Composing the Field of Dwelling: An Autoethnography on Listening in the Home
(2021)
author(s): Iain Findlay-Walsh
published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
06:17 030420
the pressures acting upon and within this place are intensified by lockdown
the kids are driving me up the wall
the inverse of social distancing is social compression
home becomes hyper-relational implosion
while the quiet streets outside fill with birdsong
and an apocalyptic politics morphs and grows somewhere far away right here under my nose
This article unfolds as a story of listening and sounding in the home I share with my partner and two primary school-aged children in Glasgow during the global COVID-19 pandemic. As a practicing sound artist, I have spent a lot of time listening to and through everyday spaces, and during the COVID-19 pandemic I have been considering the usefulness of this critical listening as a basis for dealing with the new situation of living inside. If sonic practice can attune people to the social, environmental, material, technological, and political dynamics of their world, then what can be learned, and what new capacities can be developed and shared, through an engaged practice of listening in the home under lockdown?
Combining diarized notes, storied reflections, first-person field recordings (Findlay-Walsh 2019), theoretical discussion and analysis, this textual and sonic autoethnography presents and discusses my efforts to develop a critical practice of listening as the form and function of this home changes during lockdown. Connecting Pauline Oliveros, Hildegard Westerkamp, and Salomé Voegelin’s generative listening practices, Tim Ingold’s “dwelling as building;” Sara Ahmed’s embodied “orientation;” Jean-Luc Guionnet et al., George Lewis and Alexander I. Davidson’s improvisation as radical sociality; and Stacey Holman Jones, bell hooks, and Peter Gouzouasis et al.’s spaces of (self-)critical pedagogy, I trace this developing practice as a basis for regenerating and inhabiting domestic space as co-composed music.
Size Matters: Historical String Lengths and Possible Tunings of the Chitarrone or Theorbo
(2021)
author(s): Gao Menglin
published in: KC Research Portal
What was considered the "normal" size for the Italian theorbo or chitarrone upon its creation in the 17th century, and why should 21st century players like us embrace the historical size?
This research tackles the question from several different angles: description in historical texts, surviving instruments, the optimal string gauge and tension, and tone comparison. The study finds the vast majority of surviving chitarroni to have a stopped string length around 88-89cm, with some exceeding 90cm and very few falling short of 80cm. This sparks the question of whether smaller instruments required a different tuning. Upon comparing with lute family instruments from the same era, the logical conclusion is that smaller instruments with string lengths around 76cm most probably did not need to have a double re-entrant tuning which is the standard tuning for all solo chitarrone music. When comparing a large instrument (95cm) and a small instrument (76cm, with single re-entrant tuning), one can hear that they perform very different roles as continuo instruments, and are not mutually replaceable. As modern-day lutenists, one should really embrace the large size if one wishes to play the chitarrone, and develop a technique to suit the instrument, instead of scaling down the instrument to suit the technique.
Menglin Gao has been a recorder player, a countertenor, and now a theorbist, studying at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague. He is the founder and director of the Shanghai Camerata, an early music ensemble based in Shanghai, China.
One in Norway by One of Them: Vlogging for Classical Musicians
(2021)
author(s): Ursula Skaug
published in: KC Research Portal
The internet is a promising place for musicians; one can promote and perform music for free, with possibly endless reach. Especially online video and streaming are booming spaces with many opportunities. Online music videos are often either recordings of a live performance, or they are an "online performance" from a musician who acts as if they are part of a regular live concert with an audience. However, the practices of regular concerts and online video are very different in nature. Perhaps online video requires a different way of engaging with the musical material within the video format. What if classical musicians created videos that emphasized the more casual and chatty style of the online platforms?
Through an iterative process I researched how classical musicians can use the vlog-style format with classical music and music theatre. In these vlogs I draw inspiration from the book "Three in Norway by Two of Them" and combine it with music by Julius Röntgen and Edvard Grieg. From this process I drew some conclusions and came up with a process for other musicians to try out this video format.
Exploring Expressive Lied Performance: Re-enacting Lotte Lehmann’s Pre-World War II Lied Performances
(2021)
author(s): Marlina Deasy Hartanto
published in: KC Research Portal
After the second world war, the musical performance style remains changing from intensely expressive into clean and litteral. The exaggeration of expression through tempo, rhythm, portamento, ornamentation were suddenly gone and became utterly unrealistic and old-fashion. The cleanliness of the performance style brought singers to put more focus only to the score and text. Realizing how much the gap between two different styles, I have only partially understood the half picture of the style. My thesis will focus on the re-enactment study of Lotte Lehmann's recording in 1930s of An die Musik by Schubert and Ich grolle nicht by Schumann.
Integration and development of jazz drum soloing
(2021)
author(s): Borut Rampih
published in: KC Research Portal
The desire to improve my drum soloing and the lack of in-depth material and examples on the subject led me to research drum soloing.
Evaluating my playing, I found my approach to drum soloing was based heavily on playing “licks,” copying other drummer’s vocabulary literally with no clear idea of my own sound and identity with problems associated with this approach, such as forgetting phrases, feeling uncomfortable in unknown musical situations, etc.
In my research, I tried to answer the question of how to integrate the playing of the master drummers of the bebop era into my own vocabulary and how modern drummers that I admire developed the classic language to fit their own style.
I chose some of the most notable drummers of the bebop era, namely Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, and Roy Haynes, transcribed their solos, and analyzed their playing.
Through their playing, I discovered fundamental concepts of drumming like the Call and response concept, the rudimental concept, the melodic concept, and tools and methods that help with technique, musicianship, and creativity on the drum set.
The Arabic Maqam on Double Bass
(2021)
author(s): Remy Dielemans
published in: KC Research Portal
After participating in a project, Remy awakened his interest in Arabic traditional music. Being trained as a jazz, pop and classical bassist, he found that this music left him clueless, but mesmerized. That was when he decided to learn more about this musical genre, and dedicated his Master’s degree to the subject.
In his research, Remy aimed to find ways to incorporate elements from traditional Arabic music into his own musical practice as a Jazz double bass player. To reach this goal, Remy researched both rhythmic and melodic aspects of the Arabic music tradition. The first step was to understand the theory and the melodic and rhythmic information involved, encountering challenging topics like quartertones and complex rhythms and song structures. Secondly he searched to find ways to translate the melodic and rhythmic elements on to the double bass, creating several exercises to gain familiarity with the material. The third step of the research was about applying his findings into his artistic practice. By composing new tunes and arranging existing songs, both from the traditional Arabic world as from the jazz genre, Remy aimed to let the discoveries of his research sink in in his musical creativity.
Remy’s presentation will take you through his journey discovering this music. He will guide you through the three steps of his discoveries, looking at the melodic elements of the Arabic musical tradition, and how he implemented these into his own musical practice.
Master Research exposition by Remy Dielemans
Jazz Double Bass, Royal Conservatoire the Hague
Supervised by: Loes Rusch
Master Circle Leader: Wim Vos
