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This practice-based research project is an original investigation into the process of producing five compositions employing a self-designed digital musical instrument (DMI) called the 'Flexible Phrase System' (FPS). This research consists of two interconnected design processes: one is the production of a portfolio of music, and the other is the development of the FPS, which supports the production of the music. Composing the music and designing the FPS are developed in an iterative design process. The interconnected processes affect the content of the compositions, and it impacts the development of the FPS. Similarly, the FPS is designed for underscoring western advertising or movie trailers; therefore, the compositions are biased towards western popular music. All of the original works are three minutes long and used western popular instruments. The iterative design process offers insights into the compositional process and the artistic motivation that are intertwined with the possibilities provided by the FPS. Audio-visual self-study observation methods are utilised to gain knowledge of composing, the impact of the FPS, and the implementation of an iterative design process. These self-study methods focus on the principles of autoethnographic studies, reflection-in-action studies, and studies of the creative process of music composition (CPMC). This study contributes five western popular compositions for commercials and movie trailers to the repertoire of music, and it also contributes the newly designed DMI to the field of virtual instruments (VIs) and user interface controllers (UICs). It reveals original and critical insights into the iterative design of a DMI. Additionally, other composers, producers, and music technologists can use the developed self-study observation methods and the iterative design process to analyse their compositional process with the aid of a self-designed DMI.

A qualitative inquiry into contemporary experiences of human migration and fragmentation into various twenty-first century diasporic identities, that uses interdisciplinary soundscape composition as its primary method. In addition to conducting explorations of contemporary socio-cultural experience, this thesis challenges the domination of written texts within current forms of human inquiry. The majority of past social research employing sound has been written by social scientists, not composers (see: Sterne, 2003; Back, 2007; Pink, 2009; Rhys-Taylor, 2013). This study includes both compositional and written elements, not as illustrations of each other, but as different, overlapping streams of scholarship; each with their own distinct, coexisting ideas, practices and functions. The project is opportune, given current global preoccupations with migration, and it is argued that the use of innovative research methods, such as soundscape composition, has produced valid and original contributions to scholarship in this field. This inquiry is underpinned by sonic explorations of diasporic identities, specifically those of Middle Eastern refugees (in the UK) and Anglo olim (diaspora immigrants to Israel). The complex subject matter of this study: migration and its fragmentation into 'diaspora', has been selected specifically to question and explore the efficacy of integrated, interdisciplinary soundscape methods. The thesis is situated at the intersection between the 'art' of soundscape composition, bringing its own distinctly aesthetic deliberations into play, and the 'science' of social inquiry, bringing pertinent, ethical human considerations to the forefront of the work. This study slowly meandered along a practice-based path, plugging into metaphors from the composer's everyday life, making excursions into issues of empathy, audience and accessibility. The thesis explores flexible arts-informed methodologies, such as a/r/tography (see: Springgay et al., 2008) before ultimately concluding that these soundscape compositions are a creative process rather than an alternative form of methodology (see: Manning, 2016). This thesis is, therefore, practice-based and process-driven.

The tuning of keyboard and zither instruments is tempered, that is, the system of tuning their intervals pragmatically approximates that of just (or pure) intervallic tuning. This has certain advantages, but results in a rigid, cyclic, closed system of tuning (and by extension, harmony). By comparison, non-tempered tuning is an open system requiring a flexible approach to tuning each interval in turn. The resulting harmonies are sonorous and distinctive. Much music written using non-tempered tunings has an acute awareness of the phenomena arising from the interactions between the vibrations causing the sensation of sound, the physiology of our ears and the psychology of our hearing faculty. Without diminishing this awareness, my work also investigates the evocative potential of this approach to harmony, in part through visual analogies and tactile processes of sketching. Examples informing this investigation include Vija Celmins' drawings, Dan Graham's pavilion Double Exposure, the architectural concept terrain vague, the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, animated sound pioneers such as Arseni M. Avraamov, Percy Grainger's "free music machine" and the works of Giovanni Battista Piranesi. My portfolio spans works for chamber orchestra to pieces for ensemble or soloist with pre-recorded sound and image. Through composing, I grappled with recurring questions concerning my evolving approach to non-tempered tuning-questions arising out of a meeting of theory, practice and imagination. These include the place of melody in my works, the place of traditional acoustic instruments (including those tuned in -or tuning to-equal temperament) and the relationship between perceptual phenomena and a personal evocative world. My study is indebted to-and extends-the work of composers like James Tenney, Ben Johnston and Marc Sabat. The title Vanishing Points poetically encapsulates different aspects of this exploration.

This commentary is a record of my research into the spatial characteristics in my composition and its relationship with the concepts of spectromorphology and space-fonn as proposed by Denis Smalley. My research is also info1med by the ideas of oneiric phenomenological experience of place (the home) in Gaston Bachelard's The Poetics of Space and the way Brandon Labelle extends those ideas in parts of Acoustic Territories: Sound Culture and Everyday Life. I contextualise my research with reference to composers who use space as a primary concept in their work. Phil Niblock, Steve Roden, Theodo1is Lotis and John Luther Adams have all informed my work with their differing expositions of spatial detail. My works manipulate sound to create spaces in compositions that reference ideas of human experience by Bachelard and Labelle using the tool-kit that Smalley provides. In my original contribution to knowledge I identify Smalley' s concept of transcontextuality in its ambiguous and acousmatic setting (to create imagined extrinsic connections in the listener) as a conceptual bridge between spectromorphology and the poetic image that is the genesis of oneiric reve1ie in The Poetics of Spa,ce and extended into the realm of acoustic ten-itory by Brandon Labelle. I also use Smalley' s concept of behavioural spaces and extend this to include transcontextual behaviour of oneiric reverie in a domestic setting that references my own research pieces. In summary I revisit my research questions in light of the pieces I have researched and reflect on how they have been engaged with. I also survey the research pieces and draw out examples of where oneiric experiences are invited and possible in the music. I draw conclusions that the oneiric transcontextual possibilities are linked directly to spatial properties in composition and define some basic parameters where the research shows they can exist.

Written for various forces, the portfolio works discussed in this commentary share an overarching interest in non-human natural phenomena - both biotic and abiotic - as sources of an untempered, uncanny musicality to be mimetically absorbed into my practice using a post-spectral approach. Existing spectral methods are first adapted with relative austerity into the compositional interplay of manuscript, Logic audio demo, Pure Data, Sibelius score and instrumental improvisation. The chamber quintet Difference Fumes builds harmonic palettes from combination-tone and harmonic series phenomena, while Stonemired for 8 musicians & electronics harnesses the sonified atomic spectra of chemical elements using spectral analysis and acoustic instrumental resynthesis. Similar techniques are then brought into more heterogeneous aesthetic and technical discourses, exploring interactions of: mimetic and non-mimetic materials; microtonality and equal temperament; systems and spontaneity. Vargvarde chorally resynthesises wolf and frog choruses, colliding with one other and with contrasting pitch materials. Hox, for bass flute and drums, sets a transcribed wasp song amongst cellular, asymmetrical grooves informed by jazz, experimental rock and electronica. Two solo electric guitar works with microtonal scordatura enable post-spectral exploration in an idiomatic composer-performer mode: Grave Goods pursues microtonally-inflected melodicism and maximal resonance, and Stridula is a concentrated investigation of the percussive and timbral potentials of a lesser-used harmonics technique, also featuring mimesis of beetle stridulation. The portfolio culminates in the four-movement ensemble work Wingform. Extracting a wealth of materials from a short mosquito-swarm sample, it combines the earlier systematic mimetic spectrality with the later technical and stylistic hybridity. The solo guitar works serve as 'connective tissue', with materials transplanted into Wingform where their idiomatic post-spectral harmonic and timbral investigations shape the surrounding ensemble writing. The portfolio seeks to make an original contribution to artistic research through this fusion of mimetic spectrality, aesthetic hybridity and highly idiomatic electric guitar writing.

