Date of Award

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Dancigers, Mark

Keywords

Decomposition, Composition, Synthesizers, Music

Area of Concentration

Music

Abstract

My thesis investigates how decay over time affects the life cycle of a musical work and, subsequently, how to incorporate this decay into the musical work. This investigation of decay in music includes investigating decay as a compositional element, how decay influences the identity of an interactive musical work, and how decay in music affects the identities of its environment, audience, and performers and vice versa. I sought to investigate these various questions through a 12-­oscillator photosensitive drone synthesizer that I constructed, which played suspended notes whose pitch and speed are altered based on light values it receives. Audience members were asked to move within the environment to cast shadows that altered how the synthesizer sounded while an open instrument ensemble slowly replaced elements of the synthesizer. The ensemble’s playing mirrored the sounds and audience interaction of the synthesizer, which extended the life cycle of the original synthesizer piece past its original physical limitations and allowed it to decay perpetually, giving it a constant window into how decay affects the various aspects of the identity of the piece. From this I found that decay leads to rebirth through changing identity, which I decided was a necessary aspect to any successful musical work.

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