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Studying Sonorous Objects to Develop Frameworks for Improvisation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2017

Sam Mcauliffe
Sam Mcauliffe*
Affiliation:
Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton VIC 3800, Australia
*
Email: mcauliffe.sj@gmail.com
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Abstract

French musique concrète artist Pierre Schaeffer pioneered new ways of listening to and studying sound. His study and manipulation of recorded sounds to create music changed the way contemporary musicians, from a multitude of disciplines, approach making music. Additionally, Schaeffer’s treatise on acousmatic listening to sonorous objects has deeply influenced contemporary sound studies. In this article, I elucidate how musique concrète has informed my practice-led research project, Looking Awry – from which I will discuss two case studies. I outline how acousmatic listening to field recordings from everyday environments informed the development of performance strategies that guide improvised musical performance; a malleable practice that can be applied to a variety of performance settings.

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Type
Articles
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Organised Sound , Volume 22 , Special Issue 3: Which Words Can We Use Related to Sound and Music? , December 2017 , pp. 369 - 377
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2017 

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References

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Discography

AMM. 1967. AMMMusic 1966. Elektra Records, CD.Google Scholar
Denley, J. 2006. Through Fire, Crevice + the Hidden Valley. Splitrec, CD.Google Scholar
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