This portfolio of works considers the relationship between composer and performer, seeking to determine how levels of dialogic interaction can be modified to best serve my compositional aesthetic. The portfolio consists of ten scores, which are accompanied by recordings and a reflective commentary. In considering these roles, three models are presented, namely directive, interactive and collaborative. The directive model presents a fully notated score which restricts the performers' role to that of interpretation; this therefore represents the most traditional means of composing. The interactive model is applied in four compositions, interrogating strategies for increasing the creative role of the performer, whereby they assume some responsibility for the final product. The collaborative model sees a further modification of the composer-performer relationship, leading to an investigation of true creative co-authorship. This is addressed in three compositions. An assessment of the impact of each model on my compositional style leads to a final approach, where aspects considered to be successful in the directive and interactive models are fused to create a bespoke approach that best serves to consolidate my musical style. This model is applied in two final scores. It is intended that the research presented will be of interest to composers and performers who are working in the field of contemporary classical music, providing a case study that demonstrates how varying kinds of formal composer-performer relationships can affect the evolution of a composer's personal musical voice.

This thesis, in the field of music composition and performance practice, presents the results of a practice-research project into performance validity and notational reliability in vigilant musical practice. From my initial inquiry into what constitutes a valid performance, three ground principles were observed: non-normative cognitive states (how the performer thinks); embodied multimodal imagery across a full effort scale (the images a performer draws with their presence); and inter-personal communication (the performer's readiness to react to the audience's presence) and the performance environment. These three interconnected skills form what I come to call 'vigilant performance practice'. This thesis aims to define a conceptual framework for vigilant music practice, at the stages of composition, of rehearsal, and of performance. In support of vigilant practice, a set of developmental tools and activities were constructed that promote each of the three vigilance skills. These tools and activities are developed in practice in a sequence of sixty-four scores entitled "Games for Musicians and Non-Musicians". This workbook promotes the development of vigilance skills in the context of improvised music performance in groups. "Games for Musicians and Non-Musicians" was rehearsed and performed publicly in several occasions. Reports of those events are presented here. Vigilant performance practice has the potential to be of use in music education and professional training, with different age groups (including children), as well as in other types of performance practice. It may be of use outside the performance environment altogether, in personal or community development.

This thesis interrogates and creatively explores the author's professional collaborative practice as composer and musician, using an ethnomusicological approach layered with performance to establish a new interactive composition environment. The exploration of theoretical and observational principles from ethnomusicology and contemporary music technology discourse are used to give new form to the author's practice; a process explored through the demonstrative portfolio of works and their analysis. New knowledge is created by: 1. Deconstructing composition and performance paradigms (including the author's) using theatrical/musical performance models; 2. Interrogating the findings from point 1. from the angle of both researcher and subject; 3. Using the findings to develop unique software (AMP) that utilises FMOD sound engine technology; 4. Using AMP to create an interactive multi-user client-server network as an alternative/augmentation to the author's historic collaborative compositional approach; contributing new knowledge through the assimilation of modern gaming technology and collaborative composition and performance analysis. This thesis explores the process, development, and experience from the angle of actor and originator of interactive apparatus. It is a new approach to the author's collaborative composition, and an ethnographic report on the processes involved in its development. Socio-musical networks of interaction from Peru and Cuba are examined from the perspective of performance and ethnomusicology; extrapolating directions to assist the author's artistic output through technology, and contribute to the academic understanding of culture-speci'c paradigms of musical creativity. The portfolio contains seven titled pieces, with each piece being presented through multiple variations. All titled pieces have been produced using AMP; illustrating the creative journey (through (auto)ethnographic observation) that harnesses modern gaming's recent focus on the exploration of terrain rather than winning. The works highlight the author's relationship with inter-personal, interactive music practice and explore how processes of musical creativity could be addressed in their professional environment, and in the wider context of musical interactivity discourse.

This dissertation explores the notion of prosody and its relationship to musical composition. The linguistic study of prosody is concerned with the energy, rhythms and intonations of speech patterns and how these impact on the meaning of utterances. It is clear that there are considerable correspondences between the prosodic elements of language (its rhythms, stresses and intonations) and music; it is by far the closest element of language to musical sound (as opposed to semantic or even pragmatic meaning). The study of prosody reveals many of the features of any speaker's emotional or expressive state, in the same way that we infer emotional content in music from the performance of a work. But what of the relationship between prosody and composition? The link between prosody and musical composition has been very significant at particular moments in history yet there is a lack of any thorough scholarship on this connection. This dissertation aims to address this lack of research. With these ideas in mind, over the four chapters of the thesis, I provide an overview of the connections between prosody and music composition, and examine some current psycho-linguistic work on the subject (Chapter 1). I then turn to the way in which prosody has provided compositional resources by attending to a number of case studies, which reflect a changing but persistent role for prosody in composition (Chapter 2). In Chapter 3, I reflect on my own compositional approach using prosody as a resource, before a final discussion chapter.

Leading up to this thesis, my music became increasingly concerned with the representation of specific works of static visual art (painting, photography, sculpture), with my focus having moved from using the chosen artwork as inspiration to using features of the artwork to inform my compositional decisions. My use of Western classical compositional techniques by which to produce a musical work that closely represents the chosen visual artwork became dissatisfying, leading me to seek new methods. The purpose of this thesis is to present these methods, often non-musical in nature, by which to write music that represents a specific static visual artwork. This is done with the intention of said musical works being ideally located in an art space environment (specifically an art gallery or museum), acting as the equivalent to a visual artwork or artefact. This thesis presents details of two installation projects in which I was involved as a contributor, producer, and curator, thus demonstrating the suitability of locating these works in an art space environment while also giving me practical experience of a field that I see my creativity moving towards. By wishing to locate my music in the art space environment, as opposed to a concert environment, I bring the intentions and effects of time into greater consideration, assessing its nature from both a musical and spatial/environmental standpoint. Stemming from Jonathan D. Kramer’s exploration of twentieth-century musical temporalities, in particular their identification of music in ‘vertical time’, I explore possibilities in determining a temporality most suited not only to music responding to static visual art but also to music that acts as an artwork in an art space environment.

Composers have adopted compositional systems in some way or another for many years, such processes involving various approaches. Most important to this project is twelve-tone serial technique, a compositional technique associated with the work of the Second Viennese School, but certainly not limited only to these composers. This project is largely inspired by the compositional techniques of Schoenberg as used in his mature serial output in addition to a range of other approaches adopted by other composers including Messiaen, Boulez, and Satie. The main goals of this project are to create a compositional system capable of removing almost all creative composer input from the process, and to find new methods of responding to visual imagery in an ultra-literal way. My strategy in this project was to study techniques used by other composers and to combine these with my own systematic compositional techniques in order to achieve these two main goals. In this project, I respond to the macrophotographic imagery of Richard Weston, in particular his investigation of rock and crystal microstructures. All images are taken from Weston’s private archives and are used, and reproduced, with permission. A trial-and-error approach was taken to the project whereby a work might be composed using a newly devised system or idea, after which a reflection was taken on the piece that resulted, and the system tweaked to eliminate any weaknesses and errors in the system-process in order to attempt to create the systems capable of producing the music I wanted to achieve. Throughout the project, sixteen compositions were completed of which twelve are submitted in the composition portfolio. Extracts of a further two are included as portfolio appendices. The project successfully resulted in new methods of composition in response to imagery, and in the creation of the all-encompassing system which eliminates the necessity for creative composer input. It has also produced systems which can be reapplied to new stimuli to create new and varied compositions.

The objective of this portfolio is to develop a system of notation and compose neo-liturgical music featuring the handpan. Until this point, no means of written communication has been in place to express advanced handpan techniques in printed sheet music. My process in researching and creating this portfolio entailed a fourfold methodology: cultivating new elements of handpan notation using an existing knowledge of composition and percussion, interviewing percussionists and handpanists to test the viability of these notation advances, adapting the notation based on the feedback, and creating original music that incorporated the subsequent findings using both traditional and electroacoustic composition techniques. I have also made progress toward combining the handpan with other forces, including a variety of diverse instruments and voices, with a scope that had not been previously undertaken. Throughout this project, I have researched principles of meditative music and have found that there are four primary characteristics: cohesion, repetition, instrumentation, and duration. I applied that research by composing neo-liturgical music, that is, music inspired by sacred texts or topics, but intended for performance in a concert setting instead of a religious venue. The primary readership for this research is composers and performers writing music for handpan, who would benefit from both the repository of notation developed here, as well as the practical means of application offered in the seven compositions. The descriptions, notation, and examples presented in this portfolio offer a starting point for the information needed to write competently for the handpan, as it continues to develop as a concert instrument today and into the future.

