gesture in contemporary music - edson zanpronha

5/27/2018 Gesture in Contemporary Music - Edson Zanpronha

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Gesture In Contemporary Music

On The Edge Between Sound Materiality And

Signification

Edson ZanpronhaProfessor of Musical Composition at Arts Institute

So PauloStateUniversity (UNESP

Abstract

In this paper I approach a variety of topics related to musical !esture in contemporarymusic" I e#plain ho$ !esture can %e understood in contemporary music" I sho$ thatsound materiality and si!nification are very closely related and that !esture is on theed!e %et$een them& that !estures can %e re!arded as a natural !round to 'ustify

compositional options& that si!nifications can %e introduced %y !estures into thecomposition and that to deconstruct stereotyped sym%olic !estures is to %rin! themcloser to sound materiality" I analy)e transcultural si!nifications in !esture and thereduction of si!nification to !esture" I comment on !esture in performance in the

particular case of electroacoustic music and I conclude %y commentin! on !esture andthe poetic conception of the contemporary music as a resource to concentrate listenin!in one of its central plots"

esumen

Este te#to presenta varios temas relacionados con el !esto musical en la m*sicacontempor+nea" E#plica c,mo se puede entender el !esto en la m*sica contempor+nea"

Muestra c,mo la materialidad del sonido y su si!nificaci,n est+n estrechamenterelacionados y c,mo el !esto est+ en el l-mite entre ellos& .ue los !estos musicales

pueden ser considerados como una %ase de la naturale)a para 'ustificar las opcionescomposicionales& .ue la si!nificaci,n puede ser insertada a trav/s del !esto en lacomposici,n y .ue la de0construcci,n de los !estos sim%,licos estereotipados apro#imael !esto musical a la materialidad sonora" Se anali)an las si!nificaciones interculturalesen el !esto musical y la reducci,n del si!nificado al !esto en s- mismo" Se ha%la so%re el!esto en la e'ecuci,n musical en la m*sica electroac*stica y se concluye ha%lando del!esto en la concepci,n po/tica de la m*sica contempor+nea como un recurso paraconcentrar la escucha en una de sus tramas centrales"

In the 12345s sound se!mentation in parameters $as a common procedure to differentcompositional trends" It $as thou!ht that parameters 6ept their features unchan!edre!ardless of the $ay they $ere com%ined" 7o$ever particularly after 1284 it has %eenreco!ni)ed that parameters do not have such independence" 9he $ays they arecom%ined affect the $ay they are listened" 9hus a search for other alternatives formusical composition has started out"

In this paper I analy)e one of these alternatives: !esture" ;irst I sho$ that therelationship in music %et$een sound materiality and si!nification is very close and that

!esture is on the ed!e %et$een these t$o domains" 9hen I sho$ that due to the contact!esture has $ith sound materiality it can %e interpreted as a natural !round to 'ustify
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certain compositional options ac.uirin! a status similar to the harmonic series for tonalmusic" arlhein) Stoc6hausen in Maconie 1224& %y ?ohn Ca!e inPritchett 122@& %y Pierre oule) in Padilla 1223 and %y Iannis Bena6is in Bena6is

121" 7o$ever se!mentation could also %e done at a lo$er level than the musicalnote" 9im%re seen as a comple# entity could %e se!mented in parameters such asfre.uency time amplitude $aveform !rain and several others" In electroacousticmusic parameters adopted %y different types of sound synthesis are not al$ayscoincident" Additive synthesis for instance uses sine $aves& !ranular synthesis uses!rain shapes and synthesis %y physical models uses elastic tensions of materials (for a!eneral vie$ on different types of sound synthesis see Doads 122 and the collection ofte#ts in


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6no$n presentation a%out serial composition %y oule) (1223: 1@01F8 the startin!point is the series =livier Messiaen uses in his $or6Mode de valeurs et dintensitscomposed in 1234" 9his series and some of the compositional procedures mentioned inthis te#t $ere used %y oule) for the composition of his $or6 Structures pour deux

pianosO first %oo6" ;irst the series is transformed in num%ers and displayed in t$o

ta%les" =ne ta%le presents the ori!inal and its retro!rade form" 9he other one presents itsinverted and its retro!rade inverted form"

"ig# $ % 9he series of pitches in the $or6 Structures pour deux pianos%y oule)" 9henotes are transformed in num%ers from 1 to 1"

