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Summary:

Abstract: In the first half of the twentieth century, sporadic attempts of avant-garde composers to include sounds other than pitch in musical composition paved the way for the composers in the second half to embrace the sound of all types in their creative works. The development of technology since the mid-past century has facilitated composers' inclusive use of sound. The recent achievements in electronics and computers have led to cost-effective tools for today's composers to explore new possibilities in sound design and manipulation. Gradual for tenor saxophone and fixed electronics is primarily concerned with noise. Among the infinite possibilities of noise types, metallic sounds significantly contribute to the composition. The title of the piece refers to the compositional process in which the music progressively unfolds itself from the beginning to the end. The methods and strategies used to present the content give rise to a form I call accretion, described as an organic process by which the musical materials grow. Within the process, while established materials are interacting, combining, and forming layers, new materials may be incorporated and take part in the process. Throughout the composition, the interaction between sounds with common properties guides the music toward interactive unity, while the interplay between sounds with different characteristics forms a dialectical communication. The constant push-and-pull between the two states creates a restless tension throughout the composition. In the current version of Gradual, the audio signals from both saxophone and fixed electronics are transmitted to the same speakers, which helps coalesce acoustic and electronic sounds. The future prospect of the piece can involve real-time audio signal processing to manipulate the sound of saxophone. Adding the above feature to the current version will promote the unification of the two media into a single whole.

Table of Contents:

• Part I, Critical essay: A shift in approaching sounds in compositional practice. Music, composition, noise. Overview ; Music and composition ; Noise ; Functionality of sounds ; Creating a new sound world
• Analysis of Gradual. Media and materials ; Audio signal processing ; Compositional strategies ; Formal structure and compositional process ; Notation ; Performance practice ; Conclusion
• Part II, Gradual. Commentaries on the notation and performance
• Symbols and abbreaviations
• Score.

Author/Creator:

Khajehzadeh, Iman , author

Contributors:

Kokoras, Panayiotis, 1974- , major professor

Languages:

English

Language Notes:

Item content: English

Main Work:

Gradual: A Sound-Based Composition for Tenor Saxophone and Fixed Electronics, with Critical Essay [by Khajehzadeh, I.]

Related Series:

NT thesis, Music (Complete); [volume] 2019

Subjects:

Electronic composition

Noise

Saxophone and electronic music — Scores

Composition (Music)

Saxophone and electronic music

Genres:

Academic theses

Art music

Scores

Dissertation Notes:

M.A. ― University of North Texas, 2019.

General Notes:

Discipline: Composition.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 40-42).
Description based on: Online resource; title from PDF title page (UNT Digital Library, viewed April 24, 2020).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 118 pages) : illustrations, music.

Digital Characteristics:

text file

Call Numbers:

Electronic Thesis

OCLC Numbers:

1269302272