11Science Influencing Musical Creativity Flashcards
(40 cards)
Describe the ways in which Pythagoras contributed to music
Pythagoras tuning (syntonic temperament) - simple ratios, string length (e.g. 3:2 - untempered perfect 5th); Pythagorean scale based on stacked perfect 5th & octave (suited to pre-5th century music, based on consonant perfect 5ths; leading to rough 3rds); Harmony of the spheres - mathematical bases for stars & planets movement, matching musical notes
Just intonation tuning was attributed to Ptolemy. What is it based on?
Simple integer ratios in all of the intervals (compared to a base note); all the partials are common
Equal temperament was developed by Zhu Zaiyu (China) & Simon Stevin (Europe) in 1584-5. What is this based on?
Divides the octave into equal spaced intervals; each successive note is 100 cents higher than the previous note
How many tones is the Gamelan based on?;
What about early Chinese music?;
And Arabic?
5 tones;
7 tones;
24 tones
What is “limit” theorised as?
Upper bound of the complexity of harmony; prime numbers are subdivided by 3, 5, 7, 11, 13)
Various composers have used mathematical influences on musical structure. Describe Schoenberg’s approach
12-tone system (i.e. serialism) - musical set theory (draws on ideas of mathematical logic, rules for sets of pitches: every pitch must be played once before being played again); various parametres can be quantified (e.g. pitch, duration, timbre, etc); used by Berg, Webern & Stravinsky
Describe Messiaen’s application of maths to music;
What is the Fibonacci series based on?
Quartet for the End of Time - uses prime numbers; sounds unsettled (composed & premiered in German POW camp);
Adding last number to the next (0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, etc) gives a sense of growth, used by many composers (e.g. Bartok & Debussy)
Who developed Chance music & composed “Music of changes” in 1951?;
How was this composed?
John Cage;
By using I Ching to arrive at random numbers for duration, tempo & dynamics
Iannis Xenakis’s composition “Pithprakta”, also used chance processes in the compositional process. How was this done?
By using probability theories to determine certain sound elements within sections
How did Karlheinz Stockhausen use chance elements within the performance of “Klavierstück XI (1956)?
Events were traditionally precomposed, but the sequence of events was determined during the performance
Describe how Morton Feldman (composer of King of Denmark, 1964), replaced traditional notation with graphical notation
He used a grid of sonic events (high, med, low), numbers, letters & symbols, representing articulations & instrument, but the performer determined instrument choice
Describe Musique Concréte, developed in the 1940s;
It’s a form of electroacoustic music - uses acoustic sounds (e.g. musical instruments, voice, natural environment) & those created electronically (e.g. using synthesizers & signal processing techniques)
What idea developed out of Musique Concréte?
Acousmatic sound - music being heard without seeing the sound source
Who developed the compositional practice of Musique Concréte in 1942?;
Around the same time, what was Halim El-Dabh doing in Egypt?
Pierre Schaeffer; he experimented with radiophonic technology of the time, in his Studio d’Essai;
Experimenting with tape composition (The Expression of Zaar)
In 1951, Shaeffer teamed up with percussionist, Pierre Henry & sound engineer, Jacques Poullin, to develop what?;
This attracted many classical composers, but what else did it lead to in the jazz domain?
GRM - a broadcasting corporation via an electroacoustic studio in France;
Recorded works incorporating jazz elements & live jazz ensemble with magnetic tape parts
What technologies & sound manipulation techniques were used in early Musique Concréte?
Shellac recorders & players (using resin ground from a beetle, to make a layer, then frequencies & amplitudes scratched onto it); mixing desks; mechanical reverb; filters; microphones; & they manipulated sound through transposition, looping, sample extraction, filtering
What did Fritz Pfleumer invent in Germany in 1927?;
What did German engineers (from AEG company) then create?
Magnetic tape;
Magnetic reel to reel tape recorder
How did composers of Musique Contréte use the magnetic tape?;
Which composition by Pierre Schaeffer & Pierre Henry is an example of this?
They put the tape on a splicing block & cut it up into different patterns, & then stuck them back together;
Apostrophé (Symphony for One Man Alone, 1949-50)
Name the four different technologies that were used in Musique Concréte
Morphophones; phonogénes; studio 54 mixing desk; computer interface
What are morphophones & how were they used?
Tape loop-delay mechanisms; tape loop was stuck to a rotating disk & the sound was picked up at varying points on the tape by 10 magnetic heads; the resulting sound was passed through a series of bandpass filters & amplified
What were phonogénes & how were they used?
Keyboard operated tape machine, designed to play loops; chromatic - tape loop driven by multiple capstans at varied speeds allowing the production of short bursts of tape sounds at varying pitches; sliding - created a continuous tone by varying the tape speed via a control rod; universal - allowed transposition of pitch without altering the duration of the sound
Why was the Studio 54 mixing desk so influential?
The synthesiser and desk were combined & organised in a way it could be used easily by a composer; as well as 24 mixing tracks, it had a coupled connection patch, permitting the organisation of the machines & remote controls for operating tape recorders
What was the computer interface designed for?
Composers to input their sounds into a computer; the user would launch calculations for new sounds by using processing software & input necessary information through the interface; they’d edit & mix it, then record it on tape
What do the Moog & Buchla synthesizers have in common?;
They both have voltage controlled modular components (containing oscillators, amplifiers, filters, ribbon controllers & envelope generators)