After that oule) applies this series to durations" 9he num%erin! o%tained for the seriesof pitches has to %e the same used for the series of durations" 9he 6eyhere is that asin!le series is used to control different parameters in a composition" =ther$ise it$ould not %e possi%le to o%tain the desired !eneral unity and coherence" 9he series ofdurations used %y oule) is the follo$in!:

"ig# & %9he series of num%ers is transformed in a series of durations %ein! 1 e.ualsone @nd note e.uals t$o @nd notes (i"e" a 1Fth note and so on"

It is very interestin! to o%serve that in the first steps of the method there is aconsidera%le misunderstandin!: the series of pitches does not match $ith the series ofdurations" Qhile the series of pitches follo$s an order !iven to %y the series %yMessiaen the series of durations follo$s a chromatic order" 9he relationship the seriesesta%lishes $ith pitches is not the same as the one it esta%lishes $ith durations" 9he

proportions of durations are different from the proportions of pitches $hich means thatthe t$o series in fact %ecome different $hich is clearly a contradiction re!ardin! theserial method and its assumptions to !enerali)e series to different parameters" A seriesof durations that follo$s the proportion found in the series of pitches $ould forinstance %e as follo$s:


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"ig# 'O 9he series of durations accordin! to the proportions found in the series ofpitches"

It comes as a surprise that this point had not %een noticed %y oule) either in his te#t orin his composition since this mista6e 'eopardi)es the serial method as proposed %y him"

In 123 less than t$o years after oule)Rs te#t revisions on the serial method appearedin $or6s asLiebeslied %y ui!i Nono" Seemin!ly conscious of inconsistent points asthat one some modifications Nono considers considered %y Nono in the serial methodhe uses to compose this $or6 point to less automatic procedures ma6in! room to moremusical results"

9he assumption that parameters are independent from one another does not e#ist only inserial music" It can %e found in several $or6s %y different composers %elon!in! todifferent compositional trends in this period"Music of Changes %y ?ohn Ca!e forinstance also uses a ta%le of pitches a ta%le of durations and a ta%le of dynamics and isfully %ased on a com%ination of different parameters for the production of sound events"

In this $or6 ho$ever Ca!e does not use sin!le notes sin!le durations and sin!ledynamics in his ta%les" Instead most of the time he uses sets of pitches sets of durations

O also includin! silence O and chan!es of dynamics as crescendoor diminuendo"Moreover and in a very different $ay re!ardin! serial music $hat controls thecom%ination of parameters is the I Chin! and its toss of coins (Pritchett 122@: 8088"

Another e#ample that can %e ta6en into consideration is the stochastic music %y IannisBena6is" 7is $or6Metastasis composed in 123@0 is one of the main e#amples ofstochastic music" In this $or6 he esta%lishes an analo!y %et$een notes and molecules ofa !as (Bena6is 12F" 9his analo!y illustrates clearly ho$ Bena6is conceives

parameters and notes themselves as if they $ere independent from one another %ein!suscepti%le to several com%inations for the !eneration of sound masses" 7o$ever theanalo!y %et$een notes and molecules is not really pertinent" Notes are a%stractions %uiltfrom sound phenomena" As such they are closer to sound $aves than to solid particlessuch as molecules" If considered as $aves the independence assumed %y Bena6is is noto%served since a $ave may reinforce or cancel its amplitude $hen in contact $ithanother $ave it may lose its individuality $hen mer!in! $ith another one in cases$hen they %lend into a ne$ tim%re or it may allo$ a third sound to emer!e $henesta%lishin! specific relationships $ith other $aves" Nothin! li6e that happens to

particles"

In the 12345s the assumption that parameters are essentially independent from oneanother is connected $ith another assumption: that parameters have to %e (or should %eneutral unities in some $ay" 9hese assumptions to!ether allo$ composition to focuse#clusively on the $ay parameters are com%ined instead of focusin! on parametersthemselves" I"e" the focus is on the structure of a $or6" 9he more the sound materialityused in a $or6 is neutral (e#empted of si!nification %eyond its parametric informationthe more it %ecomes efficient to %e a %earer of a structure a structure that is essentiallyautonomous concernin! the sound materiality on $hich it is applied" 9hat is the reasonamon! others $hy in the 12345sElektronische Musik used sine $aves as one of its

%asic compositional material andMusiue Concrte defended the deletion of referentialaspect in recorded sounds in order to consider theiry inclusion in a composition (an

additional reason is the need for transformin! the electroacoustic set into an instrumentas can %e seen in Zampronha 44" 9he historical density of sound materiality to!ether