Musicians in space (MiS) is a practice-based research project investigating the impact of spatialization on the performance of free improvised music (FiM). It draws heavily on Christopher Small’s idea of musicking to contextualize the argument that in the fifty year history of FiM, improvisers have failed to fully explore possible alternatives to the formal separation and static positioning of the audience and performer. While the conventional performance situation is seen as being integral to the pageantry of the performative experience, I argue that the fixity of the spatial and social arrangement has done little to support the allencompassing and heterarchical aspirations that had once been a noted rallying cry of the free improviser. The thesis traces a journey through a series of live performances involving experienced free improvisers, on the UK and European improvised music scene, and incorporates the voices of over 70 participants. The thesis establishes a separation between hierarchical and heterarchical forms of musicking, where the former emphasizes the convergence of more unifying and fixed ideals associated with the construction and organisation of a musical process, while the later celebrates a more decentralized, polysemic, and self-organizing musicking practice. This categorization is used throughout this research to support a greater degree of understanding of the particular characteristics of FiM within the broader context of music-making. MiS, in essence, simply invites all the participants the option to modify their spatial relationship to the musicking process in order to expand their listening and playing experiences. It was found that this single change, in the approach to performance, greatly influenced many aspects of the FiM process, providing new insights into ways of engaging and listening for both the improviser and the listener. It afforded the improviser new opportunities to connect musically with the ensemble, while elevating the profile of the audience member from a focused listener to a visible participant and active collaborator in the process. This document attempts to establish a clear impression of what was uncovered by this research, while also celebrating the impossibility of capturing in words the complexity of an improvisation experience. It does this by incorporating a range of different forms of writing and a collection of personal depictions of a number of performances and improvising participants. This document also includes links to multi-perspective audio and visual footage of all the performances. This can be found at: http://www.dafmusic.com/Musicians_in_Space/mis_projectbrief.html.

Since my first collaboration with accordionist Rafal Luc in 2010, I have been fascinated with composition for the accordion. I have created multiple compositions in classical and jazz settings, from solo works and chamber ensembles to an accordion concerto with full symphony orchestra. This research has enabled me to continue developing new repertoire for the concert accordion whilst exploring the instrument at a deeper level, connecting with the accordion community and reviewing the existing repertoire to inform the new works herein. While the core of this folio sits with the instrument itself, the resulting repertoire comes from my own exploration into the interpolation of groove into the breadth of the works, regardless of stylistic persuasion. I have had opportunity to collaborate with a diverse range of instrumentalists from different disciplines, virtuoso musicians both experienced in improvisation to those who play only from fully notated scores. In order to address the needs of the range of instrumentalists I have worked with and who themselves represent the wider community; I have incorporated a range of styles throughout. As the folio progresses, the role of the accordion changes, from fully notated settings in the opening fugue-style solo work, to the final ensemble project, which is fully improvised, with no scored material. It is this element of groove that led to the second research imperative of improvisation, a natural extension of many musical genres that incorporate a sense of groove, whilst being a factor which divides the musical community virtually in two; those who improvise, and those who do not. Through this folio, I have explored various ways and degrees of improvisation that can be included in contemporary works for the accordion, from gestural improvisation, with no harmonic basis, through single scales supported by ensemble based backings, to fully improvised material over jazz changes and free improvisation in a fully improvised quartet.

This commentary discusses the aesthetic and technical background of the six compositions that I produced during my period of doctoral study at the University of Manchester between 2015 and 2019. Four of these (Oriol, Pink Bourbon, The Piano of the Jungle and Vuelvo al Sur) are for stereo configuration and the remaining two (La Fiesta del Diablo and Memories of the Pacific) are 8-channel pieces. My portfolio of compositions brings elements of Colombian culture into conversation with the practice of acousmatic composition. These compositions engage with the aesthetics of working with culture-associative sounds (including sonic souvenirs and culturally familiar sounds), as well as with related concepts, such as Smalley s orders of surrogacy and morphological behaviours. I draw equally on culturally emblematic and environmental sources, including a range of Colombian folk music (tiple, marimba de chonta, chirimia, salsa etc.), soundscapes (Andean cityscapes and countryside) and iconic cultural elements (coffee production). At the heart of the creative process lies a desire to capture, through my own compositional perspective, the unique flavours of Colombia s cultural diversity. To achieve this, I explore collaborative approaches to generating raw sound material. For example, I have worked closely with Colombian folk musicians, as a means to capturing, not only the sound(s) of their instruments and voices, but also the flavour (sabor) of their cultural context and experience. Furthermore, I explore how a range of different narrative modes can be engaged compositionally, as a way of portraying elements of Colombian culture. Collectively, the works of this portfolio offer a range of new perspectives on working with culture-associative sounds, focussing especially on the engagement of Smalley s orders of surrogacy and James Andean s narrative modes as a creative framework.

The research submission is a portfolio of eight compositions: Pure Cold Water (orchestra, 2016), The Greening Variations (piano trio, 2016), Dunford Chorale (alto saxophone and SATB, 2017), The Wish to Disappear (string quartet, 2017) Music Alone (violin solo, 2017-18), Sinfonia Malacia (orchestra, 2018), Watermark (string quartet, 2018-19), Nordhaus Litany (mixed octet, 2019). The accompanying commentary discusses a number of research threads explored throughout the compositions. This includes an interest in teleological structures informed by the large works of Sibelius. These structural concerns are nuanced by a number of other elements which are concerned with repetition and cycles. One such element is ostinati which, influenced by minimalism, is often the bedrock of my work. Informed by Ligeti I explored ways in which the repetitive ostinati could take a form which helps articulate the teleological elements of my work. My harmonic language also makes use of repetitive cycles. I also discuss the influence of medieval techniques upon my work.

This composition portfolio consists of fifteen musical scores and recordings, supplemented by this written commentary. The included works represent my broad interest in different musical mediums: solo instruments, chamber music, vocal ensembles, and electroacoustic groups. The intention of this commentary is to provide an overview of the pieces within the portfolio and, using examples from these, discuss three strands of my compositional language that have developed through the duration of the PhD. The commentary begins with a detailed overview of the works in the portfolio, categorised by ensemble and presented in chronological order from earliest to most recent. This overview is provided to establish each piece as an independent artistic endeavour, contextualising the later examples that are drawn from them. In the three chapters which discuss my compositional language, the portfolio is used as a pool of examples to highlight strands in my work that are diffuse across my oeuvre, but not necessarily the primary focus in the individual works themselves.1 Occasionally, brief references in the commentary may be made to music which has been excluded from the portfolio for the purpose of brevity, to show how a given trajectory has been further explored in other works. The three overarching research themes discussed in this commentary are: Harmonic Language, Aleatoric Techniques, and Writing for the Voice. These represent the primary areas of my musical interests and prominent features that unite the portfolio works. Each of these aspects will be contextualised by the research of composers who have informed my own writing, including discussion of how my music relates to historical trends.

Through this portfolio of compositions I aim to explore the significance of text in my compositional process, whether recited or not. In String Quartet No.2 poetry is a vital means of compositional stimulus with the structure of the text as well as its imagery in terms of affect and perceived sound effects garnering musical material. Similarly in the work Horo, working with two poets, new texts were created with the foundations of these deriving from the original folksong and its text, Turn Ye To Me. Furthermore, Totentanz deals with aspects of deconstruction and parody, both in terms of textual deconstruction from the written word to phonetic sound, and also cognitive deconstruction regarding the semantics of Goethe's poetic work. Furthermore, the following commentary will detail the interaction I as a composer have with three significant factors during the creative process: the performers, the audience, and the location of the work's performance. The work for chamber choir and organ, A Song to David, takes into account the various constraints that are present when composing for young or amateur musicians, for example vocal range and balance between voice parts. My interaction with the audience relies on a number of aspects, namely whether the work is to be heard in a concert setting or for an act of celebration or worship, and also the effective communication of text and/or affect. Finally, in terms of performance location, my work considers the acoustic of the building and the position of the performers within it. Five Introits demonstrates this with each introit being composed to exploit the resonance of the building as well as the positioning of the choir. It is through these three distinct considerations that the role of composer as facilitator is explored with regard to the commissioning process.

