The Intention/Reception Project
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. THE INTENTION/RECEPTION PROJECT: INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPOSER INTENTION AND LISTENER RESPONSE IN ELECTROACOUSTIC COMPOSITIONS Robert Weale Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY June 2005 1 The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. ABSTRACT ROBERT WEALE 2005 THE INTENTION/RECEPTION PROJECT: INVESTIGATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMPOSER INTENTION AND LISTENER RESPONSE IN ELECTROACOUSTIC COMPOSITIONS. The Intention/Reception (I/R)1 project concerns an investigation of the relationship between composer intention and listener response in electroacoustic (E/A) compositions that contain or are perceived to contain real-world sound references (RWE/A). These are fixed medium works where the composer’s communicative intent is based wholly or in part on the real- world referential characteristics of the sounding content. Such works are a subset of a corpus of works that appears to be based, for the most part within academia and the professional E/A art music community. The I/R approach concerns investigating if the real-world sounding content and communicative intent of RWEA music might be accessible to a broader audience than that which is currently listening to such works. Indeed, the project is largely focussed on an audience that appears to be unaware that such music exists. In considering these particular issues this investigation of intention and reception focuses on addressing access and appreciation in RWE/A music, an investigation that ultimately seeks to reveal the potential (if indeed such a potential exists) for the broader dissemination of RWE/A music to new audiences. The I/R project positions its fundamental point of departure in the research of Leigh Landy. The goal of the Intention/Reception project in this respect being the development, enhancement and expansion of several of his concepts. In particular: 1) the something to hold on to factor, 2) dramaturgy and 3) the shared listening experience. It also presents a review of pertinent studies already undertaken in the areas of intention and reception. Michael Bridger (1989), Luke Windsor (1995), François Delalande (1998) and Andra McCartney (2000a). This information is used as a foundation on which the design, development and implementation of the Intention/Reception project’s empirical methodology is based. The Intention/Reception project's methodology, the development of which is discussed in detail in this thesis, involves introducing RWE/A works that are unknown to the listening subjects, and then evaluating their listening experience. Through repeated listening and the introduction of the composers' articulation of intent (through a work's title, inspiration, elements that the composer intends to be communicated, eventually elements of the compositional process itself – in short, the ‘dramaturgy’ of the work) listening responses are monitored. The purpose here is to investigate to what extent familiarity 1 For a complete list of the abbreviations used in this thesis see appendix I. 2 The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. contributes to access and appreciation and to what extent intention and reception are meeting in this very particular corpus of E/A art music. Results of the analysis and interpretation of data concerning the listening experience demonstrate that the types of work represented in this study are accessible to the new potential audience represented by the inexperienced user group. These listeners are able to access, appreciate and (most importantly) have an enjoyable and stimulating listening experience. When offered pertinent aspects of a work’s dramaturgy inexperienced listeners are able to use this information to assist their listening experience in areas that have been identified as problematic and so enhance appreciation further. Results also demonstrate that on average, two-thirds of inexperienced listeners stated that they would enjoy listening to such works in the future. 3 The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES 8 LIST OF FIGURES 10 LIST OF APPENDICES 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 12 INTRODUCTION 13 CHAPTER 1. THE INTENTION/RECEPTION PROJECT IN CONTEXT. 21 1.1 Establishing the foundations of the Intention/Reception project. 21 1.1.1 The listening experience. 22 1.1.2 Electroacoustic art music that contains real-world sound references. 26 1.1.3 The internal propagation and dissemination of electroacoustic art music. 28 1.2 Delineating the principal areas of investigation. 32 1.2.1 The something to hold on to factor. 32 1.2.2 Dramaturgy. 34 1.2.3 The communicative continuum. 37 1.2.4 Content vs context – the Intention/Reception schema. 41 1.2.5 Intention in an electroacoustic art music context. 42 1.2.6 The aesthesic continuum – listener response in electroacoustic art music that contains real-world sound references. 