronic sources to produce a unity which can provide new and exciting sound-worlds that would be impossible to achieve alone.
Further to this idea of combining genres I feel that there is no reason why one piece cannot exist in a number of forms. As an example, a piece may exist in a recorded form that could be further divided into that intended for home/car use, for a surround music system, for a nightclub or for a cinema. The same piece of music may exist in a number of “live” forms; an arrangement for instrumentation similar to that used in one of the recordings or a completely different set of acoustic instruments aimed to provide a similar experience through altered methods to that of a recorded version.
Implications of Research
In addition to the formation of previously unobtainable sound worlds, such music would have the ability to introduce listeners, who may unintentionally have been cornered into one genre through habit or mass marketing, to new areas of music and sound composition. I do not intend to write music that is affected by taboos but rather to draw upon my wide range of influences (which are constantly evolving) and merge them into a set of new compositions. Therefore, I would hope that the average listener would be able to enjoy an exciting combination of different musical styles side-by-side whilst, academically, I would aim to visit new territory in terms of the combination of sounds and cross-combination of genres that have not previously been linked.
The link between music and the status quo of everyday life has been consistently documented (from the social events of Mozart’s operas to the protests of Dylan). This connection has often been placed under the label of zeitgeist (or “spirit of the age”), a notion that I feel could be drawn upon in contemporary composition. By this I do not mean that music should be written with the intention of representing the spirit of our age (many would argue that a conscious acknowledgement of this aim would make it an outright impossibility) but that it would be interesting to take real life events from the 21st century and place them within the context of a musical work. This connection need not be hidden or academic, although it may well be, but could rather be used to provide a narrative for the work. Humans have a finite number of emotions and through basing a work on a real life event it would be interesting to examine the listener’s responses. Each listener would inevitably approach the work from a different emotional stance at the outset, or at least from when it became obvious what the work was about. I feel that this could lead to interesting discussions (musically, psychologically and ideologically) and would ultimately result in a more forward thinking work than one which returned to a narrative/event derived from an earlier time.
While much avant-garde music focuses on the extended use of traditional instrumentation, the sequencer is, in effect, a relatively new instrument (with computer based sequencing arising in the early 1980s). I feel that the initial challenge for composition using sequencers is to establish a firm role for the sequencer software to play in the composition. Once this has been established the composer will then be able to explore new ways of using the software to forward its creative uses and in turn the music itself.
Through the use of acoustic and electronic sources there is also much potential to develop harmonic and rhythmic systems. By drawing on a wide range of experience (from ac chorales to Duke Ellington) I feel that I can use the appealing factors of each system and mould them into a contemporary system. This may involve breaking/ making rules but this is reflective of my view that taboos and habits are not productive in making new ground. Technology further expands the potential for creating rhythmic bases (both in a live and programmed situation). For example, a pizzicato violin note, although perhaps not traditionally thought of as a rhythmic device, could be sampled and turned into a fast programmed rhythmic figure that would be impossible to play live. A “live” violin could then, however, draw on its strengths of a wide dynamic range and varying sonorities produced by plucking at different positions to compete/work with its electronic counterpart thus providing an interesting interaction.
The use of electronic effects as a compositional device also has much room for development. Careful settings and automation of a digital delay could be used as a basis for a piece in itself. In such a case the performer would probably have a simple part and it would be through the strong interaction between man and machine that interest would arise through the work. Effects can be infinitely varied and the order in which different effects are patched within a chain can lead to new and exciting results. Furthermore, with the advent of software based recording there are now endless possibilities for the use of traditional effects and new effects are arising all the time.
© Richard Norris 2010