This commentary deals with my compositional practice from 2014-18, which was concerned with staging first encounters between performers and scores through different types of scoring practices, particularly aural notation. Through the lens of performance studies, I discuss the rehearsal process and how it relates to the idea of finished works of art. Applying the theory to musical contexts, and drawing on musicological studies, I discuss the connections between works, rehearsals, and the concert tradition as a framework for analysing my own work. Through a survey of experimental scoring practices over the last fifty years, I then contextualise the aural notation practice which I developed from 2015 onwards. I discuss how this type of work enables renegotiated agency for composers and scores in performance contexts, drawing links with uses of language in verbal notation and characterological theories in performance studies. The final part of the commentary turns towards specifically using headphones to communicate audio scores to performers. Placing this work in the context of similar practices in the fields of theatre, TV, dance and music, and using analytical frameworks from the field of composition, I discuss several of my works written from 2015-18 which use headphones as a medium for communication to performers. The compositional methods of these pieces are explained and analysed, before some aesthetic ramifications are discussed, and avenues for future research elaborated.

This document is submitted to support my portfolio submission for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in musical composition. It details my compositional intentions and the methods of notational problem-solving undertaken to realise those intentions. The portfolio explores the use of indeterminacy in musical notation as a device to create textural variety, and ultimately density, as thematic musical discourse in itself and as a means for word-painting when setting text. There might be some audience-related problems with the perception of indeterminacy, and the compositions at the end of the portfolio aim to mitigate those problems. They also hope to exploit an understanding of concepts of foreground and background, or prominence, in textural perception when creating polyphonic structures. It concludes that indeterminacy is a pragmatic and expedient notational device, as well as a creative one, in achieving various levels of musical texture. Indeterminacy should not be seen as a lack of composer input, but as a harnessing of the imaginative powers of that music’s performers.

The compositions in this portfolio explore the technical and expressive applications of some sonic aspects of church bells and some theoretical aspects of English change ringing. In terms of compositional technique this research manifests as the exploration of decaying sonorities and decay-driven rhythms, overtone partials of the harmonic series, pitch and scordatura resources derived from the tuning analysis of specific bells, and the use of static and pulsating drones. These technical resources form the backbone of my harmonic and rhythmic language throughout this thesis and are seen to develop and undergo a process of reflective refinement across the portfolio. In addition, the works presented here explore my fascination with the use of improvisation and performer choice by means of aural response and interaction, the application of apotheosis endings and the practicalities, and artistically rewarding results, of selftranscription and arrangement. In general my music searches for a poignant blend of stasis and activity, of meditativeness and unpredictability, that I have termed ‘fragile intensity’. During the accompanying commentary the impact of these technical resources on the expressive content of my music is assessed and elucidated. An artistically fruitful tension between compositional intuition and intellectual selfanalysis is noted. An overall trend of diminishing reliance on large-scale prefabricated compositional systems in favour of small-scale bespoke procedures is observed. Within the context of the author’s compositions, this trend, together with an acquired instinct for the most successful deployment and contexts for the previously described technical explorations, is highlighted as artistically healthy and a potential sign of compositional growth.

'Crowd-composition' is the practice of outsourcing a creative task to a crowd, leading to a new musical composition that is assembled and shaped by collective input. Crowdsourcing is a key stimulus. However, whilst crowdsourcing has become a commonplace and well-researched practice, crowd-composition itself remains largely unexplored. This project aimed to consolidate, add to and develop the field. Its central research concern was to investigate properties relating to participation, and in doing so asked: • How can crowd-composition facilitate meaningful experiences for participants? • How can crowd-composition lead to musical works or perspectives that are distinct from sole agent composition? This led to four original crowd-composition works, submitted as the portfolio component of this doctoral project, which are built on a process of experimentation that sought to explore these questions. The works utilised voting techniques as the primary mechanism for collective decision making. Analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of a number of particular elements, as well as insights into distinct outcomes of crowd-composition. A central finding was the importance of engaging and managing the attention of crowds, which was shown to be an essential factor in the success of the aforementioned works. To this end, the project led to a number of lessons to share for enhancing this aspect.

This practice-based research explores the composition and performance of polytemporal music, culminating in ten new works in audio/visual format with accompanying commentaries and notation. Research is undertaken into concepts of rhythm and pulse in order to develop new techniques for composing music in multiple simultaneous tempi, particularly methods for managing rhythmic consonance and dissonance in the compositional process. Attention is also given to the practicalities and implications of performance, investigating issues of accessibility and ensemble in reference to the use of click tracks and headphones, as well as the form and function of notation. The approaches within this research stem from my experience as a commercial rock/studio musician fused with contemporary classical influences. As well as these musical influences, a background in visual art and design also contributes to the visual presentation of works and scores; musical works are presented in video format which is shown to enhance temporal perception, and a new form of rhythmically accurate western notation for polytemporal music is developed. Composing and performing in a strictly polytemporal setting has at the time of writing not been widely researched, and it is hoped this work displays new knowledge and approaches important for the development of composition in this area.

The compositions in this portfolio explore how traditional models and borrowings can underpin and operate in new musical contexts. Musical borrowings from different eras and genres have a distinctive role within each new piece and are presented in a clearly recognisable form or without overt reference. Generally, elements originating from an existing piece or a traditional source appear in a different form, altered or varied and placed alongside modern elements and modes of continuity. The majority of the pieces borrow from Western Art Music (La déploration sur la mort de Johannes Ockeghem for mixed chamber ensemble, Sainte Marie Virgine for chamber orchestra, Fantasia for solo Violin, Erased Mozart for mixed ensemble, and Miniature based on a Theme of Sibelius for piano). The others borrow from Greek-Cypriot secular and folk music (Sampach for mixed ensemble, Sonata da Chiesa for violin and piano, Still Climbing for piano trio, and the string quartet Terti). The commentary examines the relationship between the borrowed material and the new work and discusses aspects of the compositional processes and techniques used in each piece.

Ever since Theodor W. Adorno published the book Mahler. Eine Musikalische Physiognomik (‘Mahler. A Musical Physiognomy’) it has been commonplace to discuss the music of Gustav Mahler in narratological terms—that is, to search his music for structural analogies with narrative, using the approaches of ‘musical narratology’. Given their focus on only the work’s final version, however, the writings in this field do not pay enough attention to the authorial dimension of how Mahler constructs his musical ‘novel’ through the compositional process. However, a study of narrativity in the compositional process can more easily shed light on Mahler’s musical fragmentariness as a modernist expression of his music than traditional narratological approaches can. In this thesis I suggest the existence in Mahler’s Tenth Symphony of a narrative strategy I call ‘narrativisation’, which runs through the compositional process, leaving traces of what I call ‘narrativity’ in sketches and drafts. The method that supports these hypotheses is a three-stage analytical apparatus applied to each movement of the Symphony. The first stage analyses the narrativity of the Symphony’s draft of the last compositional phase. In the second stage, I then apply the method to the entire compositional process, including all the available sketches and drafts of the Symphony. In the third stage, I consider evidence from the two previous stages in support of an overall narrative interpretation of each movement and the whole Symphony. As a result of my analysis, for each movement and the entire Symphony I suggest that, during his conception of the work, Mahler manifests an overall ‘scriptorial’ narrative intention, aimed to represent in music, meta-referentially, an in-progress process of writing.

