Middlesex University Research Repository An open access repository of Middlesex University research http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk Matthews, Charles Michael (2014) Adapting and applying central Javanese gamelan music theory in electroacoustic composition and performance. PhD thesis, Middlesex University. [Thesis] Final accepted version (with author’s formatting) This version is available at: https://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/14415/ Copyright: Middlesex University Research Repository makes the University’s research available electronically. Copyright and moral rights to this work are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners unless otherwise stated. The work is supplied on the understanding that any use for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. A copy may be downloaded for personal, non-commercial, research or study without prior permission and without charge. 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See also repository copyright: re-use policy: http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/policies.html#copy Adapting and Applying Central Javanese Gamelan Music Theory in Electroacoustic Composition and Performance Part I of II Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Ph. D. Charles Michael Matthews School of Arts Middlesex University May 2014 i Table of contents – part I II TABLE OF FIGURES ................................................................................ III III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................ IV IV ABSTRACT ........................................................................................... VI V TYPOGRAPHY, LANGUAGE, AND NOTATION ........................................ VII VI PREFACE .............................................................................................. IX 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research questions .......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research methods ............................................................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Thesis structure ................................................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Contributions to knowledge ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Research outputs .............................................................................................................................................. 6 2 GENERAL MUSICAL CONCEPTS ............................................................... 8 2.1 Music as (humanly) organized sound ....................................................................................................... 8 2.1.1 Musical instruments ................................................................................................................................................ 10 2.2 Musical idiom .................................................................................................................................................. 10 2.2.1 Phrasal idiom .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 2.2.2 Instrumental idiom .................................................................................................................................................. 13 2.2.3 Formalizing aspects of idiom ............................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.4 Bi-musicality and multi-musicality ................................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Abstraction in music ..................................................................................................................................... 18 2.3.1 Isolation of values and notation ......................................................................................................................... 19 2.3.2 Creation of a framework ........................................................................................................................................ 19 2.3.3 Mapping ......................................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.4 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 21 3 CENTRAL JAVANESE GAMELAN MUSIC THEORY AND PRACTICE ........... 23 3.1 Gamelan music and karawitan ................................................................................................................. 23 3.2 Balungan and melodic frameworks ........................................................................................................ 26 3.3 Garap, improvisation, and idiomatic interpretation ........................................................................ 27 3.3.1 Instrumental idiom .................................................................................................................................................. 28 3.3.2 Direct reference to the balungan ....................................................................................................................... 30 3.3.3 Cengkok and wiletan ............................................................................................................................................... 33 3.4 New composition for gamelan .................................................................................................................. 36 3.4.1 New composition for gamelan outside Indonesia ...................................................................................... 38 i 3.4.2 Composition for gamelan and electronics...................................................................................................... 40 3.4.3 Other influences of technology ........................................................................................................................... 41 3.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 42 4 ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC THEORY AND PRACTICE ............................. 43 4.1 Musique concrète and acousmatic music ............................................................................................. 43 4.1.1 Abstract values and concrete characteristics ............................................................................................... 45 4.1.2 Grid-based analysis: syntax and discourse .................................................................................................... 46 4.2 Creation of syntax .......................................................................................................................................... 48 4.3 Electroacoustic music and idiom ............................................................................................................. 50 4.3.1 Electroacoustic media in popular and dance music .................................................................................. 52 4.3.2 Idiom and manipulation of discourse .............................................................................................................. 55 4.4 Analyzing syntax and idiom ....................................................................................................................... 56 4.4.1 Accommodating alternative discourse types ............................................................................................... 58 4.5 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................ 61 5 STRATEGIES FOR COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS OF MIXED WORKS ..... 63 5.1 Choosing approaches ................................................................................................................................... 63 5.1.1 Orientation with tradition: a bi-musical relationship?............................................................................. 65 5.2 Derivation of syntax .....................................................................................................................................