ERGODYNAMICS AND A SEMIOTICS OF INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION. (24th December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Magnusson, Thor
• Is Part Of: Tempo. Volume 73:Number 287(2019)
• Page Start: 41
• Page End: 51
• Publication Date: 2018-12-24
• Subjects: Music -- Periodicals; Music -- 20th century -- Periodicals; Music -- 21st century -- Periodicals; 780.78
• DOI: 10.1017/S0040298218000633
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0040-2982

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines the techno-philosophical aspects of how we create and understand musical systems in twenty-first century computational media. Arguing that processor-based media have exploded the compositional language of new music, the article proposes a set of concepts that might help us navigate this new space of instrumental possibilities. The term 'ergodynamics' – and related concepts – is proposed as a useful concept when describing the phenomenological, historical and aesthetic aspects of musical instruments, as well as a lens for looking at new compositional practices that can be defined as being either 'idiomatic' or 'supra-instrumental'. The article explores the difference in composing for acoustic, electronic and digital instruments, and suggests that new musical practice can be characterised by a move from composing work to inventing systems.