Different walks for different talks: finding the meaningful in electroacoustic music

This paper is predicated on the argument that searching for the meaningful in electroacousticmusic is to use different means for different pieces, while remaining situated within the historical context of electroacoustic music. The important factors here are, first, that themeaningful in music is different than meaning in music, and, second, that methods for examining the meaningful in electroacoustic music can be quite different than the means of investigating the meaningful in acoustic music.Looking for meaning in music, in general, leads to two main problems: trying to interpret inherent meaning and/or trying to find a generalised model applicable to all music. Postcolonial theory and cultural theory show that meaning also comes from historical context, cultural tropes and power relationships of hegemony and subjugation, so it is not entirely inherent to the music. Most theorists apply their models to pre-20th century, conventionally notated, Western music. These models break down with the experimentalism of the 20th century and the introduction of non- notated or unconventionally notated music. Therefore, these models are not generally applicable, and it is especially true for non-notated musics.Looking for the meaningful in music provides a beneficial vagueness that does not require the definitive conclusions of meaning but, rather, identifies carriers of meaning. Where meaning is dependent upon interpretation, the meaningful is about personal experience. It does not strive for inherent characteristics of the music but acknowledges the reception of the listener. Since the meaningful in music is a carrier for meaning, all theories and models can be applied to all works as needed because one is not using these models for conclusive meanings. These models can come from psychology, linguistics, semiotics, hermeneutics, cultural theory, narrative analysis, and more.A discussion of the meaningful in electroacoustic music must include a contextualisation within the history of 20th century experimental Western music and the impact of technology. Is electroacoustic music marginalised? Does it fit within the practices of acoustic music experimentalism? A number of popular musics utilise technologies and methods that were invented by early electroacoustic composers, but does electroacoustic music have any further impact on these popular musics?The meaningful in electroacoustic music is mediated by the technology. In some cases, there are no scores but instructions. In other cases, there are fixed recordings, identical in every performance. In still more cases, live performers read notated scores and perform with technology. This paper proposes that the technology of electroacoustic music and lack of standardised notation do, in fact, marginalise electroacoustic music from the traditions of 20th century experimental Western music. Similarly, electroacoustic music s aesthetic grounding from the same experimental traditions marginalises it from the popular musics that utilise the same technologies.Therefore, any analysis must come from within the practice. Musicologists and composers have identified new approaches adapting the search for meaning in music to electroacoustic music. Some examples are spectromorphological analysis, poietic/genetic analysis, and esthesic analysis. These examples apply the theories from psychology, linguistics, semiotics, hermeneutics, etc., but negotiate a space for them in 20th and 21st century, non-notated Western electroacoustic music.This paper surveys three works in order to demonstrate the diversity of the meaningful by applying different perspectives to each work. These works were chosen for the ways in which they are related yet distinctive. All three works fall within the greater definition of electroacoustic. That is, all pieces are intended for the concert hall paradigm, and the musical material relies fundamentally on electronic technologies. Yet, the musical material arises from different techniques and purposes within electroacoustic media. Two pieces use recorded and processed sounds, while one synthesises its own timbres. Additionally, two are single-moded (music alone) while one is multimodal (ballet). Ultimately, all three have their own philosophies that require different starting points for analysis.First, Denis Smalley s work, Base Metals (2000), is analysed by identifying the meaningful in the spectromorphologies, sound-shapes and space-forms, and builds on analyses by Hirst (2011) and Lotis (2003). Secondly, a poietic analysis of Gendy3 (1991) by Iannis Xenakis reveals the meaningful in the mathematics of stochastic events, reflected in investigations by diScipio (1997, 1998), Hoffman (2000), Luque (2009), Serra (1993) and Solomos (2001). Thirdly, the footsteps in Journey, the first movement of Maa (1991) by Kaija Saariaho, leads the listener through a distinctive narrative, through which the meaningful emerges from the story. This survey does not provide exhaustive investigations of each work. Rather, it demonstrates the advantage of diverse avenues of inquiry.kerry.hagan@ul.ieReferences diScipio, A., 1997. The problem of 2nd-order sonorities in Xenakis electroacoustic music.Organised Sound, 2(3), pp.165 78. 1998. Compositional Models in Xenakis's Electroacoustic Music. Perspectives of New Music, 36(2) Summer, pp.201 243.Hirst, D., 2011. From Sound Shapes to Space-Form: investigating the relationships between Smalley s writings and works. Organised Sound, 16(1), pp.42 53.Hoffman, P., 2000. The New GENDYM Program. Computer Music Journal, 24(2) Summer, pp.31 38.Lotis, T., 2003. The creation and projection of ambiophonic and geometrical sonic spaces with reference to Denis Smalley s Base Metals. Organised Sound, 8(3), pp.257 267.Luque, S., 2009. The Stochastic Synthesis of Iannis Xenakis. Leonardo Music Journal, 19, pp.77 84.Serra, M-H., 1993. Stochastic Composition and Stochastic Timbre: GENDY3 by Iannis Xenakis. Perspectives of New Music, 31(1) Winter, pp. 236 257.Solomos, M., 2001. The Unity of Xenakis's Instrumental and Electroacoustic Music: The Case for "Brownian Movements." Perspectives of New Music, 39(1) Winter, pp.244 254.