Applebaum / Epstein
Spring 2002
This course was a graduate seminar in composition. When we designed the course, we decided to come up with a comprehensive set of philosophical topics for discussion, and in the class decided on which areas to focus on. We ended up following this topic list for approximately 2/3 of the classes, and in the other classes examined case-studies of indeterminacy and worked with students on their own compositions, making use of the techniques we examined from a philosophical perspective.
Sessions:
1. April 112. April 183. April 22 (make-up for April 25)4. May 25. May 9 Guests: Chris Dobrian & Dan Koppelman6. May 167. May 238. May 309. June 6 Student Presentations
Issues:
History and notation of indeterminate works
– Is the indeterminate music of the '50s-'70s a historical genre? What kind of perspective do we have about this music and what might it tell us about present and future music?
Some topics:
§ Examples of indeterminacy, preliminary definitions
§ Notation of indeterminate events
§ Traditional vs. non-traditional dimensions of determination
The division of labor in music
– How does indeterminacy change with perspective (author/composer indeterminacy; interpreter/performer indeterminacy; addressee/listener indeterminacy)?
Some topics:
§ The stages of musical production
§ Indeterminacy in composition vs. indeterminacy in performance
§ The idea of a “piece” of music
§ The impact of new technologies, especially the advent of sound recording
Indeterminacy in performance: dimensions of indeterminacy I
– What kinds of indeterminacy in performance are there? Can we construct a continuum (less to more) of determinacy? How is it useful?
Some topics:
§ Total determinacy and total indeterminacy
§ The dimensions of determinacy, traditional and non-traditional
§ Psychologically natural vs. unnatural dimensions
Indeterminacy in performance: dimensions of indeterminacy II
– Can we construct a taxonomy of musical indeterminacy? How does the discursive context modify, inform, enrich, or burden our apprehension that something is indeterminate?
Some topics:
§ Determinacy at different levels: soundwave, musical elements, musical structure
§ Cataloging the dimensions
§ New dimensions of indeterminacy
Defining indeterminacy in performance
– What are the best definitions of the terms indeterminacy, aleatorism, chance, composition, and improvisation?
Some topics:
§ Composition as constraint on possibilities
§ The role of performer choice – available materials, etc.
§ Different senses of indeterminacy
§ Relation of indeterminacy to conceptual vagueness, inexplicitness, ambiguity, and underspecification
The identity of a piece of music
– What is a piece of music and how do indeterminate aspects affect its identity?
Some topics:
§ More on the idea of a piece of music
§ Notation and compliance
§ Improvisation and the identity conditions of a piece
§ The “graininess” of musical identity
§ Socioeconomic influences on the boundaries of the piece
Indeterminacy and interpretation
– To what extent does the piece, or the composer’s intention, impose limits on a performer’s interpretation, even if it’s fully specified? What issues (technical, ontological, moral or otherwise) arise in interpretation?
Some topics:
§ The constraints on musical interpretation
§ Composer’s intention vs. the text
§ The composer vs. the performer
§ The role of the listener
Indeterminacy in composition
– Is aleatoric music indeterminate, and in what sense? What is indeterminacy in composition, and what is its relation to indeterminacy in performance?
Some topics:
§ The ways a specification is generated
§ Order, disorder, and the unconscious
§ Chance
§ Instrumentation and processing
The purpose of indeterminacy
– What are the motivations behind indeterminacy? What function and value do indeterminacy have for the composer, performer, and listener? What are the aesthetic gains and losses associated with indeterminacy?
Some topics:
§ Affect on the composer, the performer, the listener, the critic
§ Creation of new spaces of possibility
§ The subject matter of music
Aesthetics of indeterminacy
– What are the aesthetic gains and losses associated with indeterminacy?
Some topics:
§ The sound produced; interpretation and “playing well”
§ The method of production; improvisation and participation
§ Aesthetics of the score; of the performance