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Emergent Musical Forms:: Aural Explorations

This book presents a novel approach to musical analysis developed over 40 years called Aural Sonology. It analyzes the sonic and structural aspects of music as heard through different listening intentions. The analysis is displayed on a website synchronized to the music using special symbols. The approach is useful for music without scores or where the score does not match the sound. It analyzes sound objects, temporal segmentation, layers, dynamics, themes, and transformations. The book also discusses the theoretical foundations and applications of the phenomenological method.

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557 views4 pages

Emergent Musical Forms:: Aural Explorations

This book presents a novel approach to musical analysis developed over 40 years called Aural Sonology. It analyzes the sonic and structural aspects of music as heard through different listening intentions. The analysis is displayed on a website synchronized to the music using special symbols. The approach is useful for music without scores or where the score does not match the sound. It analyzes sound objects, temporal segmentation, layers, dynamics, themes, and transformations. The book also discusses the theoretical foundations and applications of the phenomenological method.

Uploaded by

ieysimurra
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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EMERGENT

MUSICAL FORMS:
AURAL EXPLORATIONS
Lasse Thoresen with the assistance of Andreas Hedman

Studies in Music from the University of Western Ontario, 2015

A NOVEL APPROACH TO MUSIC ANALYSIS

This book presents a novel approach to the analysis of sonic


and structural aspects of music-as-heard. It has been de-
veloped through the last 40 years at the Norwegian Acade-
my of Music as part of the The Aural Sonology Project, in-
volving a number of students and colleagues, notably Pro-
fessor Olav Anton Thommessen and Associate Professor
(now Rector) Peter Tornquist. Its aim has been the develop-
ment of a method of analysis that is not uniquely reserved
for a particular compositional style or expression, but
addresses the understanding of Western art music on a ge-
neral basis.

Sales
America:
The University of Western
Ontario, c/o Professor J. Grier
[email protected]

Europe and Asia:


Norsk Musikforlag
[email protected]
www.musikkforlagene.no
AURAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN COMBINATION WITH A COMPUTER PROGRAM

A central concern for the project has been the development of aural consciousness
through a systematic application of different ways of listening (ʻlistening intentionsʼ).
Through the practice of the analytical methods the analyst will gain mastery of his own
listening consciousness and aural memory faculty, and will receive concepts to refer to
aural phenomena in discussions and in written presentations. Audio-visual technology
facilitates the making and the presentation of the aural sonology analyses. The implemen-
tation of the analytical system in the Acousmographe (developed by INA/GRM, France)
opens a new chapter for the use of the methods. Most of the analyses in the book are pre-
sented on a website (www.auralsonology.com) that displays specially designed symbols
in synchrony with the music that is being analyzed. The choice of correct analytical signs
does not happen automatically, but through the interpretation of an informed listener/
analyst.

WHEN THERE IS NO SCORE


The approach is particularly useful for dealing with music for which no score is available
(e.g. electroacoustic music) or (instrumental) music in which there is no simple one-to-one
correspondence between score and the aural phenomenon. The analytical tools are partly
oriented towards spectromorphological analysis, partly towards analysis of form-building fea-
tures.

WHAT IS ANALYSED

The spectromorphological analysis is oriented towards identification of the sound-object,


which is constituted by the listening intention to hear the sound simply as a sound
(ʻreductive listeningʼ). The description and categorization of sound-objects was initiated
by Pierre Schaeffer and his team at GRM, and published in Traité des objets musicaux
(1966). The Aural Sonology Project has revised his ideas and translated them into a con-
ceptual structure with corresponding graphic signs. Sound-objects are grouped into cate-
gories and described more closely. These signs are incorporated in the Aural Sonology
Plug-in of the Acousmographe.

Analyses relevant for musical form-building are:

 Time-fields (the temporal segmentation of the musical discourse)

 Layers (the synchronous segmentation of the musical discourse)

 Dynamic form (time directions and energetic shape)

 Thematic form (recurrence, variation, and contrast)

 Form-building transformations (simple and complex gestalts, transformations between


them (e.g. proliferation/collection, fission/fusion; liquidation/crystallization)

AND THERE IS MORE

Beyond the methods of analysis, the book provides a theoretical study of how music and
musical structure are grounded in the dimension of sound-in-time. Moreover it presents
perspectives on the semiotics of music-as-heard, and the semiotics of musical communi-
cation. Yet another section is devoted to the discussion of how the analytical method is
rooted in principles of phenomenology and structuralism.
"Thoresen coalesces and presents (with spark- THE AUTHOR
ling clarity) more than a century of phenome-
nological approaches that can be brought to Lasse Thoresen (b. 1949) is a Professor
bear on music analysis. The development and of Musical Composition at the Norwe-
bridging of Schaeffer’s theoretical work with gian Academy of Music (since 1988).
phenomenology, so successfully carried out His compositions have earned him sev-
in Emergent Musical Forms, is in and of itself eral prizes nationally and internation-
an important and substantial addition to the ally, including the Nordic Council Mu-
theoretical literature in music. But this book sic Prize in 2010. He has lectured ex-
provides much more: having grounded and tensively on his theory in several uni-
tested his theoretical framework through de- versities and music academies, and has
cades as a scholar, teacher, musician, and been guest professor at ESMUC
composer, Thoresen creates a descriptive ana- (Barcelona 2007) and McGill (2013-
lytical method that integrates tools drawn 2015).
from structuralism and semiotics, as well as
hermeneutic concepts, which will richly in-
form the interpretive interests and goals of
performers and conductors…"

Lawrence Ferrara, Ph.D., Professor of Music The Steinhardt


School, Music and Performing Arts, New York University

"Despite the richness of electroacoustic mu-


sic’s practices, the theory developed by Tho-
resen is able to be applied to it all, whatever
its form may be. In fact, it can also be used for
any form of recorded music."

Dr. Marc Battier, Professor of Musicology,


Université Paris-Sorbonne.
Photo: MIC, Lisbeth Risnes

EMERGENT MUSICAL FORMS:


AURAL EXPLORATIONS
Lasse Thoresen with the assistance of Andreas Hedman

Studies in Music from the University of Western Ontario, 2015

Sales
America:
The University of Western
Ontario, c/o professor J. Grier
[email protected]

Europe and Asia:


Norsk Musikforlag
[email protected]
www.musikkforlagene.no

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