46 1.2.7 ‘Meaning’ in electroacoustic art music that contains real-world sound references. 50 1.3 Theoretical and empirical approaches to electroacoustic art music research. 54 1.3.1 Luke Windsor – introducing an etic approach to electroacoustic art music research. 57 1.3.2 Michael Bridger – ‘An approach to the analysis of electroacoustic music derived from empirical investigation and critical methodologies of other disciplines.’ 61 4 The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. 1.3.3 François Delalande – ‘Music Analysis and Reception Behaviours: Sommeil by Pierre Henry.’ 66 1.3.4 Andra McCartney – ‘Sounding Places with Hildegard Westerkamp’. 74 1.4 Consolidated points of interest – establishing the potential investigative foundations of the Intention/Reception project. 84 CHAPTER 2. DESIGNING THE INTENTION/RECEPTION METHODOLOGY. 89 2.1 Methodological consideration – reflections on the practical implementation of an Intention/Reception methodology. 89 2.1.1 Developing a method reflecting access and appreciation – integrating the voice of the outsider into the methodology. 91 2.1.2 Soliciting qualitative data texts. 93 2.2 Designing the testing methodology. 94 2.2.1 Ethical consideration. 95 2.2.2 Test composition selection procedures. 99 2.2.3 Designing the composer intention questionnaire. 101 2.2.4 The final selection of test works. 107 2.2.5. Designing the listener testing methodology. 110 2.2.6 Listener response questionnaires. 114 2.2.7 Listener testing procedure. 117 2.3 The pilot project. 118 2.3.1 Listener testing revisions. 119 2.3.2 Post-testing session discussions. 124 2.3.3 The treatment of bad data. 124 CHAPTER 3. TEST RESULTS – ANALYSIS OF LISTENER RESPONSE DATA. 126 3.1 ABZ/A. 127 3.1.1 The listening experience – first listening responses for ABZ/A. 130 5 The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. 3.1.2 Second listening responses – the influence of the title on the listening experience. 143 3.1.3 Third listening responses – the influence of repeated listening and dramaturgic information on the listening experience. 147 3.1.4 Post-testing, group discussion notes. 150 3.1.5 Listening schema. 152 3.1.6 Accessibility – statistical analysis of directed listener response questionnaire responses (questions 9-12). 154 3.2 Deep Pockets. 158 3.2.1 The listening experience – first listening responses for Deep Pockets. 160 3.2.2 Second listening responses – the influence of the title on the listening experience. 171 3.2.3 Third listening responses – the influence of repeated listening and dramaturgic information on the listening experience. 175 3.2.4 Post-testing, group discussion notes. 178 3.2.5 Listening schema. 179 3.2.6 Accessibility – statistical analysis of directed listener response questionnaire responses (questions 9-12). 181 3.3 Nocturne. 184 3.3.1 The listening experience – first listening responses for Nocturne. 186 3.3.2 Second listening responses – the influence of the title on the listening experience. 198 3.3.3 Third listening responses – the influence of repeated listening and dramaturgic information on the listening experience. 203 3.3.4 Post-testing, group discussion notes. 205 3.3.5 Accessibility – statistical analysis of directed listener response questionnaire responses (questions 9-12). 208 CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSIONS – INTERPRETING THE RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS. 212 6 The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. 4.1 The listening experience – identifying and establishing a generalised something to hold on to factor framework. 212 4.1.1 Sound identification strategies. 212 4.1.2 Micro-level interpretation – the process of identifying abstract/transformed sound and its influence on the listening experience. 216 4.1.3 Interpretation strategies – discovering the pertinent something to hold on to factors. 219 4.1.4 The use of something to hold on to factors in the macro-level interpretation process. 223 4.2 The title and dramaturgy as tools of access. 226 4.2.1 The title as a something to hold on to factor. 226 4.2.2 Dramaturgic information as a something to hold on to factor. 228 4.2.3 Repeated listening as an aid to the listening experience. 229 4.3 Access and appreciation – generalised results for the inexperienced user group. 231 4.4 Final conclusions. 235 4.5 The Future – where does this project go from here? 238 4.5.1 Marketing electroacoustic art music. 239 4.5.2 Pedagogic potential. 241 4.5.3 Further potential regarding widening participation, access and dissemination. 246 7 The Intention/Reception Project. Ph.D. Dissertation Thesis. © Rob Weale 2005. De Montfort University, Leicester. LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1 THE MOST OFTEN IDENTIFIED SOUNDS FOR ALL THREE USER GROUPS IN ABZ/A. 131 TABLE 2 INEXPERIENCED CORE USER GROUP RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION, ‘WHAT MIGHT THIS PIECE BE ABOUT?’ (DQ1) IN ABZ/A.