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$ith its referential in !eneral is considered secondary" Structure is fully identified $iththe si!nification of a $or6" In the 12345s $hat a $or6 says is fundamentally itsstructure"

7o$ever since the late 1245s and early 12845s amid several transformations that

happened in contemporary music parameters mutual influence of parameters $hencom%ined clearly %e!an to %e ta6en into account" esides the referential aspect ofsound materiality clearly started to %e ta6en into account too %e this referential aspecthistorical %e it from another nature" An attac6 mi!ht influence the listenin! of a noteduration a %ell sound mi!ht influence the listenin! %y ma6in! references to somespecific litur!ical conte#ts a specific chord mi!ht refer to !he "ite of Spring%y I!orStravins6y or to#arben%y Arnold Schoen%er! amon! other $or6s or a se.uence of

pitches mi!ht refer for instance to Denaissance madri!als" And in the late 1245s even$hen all references $ere removed the a%sence of references itself mi!ht then refer tothe e#periments made in the 12345s $hich in the late 1245s had already %ecomehistory" Comple#ity of listenin! and sound references then started to %e ta6en into

account" Ever since several proposals have appeared to deal $ith this ne$compositional panorama and one of these proposals is !esture"

Gesture on the edge between sound materiality and

signification

In hi!hly codified systems such as ver%al lan!ua!es there is a stron! independence%et$een material vehicle and contents to %e transmitted"


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deviceR %ut is intimately %ound up $ith our $hole response to music (Clar6e 44:FF" It is as much a part of findin! out a%out music as it is a means for its actuali)ation(Clar6e 44: F8"

Qith re!ard to musical composition !esture comes to %e understood as a sound

materiality movement that !enerates a delimited confi!uration reco!ni)a%le %y listenin!as a unit" 9his unity is closely associated to si!nification inside a $or6" Parameters tendnot to %e treated independently from one another anymore" 9hey are treated as a set andthe multiple interferences they produce one another are ta6en into account" In thisconte#t !lo%al confi!urations that listenin! is a%le to apprehend from a soundmateriality movement their spectral and morpholo!ical transformations are moreimportant than a structure in $hich its lo!ic serves to or!ani)e the microscopy of

parameters in a $or6" 9he %rushstro6e a painter ma6es onto a screen can %e understoodas a visi%le mar6 of his or her !esture& li6e$ise in music sound materiality and itsmovement in time can %e understood as an audi%le mar6 of a !esture onto aninstrument" esides the path sound materiality ma6es inside a concert room as it

happens in electroacoustic music can also %e understood as the mar6 of a !esture oreven as a !esture %ein! made %y a sound itself"

A !esture can %e associated to a movement a performer ma6es to produce a sound" Itcan %e associated to a sound materiality also $hich %ecomes an audi%le mar6 of a!esture or even a !esture itself" In %oth cases !esture is on the ed!e %et$een soundmateriality and musical si!nification" It touches these %oth sides" 9his $ay it %ecomesan ans$er some recent contemporary music !ives to the already mentioned issuesopened %y contemporary music in the 12345s"9hat is $hy it has a remar6a%le role in theconstruction of musical si!nification in contemporary music deservin! specialattention"

The contact between gesture and sound materiality!

gesture as a natural ground

ecause it is on the ed!e %et$een sound materiality and si!nification it is possi%le toconsider that the contact !esture esta%lishes $ith materiality can !ive it a status similarto that of harmonic series in tonal music" 7armonic series is used to ar!ue that tonalmusic is !rounded in nature and therefore its la$s are necessary motivated" 9his 6ind

of ar!ument is found in Dameau (121 and in Schoen%er! (12 for instance (on therelationship %et$een music and nature see ;u%ini 44" 7o$ever not al$ays $asharmonic series the ar!ument used to !round tonal music in nature" Giuseppe 9artini inhis !rattato di musica secundo la vera scien$a dell%armoniaMusic treatise accordin! tothe true science of harmonyV issued in 13 considered the !er$o Suonophenomenon(the Com%ination 9ones1Vas this ar!ument" No$adays it is 6no$n that this !er$oSuono is not an acoustic phenomenon" Instead it is a conse.uence of non0linear featuresinside our hearin! system more specifically inside cochlea (to an introductorye#planation see Cho 444"

