“The analysis of composition techniques in utp_: synthetic composition for electroacoustic ensembles”
by Kynan Tan

Presented here for free download is my honours thesis for the Bachelor of Music: Music Technology course at WAAPA. Last year I extensively studied many works for electroacoustic ensembles, in order to firstly describe the compositional techniques used and then translate and adapt these into my own work. In particular I performed an in-depth analysis of utp_, a 72 minute work by Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto in collaboration with Ensemble Modern.

This work utilises a large ensemble, live sound processing, sound synthesis and video projections. I consider this work to be an enormous triumph of composition and I am glad to have been able to spend an extended period of time looking at such a piece.

My thesis provides a brief history of electroacoustic music, analyses techniques used in the scoring, electronics and video of the work, and finally presents my own work ‘lucidity’, and explains how I used these techniques to create my own piece for electroacoustic ensemble.

I have decided to make the full thesis available for free download on the website as it is now completely finished and others may gain some enjoyment, insight or entertainment from it. The lucidity project will soon be uploaded to the website, in the meantime please contact me if you have any questions or comments.

thesis

Abstract

This thesis attempts to analyse and describe a number of spectrally oriented composition techniques for composing music for electroacoustic ensemble. These techniques aim to achieve a synthetic approach to combining electronic and acoustic sound sources in live performance. To achieve this, an in-depth analysis of utp_ (2008) by Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto in collaboration with Ensemble Modern is conducted. utp_ utilises a large acoustic ensemble, live electronic processing, pre- recorded electronic sound and video projections in performance.
The discussion also queries the possible problems of electroacoustic performance, and examines ways to resolve the most prevalent issues. This involves a discussion of the materials of elecroacoustic works, timbral differences in acoustic and electronic sounds and liveness in electroacoustic music performance. The analysis involves using spectral and score analysis to identify composition techniques. The final section describes the way these composition techniques are applied in my own work for electroacoustic ensemble, lucidity.

I am very grateful to have been asked by the new music ensemble Decibel to create a new composition for their audio/visual performance concert, Camera Obscura. Decibel consists of some fantastic musicians, composers and teachers, and they have developed several amazing programs of new compositions and recreations of modern music.

Kynan Tan (AUS) Split Mirror Planes (2010) for 4 instrumentalists, 4 speakers, laptop processing and 4 video sources [world premiere]

Their approach to electroacoustic works is particularly interesting, their balance of acoustic and electronic sound sources and interaction is highly dynamic and an exciting compositional proposition. For my new work, tentatively titled Split Mirror Planes, I will be delving further into audio/visual relationships and attempting to create some inharmonious synaesthetic connections between visual and auditory stimulus. This piece takes a systematic approach in responding to a single sound event with a visual event, or vice versa, creating expectation, resolution and continuation through the (imaginary) combination of sound and vision.

See below for my inclusion for the Decibel book, Audible Designs. Camera Obscura takes place on Monday 19 September, 2011, 8pm. PICA, as part of the Totally Huge New Music Festival.