A Semiotic Approach to Open Notations: Ambiguity as Opportunity

Tristan McKay

doi:10.1017/9781108884389

Series: Elements in Music since 1945

A Semiotic Approach to Open Notations

Ambiguity as Opportunity

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 April 2021

Tristan McKay

Summary

Along with twentieth-century developments in playing techniques, technologies, and concepts of musical sound, the notations employed by composers have also changed. Composers of what Umberto Eco calls 'open works' often employ intentionally ambiguous music notations. These open notations ask the performer to play a radical and active role in co-creating the musical work. Scores that feature open notations have been part of the Western classical music landscape since the mid-twentieth century, and continue to have a vibrant community of practitioners today. In this Element, Tristan McKay considers intersections of ambiguity, authority, and identity in works with open notations. He develops a semiotic approach to open notation analysis and puts it into practice with in-depth analyses of openly notated works by Earle Brown, Will Redman, and Leah Asher.

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Keywords

open notations ambiguity semiotics open work Earle Brown

Type: Element
Information: Series: Elements in Music since 1945

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108884389[Opens in a new window]

Online ISBN: 9781108884389

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication: 29 April 2021

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