The compositions in this portfolio explore the expressive potential of ‘vocality’ and its opposite, the avoidance of vocal qualities. Most prominently, in 'Four Rhapsodies, Poems without Words, Two Poems' and 'Poemas de amor' the reciting voice provides a model for instrumental composition. Conversely, in 'Sto periyáli to krifó' and 'Two Impressions', the undermining of the vocality of the singing voice renders a further spectrum of expressive possibilities. Furthermore, in 'Canto' and 'Sonatina' ‘vocality’ is combined with quotation, re-contextualisation and paraphrase. In the instrumental works recitation often involves lines arising through processes of melodic fusion and fission, as well as frameworks derived from the sonic and semantic features of particular poems. These types of melodic materials are present not only in compositions that represent the reciting voice, but also in Aedh’s 'Kaleidoscope, Tre per due' and 'Sto periyáli to krifó'. Poetic frameworks underlie the creation of all compositions except 'Canto, Sonatina' and 'Tre per due'. Generally, harmonic colour and tension, varied return and metric regularity complement considerations about vocality. The compositions in this portfolio engage to various extents with both the classical repertory (contemporary and historical) and non-classical music. More specifically, 'Tre per due' and 'Sto periyáli to krifó' draw on elements of Turkish modal music, while 'Sonatina' borrows from Colombian and Brazilian song and dance forms.

This work comprises a portfolio of 90 minutes of music and this accompanying commentary. Its aim is to chronicle and examine the exploration of the possibility of developing a Surrealist methodology of music composition in the twenty-first century. The commentary features three main chapters, with each presenting a major area of my research. These areas are: 1: Surrealism and Surrealist music (historically) 2: Developing the concepts of logic and praxis in music composition (and justifying their requirement as a basis for Surrealist exploration) 3: Developing and exploring Surrealist approaches to music composition Examination will be undertaken of such challenges as the relative lack of an existing Surrealist musical basis from which to proceed, the large expanse of time since the end of the Surrealist movement, and the challenge of evolving my methodology as Surrealism’s viability comes into doubt.

The Use of Registral Spacing and Rhythmic Density as Musical Trajectories in a Portfolio of Original Compositionsis a doctoral research in composition that focuses on the construction of a musical trajectory of a composition by using the transmutation of its registral spacing and rhythmic density. The thesis consists of two parts: a portfolio of original compositions and an academic commentary. The portfolio comprises compositions for a vocalist with various mediums, small ensemble (up to six performers), solo instrument with electronics, small ensemble with electronics, and gestural devices with electronics. The academic commentary covers the initial ideas regarding expression and abstraction in arts and musicwhich laidthe foundation for the study of this research on the organisation of musical spaces in a composition to achieve an alternative musical trajectory that does not rely on the use of thematic/motivic development. It discusses the notion of non-linearity in some compositions from the portfolio which use the fragmentation of their texts and a sectional form based on the changes of the musical characteristics between sections as the musical trajectory; these approaches weremy first experiment that dissociatedfrom the convention of thematic/motivic development. The main part of the commentary focuses on how the changes of rhythmic density and registral spacing are used to create a musical trajectory; this section also includes how these musical aspects can be used to construct phrases and the structure of a composition. It later covers how working with electronics introducedme to the use of frequential and registral areas as part of a composition’s musical trajectory and how the experiences with electronics and instrumental composition influencedone another and, more importantly, my compositional process. It also discusses issues regarding notation and the search for the most suitable notation for each composition in the portfolio.

The music presented here expresses a deeply interconnected relationship between acoustic instrumental sound and computer-produced electro-acoustic material. Throughout this process of research, I was determined to investigate how I could craft an electronic music part, produced in real-time, that maintains counterpoint between the instrumental and non-instrumental sounds. To explain this relationship, the scores offer a graphic representation of the live-electronics that exemplifies the real-time sounds produced. This presents a “map” for the performers to estimate its behaviour, even though the real-time electronics is always subject to variation at each performance. A basic form of computerised sensitivity had to be designed in order to make live electronics performable even when the composer was not present. This helped to maintain a unique liveness of real-time processing and reinforce an open-access ideology in the music. The compositional process would have to somehow systematise, in software, how I utilise live audio input to create the electronic result. This initial idea was supported by the intent to produce a more egalitarian distribution of music. With easy-to-run software, freely accessible and clear scores, the possibilities enabling of performances without me there were increased. The technical requirements for realisation are not tied to state-of-the-art technology found in specialized centres of research, where this type of music is often produced, nor to the physical presence of the composer. To realise this, Open Source Free Software had to be embraced and understood in my own practice. I therefore expanded my research into alternative technical possibilities. Incorporating the use of technology that does not financially discriminate, and permits the use of common, old and sometimes discarded equipment to produce and play the pieces. The pieces of the portfolio show the different routes that I took in order to find the way of working that would suit me the most. It was during this time that I also deepened my skills in computer programming and other tools for the writing of the scores. I also successfully developed a platform to produce the electro-acoustic material in real-time. About a year into the Ph.D., I was given a very constructive critique of my work. It pushed me further into unknown areas of experimentation. I soon realized that the process of systematizing my writing ideas would be the best approach to expand my search. The freshness it produced came with doubt, but the security found in programming the techniques used allowed me to continue experimenting with different algorithms. Some of which are explained below. While writing “Dianoia” I was able to use the pdivide function in Slippery Chicken to produce a fractal formal division. Other algorithms were crucial for mapping melodic contours of recorded voice to specific sets of notes with Fibonacci transitions in “Long to Reign Over Us”. As I became better at using these tools, my conceptual ideas started to filter into my music and code. At the same time, this forced me to keep learning how to program more complicated ideas. Harmony, and the insistence of a particular arrangement of it, with variations of timbres or order of appearance, is governed by algorithmic procedures applied in the code. This is the compositional principal used in “Limoj de Mia Kialo”. The piece uses the “C2M” algorithm developed in LISP to create the main material for its construction. It was around this time that I realized how closely related the programming and the compositional process could be. This new sense of security, based on algorithmic facts, and new-found liberties experienced by this intellectual breakthrough, granted a solid base to start testing more out-of-theordinary ideas. This is when my curiosity honed in on finding conceptual and/or philosophical equivalents in my work and I could start to develop macro-musical ideas with philosophical abstract thoughts that could be “represented” with code, and used for the production of a piece. Ideas about society, economy, the world, and its current affairs have filtered into my music ever since I started composing. However, during this Ph.D. project I found better ways to integrate message, narrative, value, and my own individual thought. Utopic economic and social ideas were conceptualized, formalized, coded, and later integrated in the construction process of the musical phrases. The basic idea for the “C2M” algorithm came after thinking of alternative ways of achieving equal distribution of material. Another algorithm which I named “Harmonic Tunnel” came via reflections on the constant sway of the political pendulum. This was later applied in “Tessellations” and “Limoj de Mia Kialo” to produce fast melodic lines. Each piece is its own scenario, where inspiration based on economic ideas, social structures and thought processes, imagined by myself, are tested in different ways. This portfolio-based Ph.D. presented me with an opportunity to pro-actively search for the uniqueness in an artistic “language”. In the portfolio you are about to explore, you can hear my compositional voice shift in the following ways: - Style My style has evolved by distancing from my educational background and allowing space for a more personal exploration of ideas. The music presented in the portfolio is consequence of my welcoming of different schools of thought. My focus was mainly based in the desire to sound different. My biggest challenge was to accept that difference. - Writing My writing relates to the way the ideas are thought of. The production of, and the resulting scores are consequence of abstract ideas and their development. The written music is not only a way to represent sound. It is part of the thought process behind the idea itself. - Process Many of these changes are product of a new way of thinking music. I now allow time to develop and explore ideas through drawings, painting, and other manual-artesian activities. These practices sometimes are used for the final score, but its main purpose is to explore ways of observing a musical idea. My work now has more extra musical input for the performer/s. This has opened new doors for exploration including moments of improvisation in my pieces and electronic jam sessions. - Electronics With the development of my own tools, my electro-acoustic practice when composing the electronic part is now more flexible. Being able to custom make instruments and how I control them, has provided a richer palette of tools to work with. Allowing me to test different results, and “sculpt” the electronic part when composing it. As the project ends, I am satisfied with the result of this experience. Admitting it is the most difficult task I have ever set myself. The selected pieces in this portfolio represent the long and complex journey that took place in my intellectual self during the Ph.D. The level of growth that this process has amplified upon me is evident every day. It has taken me through difficult moments in my personal and professional life, and has been the cause of numerous instances of doubt and feelings of defeat. However, this process is not meant to be easy. It is hard not to be aware of the responsibility that academic researchers have when taking on this challenge. The doctorate is an intense and personal struggle that candidates go through with their own ideas and hypotheses. It is only through these stress tests that original thinking and new knowledge come to existence.