In fact these and other authors are loo6in! for a !round to 'ustify in nature the musical

la$s they use so that their la$s are not a result from an ar%itrary choice %y composer or%y a culture as a $hole" In the 4th century this need someho$ persists to certain
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authors" 9o !round music in nature %y means of !esture is a conse.uence of a search toovercome the non0necessary non0motivated relationships found in several musical

procedures in the 12345s" Contemporary music post01284 tries to replace the 12345snon0motivated com%inationof parameters %y a motivated musical construction !roundedin some reference" Gesture ans$ers to this need" It is seen as a physical concrete

reference that can %e used as a !round" 9he coherence !esture presents is transferred tocomposition to !round different relationships amon! parameters" =ther contemporarymusic trends post01284 use other references %esides !esture" Sound spectrum is used to!round different compositional aspects in spectral music as can %e seen in $or6s %yGerard Grisey (for a panoramic vie$ on this theme see arriJre 1221" =r in othercases the historical density of sound materiality used in composition !rounds certainforms of post0modernism as in $or6s %y Alfred Schnitt6e or %y Gil%erto Mendes(122" At a certain e#tent the difference amon! several musical trends in the post012845s is a matter of $hich !round a composer chooses to use in his or her $or6"Gesture is one of the possi%le !rounds"

The contact between gesture and signification!

gesture brings significations to the wor(

rian ;erneyhou!h is one of the composers that uses !esture as central element in hiscompositions as much as in his theoretical te#ts" 7e considers !esture as an o%'ectiveunit that has a specific confi!uration $hich is delimited in time and space and that isan iconic representation of the emotion (oros W 9oop 122F: 8@" ;erneyhou!hcondemns the use of !esture as a representation of emotions in music %ecause he

considers that it produces a return to Domanticism" Alternatively he proposes the use of$hat he namesfigure&;i!ure accordin! to ;erneyhou!h is the result of !esturedeconstruction in parameters" Each parameter is !iven an autonomous unfoldin!ho$ever someho$ 6eepin! the !esture as a %ac6drop" In this sense he tries to overcomethe issues posed %y the serial music in the 12345s $ithout !oin! %ac6 to Domanticism"As he states no lon!er does one attempt to create a !esture via the automatic comin!to!ether of a%stract parametric units or .uantities (orons W 9oop 122F: 83 as usedto happen in serial music"


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are suppressed $hen !esture is deconstructed in parameters particularly stereotypedsym%olic relationships" 9he deconstruction proposed %y ;erneyhou!h does not reallyseem to %e a deconstruction of !esture itself" Gesture still e#ists in his deconstructionand it is used as a 6ey element to relate parameters amon! themselves in a si!nificantunit" 9hat is $hy he su!!ests that synchronic identity %et$een !esture and emotion

should %e replaced %y a diachronic identity that is:

diachronic sucessivit( as the central mode of 4reading musical states, for the reason

that a progressive accreational definition of musical vocables is indispensable if a

counter'eight to the suffocating presence of historicall( concrete st(listic triggers is to

be created(oros W 9oop 122F: @"

9o deconstruct a !esture is to eliminate the tri!!ers that ma6e the stereotype andKthesuffocatin! presence of historically concrete stylistic they imply to appear" As Iunderstand it the term fi!ure used %y ;erney!hou!h is in fact a !esture $ithout thosetri!!ers $hich set stereotypes in motion specially the ones related to stereotyped

emotions"

esides stereotypes place !esture far a$ay from sound materiality and that turnsstereotyped si!nification relatively autonomous respect to it" So a deconstruction ofstereotype %rin!s !esture %ac6 to the ed!e %et$een sound materiality and si!nificationthus %ein! a%le to connect %oth domains a!ain ma6in! room for the appearance of ne$musical si!nifications"

9he hyper0valuation of the contact %et$een !esture and si!nification:a search for transcultural si!nifications

9he search for a natural !round in music and the use of !esture as a concrete evenphysical reference $hose coherence is transferred to composition (as if it had a statussimilar to harmonic series in tonal music can lead some points of vie$ up toe#cesses"


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vo$els shorter than 34 milliseconds are perceived as an TuT instead of an TIT" 9he fact thevo$els are different in the t$o cases led us to investi!ate $hat happens in cases $hereadult ?apanese spea6ers immi!rate to ra)il havin! no previous contact $ith thePortu!uese lan!ua!e" 9he result $as surprisin!: after learnin! Portu!uese in ra)ilthese adults started to chan!e all vo$els shorter than 34 milliseconds to TIT instead of

TuT" 9hat $as so une#pected that all e#periments $ere verified a!ain and a set of aneven lar!er num%er of ne$ tests $as done" 9he phenomenon $as o%served in more than24Y of the cases"

