Research Catalogue

Outdoor, site-specific sound installation. Akershus festning, courtyard outside the Resistance Museum. Opening event: 15.00, 16th September Open daily, all weather 10.00-18.00. 17th September – 15th October. Composed and produced by Natasha Barrett.

the following is a summary of the context that surrounds my phd project titled, composition as workplace intervention. the document covers an extensive reflection on my own practice in the context of composition and the context of artistic workplace interventions to create a framework that my project with the theatre company exists within. the document exists in two parts. part one consists of necessary background on stan's cafe, the current ethical situation which has not allowed me to conduct my research within the residence of stan's cafe, and my own relevant work and its broader musical context to date. this can be viewed in any order. part two consists of work that i have undertaken since starting my studies in september, ranging from three works made under the current circumstances, a research trip to the tate and a public callout on twitter for information. this section also details my future plans, ethical considerations and a bibliography containing all referenced works throughout this exposition and from element 2.

This exposition documents my explorations of pondering with pine trees. Tämä ekspositio dokumentoi yritykseni miettiä mäntyjen kanssa. Den här ekspositionen dokumenterar mina försök att fundera med furor.

Long story short In this research exposition, I would like to invite the reader on a journey of discovery in the field of classical music presentation. Over the last 50 years there have been many suggestions on how to allow the professional field of classical music to develop alongside its time and people. To get a new perspective on the topic, I approach ASMR as a connected topic, investigate it under the aspect of listening and then make a transfer to my professional practice. ASMR stands for autonomous sensuous meridian response and is describing a special kind of sensory perception. I study ASMR as way of perception and as well as a YouTube / media phenomenon. My research question is: What can I learn from ASMR (about contemporary audience’s perception of sound) and how can I integrate this in my artistic practice? When I talked to colleagues or teachers from a classical music context, ASMR appeared to them at first as something bizarre and insignificant. Still, it has millions of followers on the internet. A large number of followers is not necessarily an indicator of artistic quality, but it can certainly be an argument to arouse curiosity. After all, the number of followers towards a subject does say something about its appeal or the ability to grasp people. By comparing ASMR to synaesthesia, I want to focus on perception and sensuousness but also explore common traits and differences of the two phenomena as both neurological phenomenon and the social (artistic) movement. An analysis and five experiments involving technological and dramaturgical tools often used in ASMR, leads to the final chapter: the artistic implementation. During the two years of my master studies, I designed two performance concepts, in which I applied the insights I gained throughout this research. A documentation of the process and a more elaborate explanation of the concept are to be found in chapter 4. In the end of this exposition, I summarize the conclusions of the research I made on a general and on a personal level. In order to acquire more information as well as a wider view, I have reached out to literature within the fields of sociology, (social) history, psychology, neuroscience and philosophy . During my years of studies in music, music pedagogic, historical and innovative performance practice, I quenched my thirst for knowledge about the past and now I am hungry to learn about the now and the future.

In this presentation we will discuss the incorporation double bass in Indian classical music. Although it’s a foreign instrument to India by origin, but it has immense possibilities for this music. We will discuss it’s origins in India, basics of Indian classical music, similar Indian instruments, Indian classical violin, bassists exploring Indian classical music, cross genre & indian fusion music involving the double bass & it’s application as an accompanying instrument in this tradition & arguments for it’s incorporation.

"Composing with piezo" is the title of my doctoral research which concerns the composition of instrumental music implemented with a specific use of piezoelectric microphones. During the research process, I explored a peculiar use of this technology not only to disclose and amplify the instrumental sound but also to produce otherwise unheard sounds, through a reinterpretation of some instrumental gestures, such as glissando, tapping, scraping, etc, produced by playing with the microphone directly on the instrument. Mainly because of the non-linear quality of unprocessed piezoelectric microphones, which thus present limits and different degrees of controllability and predictability - their introduction in my compositional work changed the relationships with the instrumental sound matter, bringing to question different aspects of my compositional approach. Therefore, during the whole research process, I looked for frameworks, theories, and examples, to understand and bring focus to my evolving compositional practice.