The compositions in this portfolio have been inspired by magic, nature, spirituality, boundaries, perception and the self. The themes are explored in two ways: either directly within the works, or through un-scored live performances and field recordings. The idea of using composition as a way of identifying and understanding our deeply subjective experience of being human is developed within these pages. A suggestion is made that both composition and improvisation can be used as part of an overall holistic approach that helps bridge and integrate the physical material world of nature and everyday life with the non-physical world of dreams, alternative realities and magic. Many cultural theorists, philosophers and writers have noted that the modern age in which we live has resulted in a sense of existential dislocation and disconnection between people. Within this portfolio an attempt is made to address this disconnect. Within the works themselves are pieces inspired by specific locations or specific spiritual traditions from around the world. Many of the pieces are also directly inspired by my own explorations of nature and how this affects and relates to the inner self. The pieces are acoustic in the main, but some have electronic elements. Many of the pieces require unconventional concert hall layouts in an attempt to experiment with audience perception and boundaries and other pieces require the performances to take place in outdoor locations at specific times of the day or year.

Contemporary classical music is often accused of abandoning engagement with the listening experience in the pursuit of abstract ideals (Britten 1998:116-123, Cardew 1974, McClary 1989) and it has been frequently suggested that the more a work of art departs from convention the more its communicative capabilities are compromised (Adorno, 1947, Babbitt 1958, Greenberg 1961). However, it is my conviction that the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In this thesis I strived to find ways of engaging with listening as part of my compositional process and write music that could depart from expected norms without substantially compromising its ability to communicate, particularly with non-specialist listeners. The compositions in this portfolio embody various techniques for attempting this, informed by the concept of ‘habitus’ and semiotic theory. The ensemble piece 'Peeled Eyes' takes its inspiration from the darkly comic, absurdist character of Berlin cabaret songs of the 1920s, applying aspects of 'topic theory' to produce different types of rapid musical contrasts and 'troping' to enable instability between the serious and the ironic. The 'Suite for Cello and Viola da Gamba' is written for a performer who switches between the two instruments. I will discuss it here in terms of ‘gesture’, musical components facilitating indexical and iconic impressions of space and movement through musical means, as a match for the physicality of performance. The song cycle 'Ghosts and Children' sets poems that deal with subject of either birth and childhood as well as aging and death. I’ll focus here on how this cycle gave me the chance to experiment with how the devices of ‘topic’ and ‘gesture’ could work in combination with text. 'Anhedoniac', for twelve strings and piano, applies concepts of topic and gesture as a way of approaching overall form, focussing on gradual processes of change within a very limited set of basic materials. The chamber opera 'The Storm' is based on a short story by Kate Chopin. The composition of this piece involved a specific emphasis on how carriers of musical meaning can interact with linguistic meaning and interact with ideas of narrative in dramatic music. 'I’m terribly sorry but I can’t escape the impression that this is all overwhelmingly pointless' is an ensemble piece that thematises futility and despondency. I shall discuss here how I used this piece to explore ideas around the portrayal of virtual spaces in music.

This commentary stands as the companion to my portfolio of compositions. To provide clarity to the reader, I have sectioned this commentary into two distinct parts. The first part stands as a theoretical framework and the underlying foundation for my music. This framework covers issues pertaining to the fields of philosophy, psychology and composition. The second part consists of commentaries for the individual pieces, responding to the issues discussed in the framework. Chapters 1-3 will cover the philosophical underpinnings of my portfolio including an investigation of temporal ontologies and the perception of music. This includes exploration of the definitions of objective and subjective time and how Bergsonian principles of space and duration can influence the structure of musical composition. I will also pose some fundamental questions as to our experience of time, and whether time as we know it, actually exists at all, in order to introduce the temporal framework underpinning my own ideas on music. Additionally, I will present the way we comprehend musical structure, in a global context. In Chapters 4 and 5, I will explore the structures for experiential time and local listening, and how this relates to the forms for which my music will adhere/take inspiration from. This will involve looking at compositional discourse, techniques and insights into experiential form. I conclude my theoretical framework by summarising the underlying structures that underpin my compositional aesthetic. Moreover, I give a brief insight into my own stylistic approaches to music that fall outside of the temporal ideology as part of the portfolio. The second part of my commentary brings together the concepts and techniques outlined in the theoretical framework and applies them against my own work. Any accompanying documentation needed has been provided in the appendices of this portfolio and has been clearly labelled in both the document and the contents.

Soundcastles: Play and process in field-recording composition is a practice-led research in experimental music, which investigates the medium of field-recording as a contested vanguard between the listener and the listened; the self and the soundscape; the composer and the material. The research consists of a portfolio of nine field-recording compositions and a corresponding commentary exploring the ideas, approaches, and discourses behind. It studies the complex boundary where the listener and the sonic environment meet, and explores the music potential of sounds in the urban everyday between the immediacy of their emergence, and the cognitive-emotional context of their subjective perception. In the tradition of soundscape composition with field recordings, a main focus of this research is the integration of the affective and the effective qualities of being in the world and listening. The music properties of urban soundscapes can thus be both emphasised and transfigured, so as to include the subjective aesthetic perception without losing the unique connection to their place of origin. The resulting compositions—soundcastles—become mediations between subject and object, soundscape and inner-scape, the actualised and the potential. This research investigates this liminal space of convergence where a listener encounters the sonic environment, and explores the potency of this encounter. It thus problematises the perceived bifurcation of subject and object of listening, and treats the soundscape in terms of imbricated processes within a network of relationships. Each soundcastle is a process of reducing the continuous acoustic environment to a concrete form as perceived from a standpoint. In particular, the methodology of this practice utilises modern signal processing and editing tools to highlight the subjective experience of a soundscape, while preserving the connection of the composition to the specific place and occasion of its recording. In this way, the Soundcastles project aims to situate itself at the in-between space between phonography and acousmatic music within the field of soundscape composition.

The wholesale efficacy of computer-based music research is contingent on the sharing and reuse of information and analysis methods amongst researchers across the constituent disciplines. However, computer systems for the analysis and manipulation of musical data are generally not interoperable. Knowledge representation has been extensively used in the domain of music to harness the benefits of formal conceptual modelling combined with logic based automated inference. However, the available knowledge representation languages lack sufficient logical expressivity to support sophisticated musicological concepts. In this thesis we present a type-based framework for abstract representation of musical knowledge. The core of the framework is a multiple-hierarchical information model called a constituent structure, which accommodates diverse kinds of musical information. The framework includes a specification logic for expressing formal descriptions of the components of the representation. We give a formal specification for the framework in the Calculus of Inductive Constructions, an expressive logical language which lends itself to the abstract specification of data types and information structures. We give an implementation of our framework using Semantic Web ontologies and JavaScript. The ontologies capture the core structural aspects of the representation, while the JavaScript tools implement the functionality of the abstract specification. We describe how our framework supports three music analysis tasks: pattern search and discovery, paradigmatic analysis and hierarchical set-class analysis, detailing how constituent structures are used to represent both the input and output of these analyses including sophisticated structural annotations. We present a simple demonstrator application, built with the JavaScript tools, which performs simple analysis and visualisation of linked data documents structured by the ontologies. We conclude with a summary of the contributions of the thesis and a discussion of the type-based approach to knowledge representation, as well as a number of avenues for future work in this area.

This portfolio of original compositions is focused on exploring to what extent the concepts of consonance and dissonance can be applied to elements of music other than harmony, e.g. rhythm, melody, timbre, and texture.

