Abstract
The E(c)lect(r)ic Guitar in The Mechanical Forest is my investigation into how to expand my improvisational palette as an electric guitarist, by working with compositional techniques and concepts used in composed contemporary western art music. In my work, I have focused on incorporating movement, microtonality, as well as multimedia composition techniques and application of technology, both in the performance as well as in the creative process. A key focus of my artistic practice has been exploration of the transcorporeal nature of my relationship with the guitar. This has resulted in creative work which has grown from a deep focus on the materiality of the guitar and the visual, tactile (touch) and kinetic (movement) aspects of sound production.
Research Questions
1 How can I use compositional techniques and concepts from contemporary composed western art music to expand my palette as an improvising guitarist?
2 How can I transfer musical techniques and concepts, which often are used in a strictly predetermined environment, to a musical situation where improvisation is an important element in the performance.
3 How can I reconfigure/extend the electric guitar, and how can the reconfigured/extended guitar reshape the way I create and perform music?
En la sesión 01, que se realizó el 02 de mayo de 2022 experimentamos con la transformación de datos sismográficos desde el registro sonoro, creando dos audios para realizar una instalación inmersiva de sonido.
The Bachelors’s Programme in Dance Pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts, Sweden, have gone through a major restructuring leading to an updated program, on demand by students and staff.
This exposition gives you an overview of the process of changing the program during the years 2020 - 2023. It guides you through the phases of the change project, highlights documents governing and forming the changes made, and links to research that were conducted during the project period and that deepened the knowledge created through the change process.
Our first step was to listen into the field’s concerns and ideas about dance education today. We scanned the field for signals of change and created a collaborative map of dance pedagogical practices in contemporary times. From this map we derived design principles and scenarios for a new BA in Dance Pedagogy. After a workshop series with students of the department, it was decided that the new program should be based on the hybrid research methodology A/R/Tography. A new educational plan and course plans were created for the new BA. Courses corresponding to the positions as artist, researcher, and teacher of A/R/Tography were developed for the program, and dance genre specific courses were also created. All new courses of the program combines theory and practice, and students are prepared for a changing and complex work life combining artistic, teaching and researching practice.
This exposition is part of the peer-reviewed article: Østern, T. P., Reppen, C., O’Connell, S., & Daneberg, M. (2025). Choreographer/researcher/teacher: Developing a/r/tography as an approach to dance pedagogy at Stockholm University of the Arts in a professional learning community of teachers. Nordic Journal of Art & Research, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.7577/ar.5460
Denne masteroppgaven utforsker hvordan elementer fra bulgarsk, serbisk og nord-makedonsk folkemusikk kan brukes som inspirasjon i skapelsen av nye komposisjoner innen rytmisk musikk. Hovedproblemstillingen er: Hvordan kan elementer innen folkemusikken fra Bulgaria, Serbia og Nord-Makedonia brukes til å skape nye verk som reflekterer både tradisjon og innovasjon?
For å besvare oppgaven har jeg brukt kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid med autoetnografiske innslag. Oppgaven bygger komprovisasjon og refleksjon gjennom praksis. I tillegg til dette inkluderer oppgaven også innspill fra hovedinstrumenttimer med folkemusiker Jovan Pavlovic. Kunstig intelligens har blitt brukt som støtteverktøy for struktur, idéutvikling og språkvask.
Fire egenkomponerte verk utgjør kjernen i det empiriske materialet, hvor hvert verk bygger på bestemte musikalske elementer fra øst-balkansk folkemusikk. Disse komposisjonene forankres i etnomusikologiske teorier fra Timothy Rice, samt ser vi på historiske og musikkteoretiske vinklinger fra Øst-Balkan.
Gjennom arbeid med prosjektet har jeg kommet frem til noen funn som jeg presenterer i kapittel 5.
Det er en hårfin balanse mellom respekt for det tradisjonelle og kunstnerisk nyskapning.
Oppgaven konkluderer med at det er fullt mulig å skape nye musikalske verk som både speiler tradisjon og åpner for innovasjon. Gjennom kunstnerisk praksis og kritisk refleksjon kan man bidra til faglig utvikling og egen kunstnerisk identitet.
This master's thesis investigates the creative possibilities of alternate guitar tunings in the context of songwriting. I explore how each tuning affects the compositional structure and emotional expression of my work through employing repeated cycles of experimentation, songwriting, and reflection. Rooted in a practice-led approach, the study has me working as both researcher and practitioner producing original works while examining my creative process. My results suggest that different tunings not only expand the harmonic scene but also ignite musical ideas that might not arise using standard tuning by itself.
