Research Catalogue

Between Freedom and Fixity: Artistic Reflections on Composition and Improvisation is a practice-based research project that aims to highlight the role of freedom and fixity in music and to develop a discourse based on these two concepts. The research suggests a creative approach based on the interrelationship between freedom and fixity, for example their combination, juxtaposition, and tension, and describes them as abstractions or placeholders for musical agents such as rhythm, notes, structure, timeline, and interactive computer systems. Another important notion is the inherent coexistence of the two concepts, and proposing the constant oscillating between them as a creative musical approach. Furthermore, the research aims to establish the use of freedom and fixity as a productive paths for extra-musical disciplines. Four works by the author are used as case studies to examine the integration of the research concepts as tangible musical forms. In each of the case studies freedom and fixity are embodied differently, and the relationships between them develop into distinct paths. This study relies on the author’s experience and experimentation as a composer, performer, improviser, and electronic-music practitioner, and draws inspiration from works by other musicians and scholars.

Conceived and co-organised by Emma Cocker, Alexander Damianisch, Cordula Daus and Lena Séraphin, this Society of Artistic Research Special Interest Group (SAR SIG) provides contexts for coming together via the exchange of language-based research. The intent is to support developments in the field of expanded language-based practices by inviting attention, time and space for enabling understanding of/and via these practices anew.

This exposition serves as an archive for the project "Meetings with Remarkable and Unremarkable Trees", where Annette Arlander spends time with specific trees and poses for camera together with them. The exposition is under construction

Home page of the Journal of Sonic Studies

JSS Book reviews

Starting from my personal teaching experience, I have been studying the effect of visual instructions on my violin pupils. With a detailed analysis of the interactions between students and teacher and the help of 36 observation sheets, I could finally see the effects of enhancing visuals on student’s musical learning. All conclusions were drawn after taking into account specific studies mentioned in the theoretical framework and with respect to the observations made by three external experts. This research found further evidence of the link between visualization and critical thinking as well.