9he se.uences of sounds used in these tests $ere lo!atoms" 9hat is se.uences of soundsthat have no meanin! either in Portu!uese or in ?apanese" 9his feature raised thehypothesis that their listenin! could %e similar to the listenin! of tim%res" 9he fact thatdistortion stops $hen vo$el is lon!er than 34 milliseconds reinforce this hypothesissince 34 milliseconds is the threshold a%ove $hich $e !enerally start to identify pitchesand under $hich $e !enerally identify 'ust tim%res and the association %et$een vo$elsand pitches is $ell 6no$n" 9herefore it $as decided that tests $ith musicians had to %e

done" 9ests $ere accomplished $ith under0!raduate students %elon!in! to the last yearof the under0!raduate course in composition and conductin! at the SoPauloStateUniversity" In tests in $hich students had free time to ans$er the ear0trainin!allo$ed the students to identify vo$els lo$er than 34 milliseconds correctly in almostall cases $hich demonstrates %oth that some approach %et$een lo!atoms and tim%re

perception to identify the correct vo$els is pertinent and that trainin! can chan!e the$ay $e perceive even very short and %asic perceptual unities" 7o$ever in testsre.uirin! fast ans$ers the students had 'ust a sli!htly %etter performance $hencompared to non0musicians $hich indicates that cultural conte#t and ear0trainin! havetheir limits for transformin! $hat is listened in these cases" 9hus these e#perimentsconfirm that perception is in fact an interpretation a semiotic action onto $hat is

perceived and listenin! can interfere in $hat is perceived up to certain limits" As aconse.uence considerin! that sound materiality and si!nifications are very closelyrelated in music listeners from different cultural conte#ts and different 6inds ofeducation and ear0trainin! can perceive differently to the same acoustical si!nalchan!in! the $ay sound materiality itself is listened to and as a result chan!in! itssi!nification" 9hese considerations tend to eliminate the hypothesis of transculturalsi!nifications" ased on these e#periments the ma#imum that is possi%le to accept is a

partial transcultural si!nification $hich still needs to %e e#perimentally investi!ated"

The hyper)*aluation of the contact between gestureand sound materiality!

a search for the reduction of signification to gesture


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composition instead of descri%in! the desired sound results (See!er 12& a%outdifferent relationships %et$een musical $ritin! and composition see Zampronha 444"9he !reater the reduction of musical si!nification to !esture the !reater the prescriptiveaspects found in a score" In %orderline cases prescri%in! a !esture in a score is a6in to$ritin! its si!nification" 7o$ever $hen prescriptive aspect of a score are e#cessive

si!nification turns out to %e a result more related $ith choices a performer ma6es toplay the score than $ith a musical thou!ht that the score re!isters and a performerreconstructs" 9he act of playin! one of these hi!hly comple# scores implies a search for!estures that can translate as much as possi%le $hat is prescri%ed into sounds"


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In this definition the listener5s cultural %ac6!round is as relevant as the constraints thatsound materiality imposes to the construction of certain connections made %y listenin!"Sound materiality cannot determine e#actly $hich connections listenin! $ill construct"7o$ever it can prevent listenin! of constructin! some connections" A Gre!orian chantfor instance cannot determine ho$ it is to %e listened& ho$ever it definitely does not

allo$ listenin! to listen to it as if it $ere a standard t$elve0tone music" It is in thedialo!ue %et$een connections a listener accomplishes amon! those the soundmateriality allo$s tryin! to translate $hat is listened into somethin! intelli!i%le thatmusical si!nification emer!es" 9herefore musical si!nification cannot %e reduced to!esture"

Gesture and performance!

the particular case of electroacoustic music

A listener can esta%lish an inde#ical connection %et$een $hat is listened and !esturesmade %y a performer on his or her instrument" Gestural inde#icalities can %e fulfilled inconcerts and the connection %et$een !estures and sounds may constitute a rich field ofinterest for listenin!" Althou!h several !estures are related to the production of soundsin music several others such as facial e#pressions and %ody postures may have norelations $ith it" Instead they may %e related $ith socio0cultural values shared $ith theaudience and they can %e introduced durin! a performance so that the listenin! isenriched $ith e#tra0musical si!nifications" It is of interest then to verify $hat happensin electroacoustic music concerts $hen there is no other performer %esides the one $homa6es the electroacoustic diffusion"

Althou!h it is possi%le to state that in electroacoustic music !estures are eliminatedfrom performance it is also possi%le to state that in electroacoustic music the physical!esture is transcended and that ne$ possi%ilities not constrained %y %odily limitationsare no$ availa%le (Smalley 122F" It is possi%le to consider the movement of soundentities in space as !estures themselves" esides the creation of different spaces and thechan!e from one to another durin! a concert enlar!es the notion of !esture to otherdomains"

