Copyright by Stephen Michael Sachse 2018 Root Motion: For Chamber Ensemble With Electronics by Stephen Michael Sachse Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts The University of Texas at Austin May 2018 Acknowledgments I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to the entire composition faculty of the University of Texas at Austin: Russell Pinkston, Yevgeniy Sharlat, Bruce Pennycook, Donald Grantham, and Dan Welcher. I have needed every bit of help and knowledge you have provided along the way in staying on my feet and finding my path forward as an artist. You were there for me when I needed you the most, and I will forever be grateful to all of you for that. I would also like to thank my closest friends in the department who have also stuck by my side and encouraged me every step of the way: Eli, Jon, José, Kramer, Chris and Chris, Josh, Robert, Corey, Lauren, and Michael. I also want to extend my most heartfelt thanks to Dr. Russell Pinkston. With the utmost sincerity and respect I would like to congratulate you on your career as an educator, researcher, and leader within the fields of composition and electronic music. I can say beyond any shadow of doubt that you have been the most influential teacher in my life, and have been one of my most deeply respected friends and allies. Each one of us greatly appreciated the way that you organized the electronic music program and its concerts, cared for the studios, handled the electronic music forum, and the way that you have led by example. You have always respected and promoted your peers while exemplifying excellence, thoroughness, and true humility as a researcher and fellow human being. The education that I received from the UT electronic music studios cannot be replaced. Thank you for all that you have done, and I wish you all the best in the future. iv Root Motion: For Chamber Ensemble With Electronics by Stephen Michael Sachse, D.M.A. The University of Texas at Austin, 2018 Supervisor: Russell Pinkston Electronics have shared a relationship with acoustic instruments for a number of years within the field of composition. They have provided composers a variety of opportunities for expression across a diverse array of mediums, and offered new ways to organize their creative ideas. With the continued development of the Virtual Studio Technology interface, resources such as modular-based softsynths have become increasingly accessible to composers, alongside a myriad of plugin-based tools that allow for the production of recorded and sequenced music at the highest levels of audio fidelity. This dissertation explores the ways in which these tools can be used creatively to offer composers an outlet for their ideas across stylistic genres, as well as promote self-reliance and sustainability in situations where performance opportunities might be limited, outlining my own experiences as a reference point. v Table of Contents List of Figures ....................................................................................................................... viii! Chapter 1: Background .............................................................................................................1! 1.1Where is Classical Music at, and What Does New Music Look Like? ..................1! 1.2 Creating Opportunities .............................................................................................2! 1.3 Motivaing Factors Behind Aesthetic Choices .........................................................3! Chapter 2: Synthesis Study ......................................................................................................9! 2.1 The Synthesizer in Orchestration and Arranging....................................................9! 2.2 Synthesis Processing Techniques Used in Addressing Issues of Timbre .......... 12! 2.3 An Argument for the Legitimacy of Electronic Music as a Valid Form of Orchestral-Style Composition ............................................................................... 20! Chapter 3: “New Music” in Jazz .......................................................................................... 23! 3.1 A Fusion of Influences .......................................................................................... 23! 3.2 Large-Scale Harmonic Shifts ................................................................................ 27! Chapter 4: The “New Music” Band...................................................................................... 32! 4.1 An Exploration in Chamber Music for a Typical “Band” Instrumentation ....... 32! 4.2 Previous Thematic Ideas Present Within Part 3 .................................................. 34! Chapter 5: Crossing Over ...................................................................................................... 36! 5.1 A Transitional Movement Including a Further Exploration of Fusion ............... 36! 5.2 Chamber Music That Includes Groove-Oriented Elements ................................ 37! 5.3 Polymodality, and More Expressive Qualities of the Synthesizer...................... 38! Chapter 6: The Guitar Source ............................................................................................... 41! 6.1 The Fusion of Human and Computerized Elements ............................................ 41! 6.2 Music Production and the Ability to Manipulate Atmosphere ........................... 41! vi 6.3 A Final Return of Thematic Ideas ......................................................................... 44! Conclusions ............................................................................................................................ 45! Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 164! vii List of Figures Figure 1:! Example of Synthesis Using the Max Programming Language...................... 10! Figure 2:! Example of Synthesis Using the SuperCollider Programming Language ...... 11! Figure 3:! Graphical Representation of Synthesis Parameters in the u-he Diva Synthesizer ....................................................................................................... 11! Figure 4:! Graphical Representation of Synthesis Parameters in the Serum Synthesizer ....................................................................................................... 12! Figure 5:! List of Processing Effects Used for the Melody 1 Instrument in Part 1 ......... 14! Figure 6:! Basic Sine Tone Patch for the Melody 1 Voice in Part 1 ................................ 15! Figure 7:! Spectral Analysis of the First Melodic Pitch, Minus Processing .................... 16! Figure 8:! The Addition of Partials to Melody 1 by Way of Saturation Processing ........ 17! Figure 9:! Basic Spectral Analysis of the Timbre Produced by the Clarinet ................... 18! Figure 10:! Page 3 of Part 1, Demonstrating Sectional Arrangement and Orchestration .................................................................................................... 19! Figure 11:! Melody 3 Starting Point and Processing ......................................................... 20! Figure 12:! Opening Guitar Chord Sequence..................................................................... 25! Figure 13:! Polychords in m.154 Used as a Shift Toward Triadic Sonorities ................. 27! Figure 14:! Upper-Structure Triad in Measure 192 ........................................................... 28! Figure 15:! Descending Chromatic Melody (m.190-192) Transferred to Part 4 ............ 29! Figure 16:! Piano Solo Excerpt (mm.275-278) Using Melodic Triads ............................ 30! Figure 17:! Example of Instrumental Roles and Polytonality in Part 3 ........................... 33! Figure 18:! Themes Returning in m.44 and m.48 .............................................................. 35! Figure 19:! Orchestration in Part 4..................................................................................... 38! Figure 20:! Synth Melody Patch From Part 4 ................................................................... 40! Figure 21:! Automation Processing for the Synth Patch in Part 4 ................................... 40! viii Figure 22:! Filter Processing Example for the Guitars in Part 5 ...................................... 42! Figure 23:! Overall Spectral Analysis of Part 5 ................................................................ 43! Figure 24:! Reharmonization of Part 2 Introductory Chords ........................................... 44! ix Chapter 1: Background 1.1WHERE IS CLASSICAL MUSIC AT, AND WHAT DOES NEW MUSIC LOOK LIKE? One of the privileges of being a student within an academic composition program is that you are able to frequently attend presentations, and speak with both performers and composers alike who have found a way to make things work for themselves within the current social environment surrounding academic music and composition. A few of these presentations, and a number of the themes from these experiences have stuck with me over the years. I will do my best to summarize them briefly as an explanation for my current compositional process and musical decisions. When I attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, the course1 that had the most profound influence on my current ideas regarding the state of new music was one that discussed