This thesis develops a critical framework for the study of musical arrangement and its relationship with concepts of listening through interpretations of music by Gérard Pesson (born 1958). It begins by identifying and accounting for persistent interpretative reflexes in existing discussions of arrangement, arguing that arrangement is best understood not as a type of musical object defined by fidelity to an original but rather as a way of listening influenced by this and other concepts. The four case studies that follow explore different implications of this shift in critical perspective, combining close reading and listening, philosophical reflection (in particular insights offered by conceptual metaphor theory and figures including Bergson, Sartre, and Adorno), and studies of reception. The first case study displaces the 'original' as the primary source of an arrangement's significance, arguing that Nebenstück (1998) plays extensively on the meanings of medium, through the manipulation of timbre and noise. The second considers the idea of linear temporal fidelity to a source as an engagement with notions of structural listening, using an examination of Ambre Nous Resterons (2008) to demonstrate that such fidelity is not a condition of arrangement but an ideal from which arrangements might meaningfully depart. The third complicates the relationship between the timbral and temporal aspects of arrangement discussed in the previous two chapters, exploring how Pesson manipulates both aspects in Wunderblock (2005) to suggest the absence rather than re-presentation of a source. The fourth probes the fraught relationship between notions of arrangement, fidelity, and kitsch within the overlapping contexts of modernism and historical 'authenticity', analysing the discourses surrounding Kein Deutscher Himmel (1997) supplied by Pesson himself, the transcription's commercial distribution, and a variety of its listeners. Finally, this thesis considers the extent to which musical arrangements, in particular those of Pesson, might be interpreted as offering 'critical' perspectives on listening.

This composition portfolio comprises eleven works presented in musical scores. In this work, I will consider the migration of my workflow. Stemming from works based on a pencil-and-paper based system to an OpenMusic Computer-aided Composition environment outlining the shortcomings and advantages of each, and discussing the various ways in which a digital workflow has influenced the intentions, impulses, and ideations of a musical work. This examination is achieved through a comparison of the music; by juxtaposing pieces composed through different workflows, questioning some of the established paradigms of interaction between composers and technology and addressing the technical and aesthetic considerations that arose in each work. It is through this inspection of workflow that other concepts which encompass this research will be examined: computer-aided composition, dematerialisation, composer-performer collaboration, and symbology. Particular attention is given to discussion of the development of graphic notation both in terms of the technical implementation, but also as apart of my workflow. The research aims to show how a composer's working environment has influenced and permeated the compositional process of a musical work by reconstructing it from specific elements and traces —studies, sketches, drafts, and kept digital elements. The results of this research —the knowledge of workflow as a potential subset of actor-network theory— will be used in new works to achieve a deeper understanding and engagement with the various elements, trends, and structures which make up each new composition.

This PhD explores the possibility of synthesizing cultural elements from my Taiwanese heritage and Western musical training, through different compositional approaches and composed works. The portfolio pieces present the whole spectrum of my PhD study. “Sound” is the core element I work with, while employing different cultural materials and instrumentations, and the concepts and attitudes of spectralism and electroacoustic music have strongly influenced my compositional aesthetic. I have explored how Taiwanese cultural elements such as Nanguan, Beiguan, and aboriginal music can be synthesized into new musical forms, presented variously in electronic media, instrumental ensemble, combinations of traditional instrument and electronics, and orchestral score. The written commentary presents the compositional ideas behind each of the pieces, and relevant approaches, techniques, and structural analyses. The content of this PhD includes notated scores, supplementary performance materials, and documentation (audio/video media files) of live performance of each work.

Recursion is a widespread term found in varied disciplines such as computer science, mathematics, linguistics, and psychology, among others. From the sociological point of view, recursion relates to the notion of self-organisation first introduced by Immanuel Kant and then revised into systems theory. In music, the term has been studied to describe the poiesis of musical structures that refer to themselves (self-similarity), from their basic elements up to complex shapes such as phrases or sections. On the other hand, for many researchers in cognition, creative acts occur beyond individuals. In the frame of contemporary music, creativity has not only been seen through the composer's prism but also through the active participation of performers in the artistic process. Indeed, researchers such as Clarke, Doffman, & Lim (2013), Fitch & Heyde (2007), and Gorton & Östersjö (2016) have analysed creative collaboration in composition and emphasised recursion as a property emerging from the core of ecological societies engaging composers and performers. Yet although many composers systematically carry out collaborative works in their creative process, only a few attempts at formalising multidimensional approaches on recursion have been developed so far. This thesis presents several attempts to develop two key concepts present in various dimensions of my compositional thinking: recursion, as an operative and interactive quality; and the idea of an 'extended compositional practice', understood as a coupling system in which I carry out effective reciprocities between my individual procedures and collaborative strategies. The portfolio I present in tandem with this commentary divides into two clusters of pieces representing two diverse perspectives on recursion in my processes: systemic and performative approaches. This proposal supplies novel views about ways that the musical composition can extend its traditional domains into systematic creative collaborations by adopting recursion as a catalyser of material and human interactions. I also provide thoughts about the role of improvisation and technologies, the nature of musical material, and introduce some initial stage to imagine possible interdisciplinary applications.

Bands as social and cultural forces primarily release albums and go on tour. These well established, popular forms for recording, presenting and performing music seem somewhat antiquated, similar now to how bands acted fifty years ago. This means that bands are not necessarily able to properly embrace new musical potentials that open up as technology evolves. The goal of this study is to establish how new forms of expression and alternative modes of composition can be utilised by bands and solo artists working in the commercial popular music industry. It aims to do this through a practice-based exploration that specifically embraces unique or unconventional approaches to composition in the context of popular music. The algorithmic and interactive strategies for music making that are focussed on in this study have been well covered in the academic literature, as have critical histories surrounding the evolution of popular music over the last century, up to and including its current moment. However, so far nobody has explored how emerging technologies might be applied to popular music forms from the perspective of an active participant working at a professional level in the music industry. This is what makes this study unique and significant. To answer these questions, this study describes a new methodology. Decomposition Theory is a critically aware approach to music-making that sees composition as a dialectical process based around constructing musical and audio-visual systems that have the ability to generate endless musical potentialities. Established forms for popular music, such as songs, albums or live performances, can then be 'decomposed' from these systems. This is demonstrated through a collection of practice-based research at differing scales, from custom algorithmic functions generating individual phrases and rhythms at the micro scale, to large, audio-visual live performances, infinitely-long generative video game soundtracks, and new means of disseminating musical and audio-visual projects digitally at the macro scale. A theoretical grounding for the methodology is included in this accompanying written commentary. This study finds that by bands putting Decomposition Theory into practice - that is by developing a new critical awareness to their own working practice, and viewing composition as a dialectical process rather than measuring it through completed musical productions - they need not be tied to established popular musical forms, but can discover new modes of reflection, composition, and alternative means for disseminating their work.

In this analytical commentary and the accompanying portfolio of compositions, I deal primarily with issues relating to Spectral and Post- Spectral techniques in contemporary music. Potential limitations of Spectralism (as a genre) are taken into consideration, and several philosophical underpinnings of this compositional style are called into question as I consider the possibility of a music which is enhanced, but not constricted, by its technical innovations. Specifically, I examine various ways by which resonant harmonic colours of the natural overtone series might be abstracted from their Natural context(s), categorised, studied, understood, and finally deployed within a harmonic language which is to some extent musically functional rather than merely sonically colourful. The seven compositions included in the portfolio approach the problem from a variety of methodological angles: 
 —Pitch structures, isolated from the world of acoustic phenomena, are studied and manipulated to create colourful musical objects with an inherent inner logic. —In some instances Spectral concepts and techniques are integrated (or juxtaposed) with principles borrowed or adapted from tonal, post- tonal and serialist approaches to composition. —Occasionally non-Spectral music is analysed from a Spectral perspective and repurposed within a hybridised harmonic language. The commentary also records my artistic and technical development as a composer during my time at Cambridge. It charts my progress towards the attainment of a harmonic/musical grammar unique to myself, and the pursuit of a technical facility appropriate to this ambition.