Poor electroacoustic music diffusion mi!ht not introduce !estures in the $or6 and thelistener mi!ht not perceive a real difference %et$een listenin! to it in a concert or at

home" Even $orse poor electroacoustic diffusion mi!ht even dama!e a $or6"Electroacoustic diffusion is an action upon recorded sounds (or sounds processed in realtime $hich can introduce !estures in it" Efficiency is achieved amon! other aspects$hen the listener considers $hat is listened as a result of !estures produced durin! theelectroacoustic diffusion" Even $hen fin!er movements on a mi#in! %oard are not seenmusical sounds leave traces that allo$ listenin! to connect $hat is listened to !estures$hich is of !reat importance in a concert" Qhen that happens !estures introduceadditional si!nifications that recorded sounds alone do not have" In electroacousticdiffusion !esture should impress listenin! as if it $ere the cause of $hat is listened" Inthis sense it can for instance create articulations create similarities create differentspaces usin! different sets of spea6ers availa%le in the concert room create or enhance

contrasts increase e#pressiveness relate musical motives to space displacements andso on" Some %asic mista6es in electroacoustic diffusion happen $hen fader movements


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(i"e" !estures on the mi#in! %oard or other media are apprehended %y listenin! indisa!reement $ith the recorded sounds %ehavior particularly in diminuendos(fade outsor $hen a sound is displaced from one spea6er to another for instance" Another very

%asic and common mista6e $orth mentionin! is the loss of stereo ima!es due to aninefficient placement of spea6ers on the concert room or due to a diffusion that sends a

stereo sound to spea6ers too far apart transformin! a stereo ima!e in t$o mono sounds"Many other mista6es can happen" 7o$ever amon! the most %asic ones theapprehension of fader movements %y listenin! is very amateurish and one of the $orstones"

In an electroacoustic music studio (or at a home studio the availa%le interfaces to!enerate and manipulate sounds do not usually consider a causal relationship %et$eenthe composerRs action and $hat is listened" An inde#ical relationship is missin! $hichis not supplied %y a mouse clic6 a 'oystic6 or a command typed on a 6ey%oard" In anelectroacoustic $or6 $here almost all inde#ical representations can %e a%sent Iconsider it useful to include certain sounds that can represent !estures themselves

sounds that can %e listened as sound !estures $hich produce other sounds and that have!reat impact in concerts" A sharp noise $ith a very pronounced crescendoa%out t$oseconds lon! can %e listened as an attac6 !esture to the production of other sounds as a!ranular lo$ pitched one that immediately follo$s it for instance" 9he first soundincreases its tension and li%erates it on the second" 9his attac60resonance model is usedto connect the t$o sounds efficiently"

Moreover in an electroacoustic conte#t $here the reco!nition of causalitiesaccomplished %y other sound !estures prevails i"e" $here the presence of sounds thatrepresent !estures themselves prevails the introduction of sounds $ithout identifia%lecausalities ac.uires an important rhetorical effect and can %e e#plored thorou!hly in theconstruction of several musical discourses"

"ig# ,O ;ra!ment of the manuscript of the $or6 Concert for Electroacoustic Sounds %yEdson Zampronha"

Gesture and the poetic conception of a wor(!

the transformation of non)musical into musical

If listeners can reco!ni)e !esture as a delimited confi!uration then someho$ !esturescan also %e manipulated as if they $ere motives" Similarly to $hat happens in music


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from earlier periods memory can 6eep pertinent traces $hich identify a !esture and caninterpret ne$ appearances of these traces as %ein! ne$ appearances of the same or asimilar !esture" 9his is $hat can %rin! !estures and motives closer and this is $hatma6es it possi%le to adapt a variety of motive manipulation procedures from other

periods to recent contemporary music" 7o$ever !esture can %e used in a very different

$ay" It is possi%le to e#plore the fact that !esture is on the ed!e %et$een soundmateriality and si!nification and e#tract from that some challen!in! musicalconse.uences of !reat relevance to recent contemporary music"

9he $or6Modeling 000 for solo flute that I composed in 1223 is an e#ample that sho$sho$ parameters can %e $or6ed all to!ether $ithout destroyin! !esture" In the %e!innin!of this $or6 parameters are treated inside a note" 9hey are manipulated in order tocreate a counterpoint of parameters inside this note" It is a counterpoint that presents asimilar !esture em%odied into different parameters as vi%rato dynamics attac6stim%res and so on"

