The Art, Science and Philosophy of Electronic Music and Sound: The deconstruction of music through Daphne Oram and her contemporaries in the early Bri
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Science and Technology Studies
Abstract
Daphne Oram (1925 - 2003) was a composer, and musical theorist, central to the establishing of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in 1958. Although much has been written about her pioneering work in electronic music from an historical perspective, Oram's philosophical conceptions of sound have been largely neglected. This project sets out to establish a fuller understanding of her approach to composition and her Oramics graphic notation system which will further contribute to a richer scientific understanding of sound and music, both in praxis and in how composers conceive of it. Oram's unique Oramics, a hybridization of graphics and sound, engenders an approach to the very conception of music and musical composition wholly different from standard musical notation.
The project will give an interdisciplinary account of the philosophical implications of Oram's work in relation to scientific approaches to sound studies and auditory perception, as well as a critical comparison of Oram's work with other composer-led music technologies. It will explore how experimental technologies and techniques of electronic music composition, such as Oramics, can engage with current philosophical debates concerning the ontological categorization of sound - e.g. are sounds events or objects? How do the cognitive processes required for conceiving and composing music graphically (i.e. literally painting the soundwaves) differ from doing so by the traditional notation system? What is the dialectic between musical creativity and the development of new music technologies? How does one influence the other? By combining the science, theory, and practice of electronic music, it is hoped that a more unified conception of composition, performance experience, and musical aesthetics can be achieved.
Research Questions:
1. How can the work and ideas of Daphne Oram and her contemporaries offer new perspectives on both the practice and philosophy of electronic music composition?
This part of the project will draw on archival research specifically focused on Oram's philosophical and aesthetic ideas, as incorporated in her Oramics notation and in relation to the broader electronic music collection held by the Science Museum. It will address the following sub-questions:
- What was the role of Orams' notation system in establishing a new approach to musical aesthetics?
- Creative imagination works under the constraints provided by available music technologies, but music technologies are also shaped by imagined sounds and by the quest for making them possible. What will a close study of this dialectic in the context of electronic music tell us about musical creativity, aesthetics, and composition? What is the composer's relation to electronically generated and/or manipulated sound?
2. What might this integrated historical and philosophical study of Oramics teach us about sound and music cognition?
This part of the project will bring Oram's legacy in dialogue with contemporary debates on the nature of sound, particularly the under-explored relationship between the environmental aspects of sound and soundscapes and the field of auditory perception in relation to music. It will address the following sub-questions:
- How did the combination of technical innovation and creative experimentation pioneered by Oram inspire composers and music theorists to reconceptualise notions of 'musical spatiality'?
- Electronic music allowed composers to deconstruct sound into constituent elements - e.g. pitch, timbre, frequency, attack, decay, etc. - and use them individually as musical 'building blocks'. What can this creative practice contribute to current debates concerning the ontology of sound?
- How can Oram's philosophy and compositional practice help us renegotiate the boundaries between musical aesthetics and acoustic science?
The project will give an interdisciplinary account of the philosophical implications of Oram's work in relation to scientific approaches to sound studies and auditory perception, as well as a critical comparison of Oram's work with other composer-led music technologies. It will explore how experimental technologies and techniques of electronic music composition, such as Oramics, can engage with current philosophical debates concerning the ontological categorization of sound - e.g. are sounds events or objects? How do the cognitive processes required for conceiving and composing music graphically (i.e. literally painting the soundwaves) differ from doing so by the traditional notation system? What is the dialectic between musical creativity and the development of new music technologies? How does one influence the other? By combining the science, theory, and practice of electronic music, it is hoped that a more unified conception of composition, performance experience, and musical aesthetics can be achieved.
Research Questions:
1. How can the work and ideas of Daphne Oram and her contemporaries offer new perspectives on both the practice and philosophy of electronic music composition?
This part of the project will draw on archival research specifically focused on Oram's philosophical and aesthetic ideas, as incorporated in her Oramics notation and in relation to the broader electronic music collection held by the Science Museum. It will address the following sub-questions:
- What was the role of Orams' notation system in establishing a new approach to musical aesthetics?
- Creative imagination works under the constraints provided by available music technologies, but music technologies are also shaped by imagined sounds and by the quest for making them possible. What will a close study of this dialectic in the context of electronic music tell us about musical creativity, aesthetics, and composition? What is the composer's relation to electronically generated and/or manipulated sound?
2. What might this integrated historical and philosophical study of Oramics teach us about sound and music cognition?
This part of the project will bring Oram's legacy in dialogue with contemporary debates on the nature of sound, particularly the under-explored relationship between the environmental aspects of sound and soundscapes and the field of auditory perception in relation to music. It will address the following sub-questions:
- How did the combination of technical innovation and creative experimentation pioneered by Oram inspire composers and music theorists to reconceptualise notions of 'musical spatiality'?
- Electronic music allowed composers to deconstruct sound into constituent elements - e.g. pitch, timbre, frequency, attack, decay, etc. - and use them individually as musical 'building blocks'. What can this creative practice contribute to current debates concerning the ontology of sound?
- How can Oram's philosophy and compositional practice help us renegotiate the boundaries between musical aesthetics and acoustic science?