This PhD research investigates the types, implications and origins of constraint within the contexts of various music composition projects. It then presents the practical value of this deeper understanding as a contemporary music composer. To explore the topic of constraint, the doctorate contains a portfolio of original music compositions and a reflective commentary on those compositions. The music spans a wide range of purposes, including works for concert hall, film and videogame. This breadth, across 33 musical works for 17 different projects of both collaborative and independent types, facilitates the extension of our understanding of constraint and its role in the process of music-making. The commentary, focussing on each composition individually or in small groups, extrapolates how constraint emerges within different circumstances. Analysing the music, in tandem with an account of their contextual backgrounds, demonstrates how different constraints influence music composition. The result of this research is that one can start to generalise the creative challenges a contemporary composer faces in the form of constraint. The research does this by proposing a series of labels: intrinsic, extrinsic, functional and aesthetic. These categories emerged through the creative practices of the portfolio, delineating and searching for constraint as a means of grounding creative decisions. The commentary and portfolio, taken together, will offer insights into the four proposed categories of constraint while explicating my compositional practice.

The works included in this portfolio are linked by their exploration of two specific concepts, namely the use of improvisation as a part of the composition process, and the use of a concept termed compressibility to moderate the creation and development of musical materials. Improvisation, carried out exclusively by the composer, is used as a core practice throughout the composition process. In other words, it is used both to generate raw material, and to develop and refine this material into fixed and fully-notated compositions. The works of this portfolio explore this process in relation to pieces ranging from short solos to large-scale ensemble compositions. Compressibility relates to a specific assessment of material, whether improvised or not, which considers its information content and rate of change along harmonic and rhythmic axes. This assessment is used to guide the harmonic and rhythmic direction of a composition, both during the above improvisatory processes and during the process of composing in general. This text is divided into three main chapters: the first sets out the specific details of the improvisation-based composition methods used; the second defines and explains the concept of compressibility; the third then presents a specific commentary on each piece of the portfolio. Below is a list of the works of the portfolio, followed by an index of recordings. Where a recording is not available, a computer-generated realisation of the piece is instead included.

This portfolio of original compositions presents ten pieces which investigate the potential of applying Spectral Diffusion techniques to music composition. The main objective is to explore new possibilities for creative expression through the identification of the full potential of these techniques and their application to a range of different musical genres. The systematisation of Spectral Diffusion methodologies is organised into three different levels of complexity, which represent the depth of these techniques and the new compositional vocabulary emerging from them. As a result, this portfolio provides examples of the usability of Spectral Diffusion integrated in the field of mixed media composition and instrumental music in computer aided composition, including ensembles of acoustic instruments, solo pieces, live improvisations and interactive installations.

The objective of my portfolio is to develop a new compositional process that involves analysing recorded sounds, interpreting and translating analyses into musical metaphors, and generating formal structures based on changes in timbre. The portfolio explores several models of compositional processes that were created in the course of my research. It analyses the strengths and weaknesses of these models, and it offers insight into the ways that the compositional process may be further developed.

An overriding and important discussion in Western art music centres around abstraction: in the nineteenth century, the debate considered whether or not 'absolute music' could represent the very essence of being human; twentieth-century abstraction concerned itself with the removal of any form of melodic or harmonic implications and was employed to reflect societal unease with the bourgeoisie, and eradicate Fascistic connotations. Towards the latter part of the twentieth century, composers became concerned with peppering abstraction with historical reference, and it is this manifestation of abstraction which interests me most. This portfolio of six original compositions takes as its starting point the differences and similarities between British and mainland-European attitudes to past ideals. I use these contrasting approaches to inform my own compositions, which employ reference and quotation from past styles as a comment on contemporary society.

In this thesis I present my investigation into the ways in which the creative and social relationships I have developed with long-term collaborators alter or affect the musical decisions I make in my performances of Improvised Music. The aim of the investigation has been to deepen the understanding of my musical and relational processes as a trombonist through the examination of my artistic practice, which is formed by experiences in range of genres such as Jazz and contemporary music, with a current specialty in Improvised Music performance. By creating an interpretative framework from the theoretical and analytical processes used in music therapy practice, I have introduced a tangible set of concepts that can interpret my Improvised Music performance processes and establish objective perspectives of subjective musical experiences. Chapter one is concerned with recent debates in Improvised Music and music therapy. Particular reference is made to literature that considers interplay between performers. Chapter two focuses on my individual artistic practice and examines the influence of five trombone players from Jazz and Improvised Music performance on my praxis. A recording of one of my solo trombone performances accompanies this section. It concludes with a discussion on my process of making tacit knowledge of Improvised Music performance tangible and explicit and the abstruse nature of subjective feeling states when performing improvisation. This concludes part one of the thesis. The second part of the thesis is concerned with the development and application of concepts and their outcomes. In chapter three, I present frameworks drawn from concepts in music therapy practice. Musical material from my work with long standing collaborators Steve Beresford, John Edwards and Mark Sanders form the basis of three case studies presented in chapter four. Recordings of trio and quartet pieces accompany case study one and two. A recording of a duo with myself and Mark Sanders accompanies case three. In the conclusion, I provide a summary of the research processes, frameworks for analysis and their outcomes. My quartet record All Will Be Said, All To Do Again, which was recorded in the period of this research, forms part three of the study and is the basis for two of three pieces in the aforementioned case studies in chapter four. Part three also includes a live performance of the quartet featuring myself and the musicians featured in thesis which has been documented and included. I further considered how to share my analytical framework in the form of a software programme, a prototype of which can be found in the appendix.

This study demonstrates how a particular discourse was adopted in Western Europe in the early 1950s to explicate musical practices of the avant-garde. Developed by Theodor W. Adorno, René Leibowitz, and Herbert Eimert, this discourse presented New Music as the universalisation of formal techniques which, these theorists argued, demonstrated the most advanced, unflinching engagement with the objective historical condition of musical material. The result, so the story goes, was that young generation of composers broke with the past in toto to write a rigorously anti-intuitive music inspired solely by the work of Anton Webern: the Darmstadt School. At the point of writing, the inadequacies and outright fabrications of this discourse have been repeatedly detailed by an increasingly rich body of scholarship. But this discourse nevertheless continues to ground the available historical understanding of New Music of the post-war era. In an effort to discover the reasons for its remarkable longevity, this study scrutinises this discourse with a particular attention to how it explicates the practices of composers it describes. Through this analysis, it becomes clear that this discourse is not so much concerned with composition proper but rather with the universalisation of technical processes. The question, then, becomes which practices supplied such techniques that were universalised as the ‘Darmstadt School’, and at what cost? Accordingly, this study also evaluates works of ‘total’ serialism – those of now-marginal composers such as Karel Goeyvaerts and Michel Fano – within an alternative, self-sufficient tradition, thereby describing how such an avant-garde was constructed on the aesthetic foundations of composers and practices which were excluded from it.

The present thesis commentary begins with a conception of the melodic derived from Christian Wolff—of music’s existence as tied to succession and on-following. With this as a basis, the thesis explores a portfolio of compositions from three differing temporal standpoints. First, in a condition of afterness, examining the roles of digestion, embodiment, and homage in the compositional process. Second, in the condition of the ‘long present’, exploring the present-tense conditions of mood, melancholia, mourning, and their relation to melodic unfolding. Third, exploring the condition of ‘anticipatory consciousness’, examining the immanent tensions and futurity of monophony, drawing on theories of self-similarity, and the accretion of melodic identifiability and itselfness. Alongside melodic aspects, the commentary examines the roles of Just Intonation in the portfolio music. The commentary adopts a synoptic approach, drawing from a wide range of musical and textual sources, including Christian Wolff, Harry Partch, Lou Harrison, Charlotte ‘Claribel’ Barnard, Conlon Nancarrow, Ornette Coleman, Josef Albers, Anni Albers, Robert Burton, Jorge Luis Borges, Heinz Bude, Carlo Rovelli and others. Alongside contemporary music theory and aesthetics, reference is made to theories of embodied cognition, histories of experimentalism, the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, studies of the microbiome, the history of emotion, medieval music theory, theories of temporal succession, history of early-modern melancholia, and other subjects.