"ig# - % ;ra!ment of the manuscript of the $or6Modeling 000 %y Edson Zampronha"

7o$ever the plot in this $or6 !oes far %eyond this counterpoint of parameters" 9he plotis a result from a transformation durin! the development of the $or6 itself of a soundmateriality that is not music yet into music" 9he sound materiality used is a lon! nudeand transparent note" It is 'ust a material a composer can use to create music" 7o$everit is not music yet" 9his lon! note is almost reduced to the performerRs daily e#ercisesfor the maintenance of his or her techni.ue" 7o$ever due to all transformations thislon! note is su%mitted this sound that is not music yet is precisely $hat %ecomes music"

9his transformation of $hat is non0musical into $hat is musical reveals that musicaldiscourse is displaced that $hat is usually considered accessory %ecomes the focus thata note $hich traditionally is part of a discourse is no$ transformed in a conte#t $here


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another discourse happens" It is !esture considered on the ed!e %et$een soundmateriality and si!nification that ma6es it possi%le to transform (it $ould %e morecorrect to say to re0si!nify or still to trans0create amon! the possi%ilities offered %ysound materiality $hat is non0musical into musical" 9he process of %ecomin! a$are ofthis transformation durin! the process of listenin! is the essence of the plot for the re0

si!nifications it implies for the %ac6$ard movements listenin! has to do in order to re0connect and re0consider $hat $as listened in another intelli!i%le $ay" Stereotyped!estures are inefficient to do that %ecause they are far a$ay from sound materiality andat most they !enerate an anecdotic effect $hen they impose to sound materiality amusicality that is stran!e to it" In fact !estures have to %e very close to soundmateriality almost identified $ith it to do this transformation to %e the actors of this

plot"

In this fra!ment ofModeling 000the suddenforte2pianos vibratos attac6s are allmusical !estures used to control the polyphony of parameters $hich trans0create themusical potential of a lon! note into somethin! musical indeed and they lead listenin!

to the a%ove mentioned plot $hich is one of the main topics in contemporary musicthou!ht" Plots as this one e#ist in a similar $ay in $or6s from previous periods as inthe initial arpeggioof the sonata =pus @1 No" K9empest %y eethoven& in themelody representin! a %arrel or!an at the %e!innin! of8etrushka %y Stravins6y& in thesiren that invades0onisation %y arJse or in many $or6s %y Ca!e in $hich soundsfrom daily life %ecome musical" InModeling 000!estures are the 6ey to transform $hatis non0musical into musical durin! the $or6 itself" Gestures are the 6ey to ma6elistenin! sensitive to this plot that in this $or6 appears in an innovative conte#t and ismade usin! different resources"

9his transformation from non0musical into musical illustrates that the comple#ity of a$or6 is not necessarily (or e#clusively a result of a structure $ith plenty of comple#relationships" In this transformation the %ac6$ard movements listenin! ma6es to re0si!nify $hat $as listened promote the emer!ence of a multiplicity of discourses eitheramon! different parts of one $or6 or amon! the $or6 $ith other a%sent $or6s" 9hus a$or6 %ecomes a sta!e on $hich a comple# dialo!ue amon! $or6s and different parts ofthe same $or6 happens" 9he mentioned $or6 %y eethoven for instance converses$ith the aro.ue and $ith itself (the arpeggiothat seems to %e an introduction %ecomesan essential part of the 1st theme and at the same time ma6es reference to a aro.uerecitative as can %e seen at the %e!innin! of the re0e#position& the $or6 %y Stravins6yconverses $ith traditional sentences from the Classic period& the $or6 %y arJse

converses $ith sounds that have social and coded meanin!s and many $or6s %y Ca!econverse $ith sounds from our daily life that %ecome in some cases ready0mades" Inthese cases to listen to a $or6 is to listen to other $or6s or sound conte#tssimultaneously $hich !enerates a net of .uite comple# re0si!nifications that can enrichthe $or6 effectively listened as much as enrich the a%sent $or6s it converses $ithchan!in! the $ay $e listen to them" Some composers put this dialo!ue e#plicitly insidea $or6 as it happens in the @rd movement of the S(mphon(,%y uciano erio $hichconverses $ith Gustav Mahler or in the @rd movement of the @rdString 9uartet %yAlfred Schnitt6e $hich converses $ith =rlando di asso" 9hose are fundamental pointsto contemporary music and !esture is decisive to achieve them"

"inal considerations


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9he use of !esture in contemporary music post01284 is an ans$er to technical andaesthetical assumptions found in music proposals since the 12345s" In particular to the

%asic assumption that states that parameters 6eep their features unchan!ed re!ardlessthe $ay there are com%ined $hich !enerates important conse.uences re!ardin! theneutrality of sound materiality structure and listenin!"

In this paper I have approached a variety of topics related to !esture in contemporarymusic post01284 that in %rief sho$s:

9hat !esture is on the ed!e %et$een sound materiality and musical si!nificationtouchin! %oth domains&

9hat !esture is not neutral and %rin!s different si!nifications to the $or6&

9hat in some cases !esture is used to !round music in nature overcomin! issuesthat resulted from the use of non0necessary and non0motivated relationships asin the 12345s $hich !ives !esture a role similar to the harmonic series in tonal

music&

9hat representations that !esture can accomplish are %esides the iconic onesinde#ical and sym%olic ones and that to eliminate stereotyped sym%olicrepresentations is to %rin! !esture %ac6 to the ed!e %et$een sound materialityand si!nification&

9hat the hyper0valuation of the contact %et$een !esture and si!nifications canlead one to state that !estures have trans0cultural si!nifications and %ased one#periments I remar6 that it is not entirely correct&

9hat the hyper0valuation of the contact %et$een !esture and sound materialitycan lead one to state that si!nifications can %e reduced to !estures alone and

%ased on the analysis of the conse.uences this point of vie$ has on scores Iremar6 that it can not %e entirely correct either&

9hat it is possi%le to relate !esture and performance even in the case ofelectroacoustic music and I o%serve !eneral aspects on ho$ !estures are presentin the particular case of electroacoustic music diffusion in concerts"

I conclude %y sho$in! that !esture can %e used in a challen!in! $ay %y the poeticconception of recent contemporary music" Althou!h some authors $ant to find in

!esture a natural !round to 'ustify his or her musical procedures this approach to!esture seems to have almost no relevance to the construction of a contemporary musiccomposition havin! almost no momentum to !o %eyond personal circumstances thatfind in !esture an ans$er to personal issues" ein! on the ed!e %et$een soundmateriality and musical si!nification !esture turns out to %e an efficient resourcethrou!h $hich it is possi%le to transform $hat is non0musical into musical inside a$or6" A $or6 %ased on this transformation !enerates a comple# plot resultin! from themany re0si!nifications it !enerates in listenin! $hich ma6es room to a rich dialo!ue

%et$een the $or6 and other $or6s" It %ecomes then a $ay %y means of $hichcomposers can focus listenin! in this plot that is one of the main important topics for theconstruction of contemporary musical thou!ht no$adays"


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"ootnotes

1" !er$o Suono or Com%ination 9ones is a phenomenon that happens $hen t$osounds of different fre.uencies sound simultaneously and a third sound starts to

%e listened" 9he t$o sounds are usually in simple interval relation and thecom%ination tones are more audi%le $hen the t$o sounds are played forte" 9hefre.uency of the third sound is either the difference or the sum of the fre.uencyof the other t$o ones" 9hat is $hy com%ination tones are also namedrespectively differential and additive sounds"[V

" Iconic inde#ical and sym%olic representations are classes of si!ns that %elon! toPeirce5s semiotics" ;or an introduction to his semiotics see Merrell 1228 andSantaella 1223& for a synthetic presentation see NHth 1224 for an introductoryvision of semiotics applied to music see Zampronha 441" Peirce5s semioticsalso %ases the 9emporal Semiotic Unities %y E Eri6" 44" KUnderstandin! the Psycholo!y of Performance" EnMusical 8erformance > a 6uide to -nderstanding ed" ?ohn Din6 320"Cam%rid!e: Cam%ri!de"


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;EDNE]7=UG7 rian" 122" !errain" Ne$ ]or6: Peters (Score"

;UINI Enrico" 44"La Musica: ?atura e Storia" 9orino: Einaudi"

GD=UPE m" 122@" !ratado del Signo @isual" Madrid: C+tedra"

MAC=NIE Do%in" 1224" !he =orks of arlhein$ Stockhausen& _ ed" =#ford:Clarendon"

MEN


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bbbb" 44" KA ConstruXo do Sentido Musical" EnArte e Cultura 000 > estudosinterdisciplinares eds" Maria de ourdes Se6eff y Edson Zampronha" 308"So Paulo: Anna%lumeT;APESP"

gesture in contemporary music - edson zanpronha

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