Music in Liquid Forms: A Framework for the Creation of Reactive Music Recordings Submitted for Doctor of Philosophy in Music 2018 Keith Hennigan Supervisors: Martin Adams & Simon Trezise Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis is entirely my own work; no part of it has been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this, or any other, University. I agree that the library of Trinity College Dublin may lend or copy this thesis upon request. Signed ____________________ (Keith Hennigan) Date ____________________ (July 2018) Summary The aim of this thesis is to research and propose possible methods and models for the creation and dissemination of what shall be defined as liquid music recordings. This will result in the establishment of a sound theoretical basis for the creation of such works, with practical demonstrations provided to showcase the proposed approach and methodology. It was initially intended that this thesis would focus on the creation of one liquid music authoring system or standard. However, after researching the field, it is apparent that the creation of a single liquid system or format is of little import or benefit. A number of previous efforts have been made, each offering only one viewpoint on the compositional paradigm of liquid music and necessarily limited in some way. What is needed for the field is a broader overview. For example, the proposition of the BRONZE format (see Chapter Three) as a new format for music, though laudable, falls short due to the nature of the work: offering only a single inherent style of generative music, this programming imparts a limited aesthetic onto any musical work written for it. This is commendable in the production of a single work, but less so as further works are created with the same tools. A format such as the vinyl record or MP3 file does not impact on the style of the music disseminated; neither, then, should any liquid music be impacted by its format. Instead, this thesis looks to establish a firm theoretical basis for liquid music in any of its potential forms, which should prove of greater lasting benefit to the field. By discussing theory and approaches, not limited by specific tools or formats, any number of potential works or sub-genres of liquid music might develop, driven by future researchers and creators who are supported by a clear creation model, and a codified and established theory. In Chapter One, the concept of ‘liquid music’ is proposed and defined. A number of overlapping and ill-defined terms such as interactive, adaptive, generative plague the i literature. Future discussion and development of liquid music can be greatly helped by drawing on the mostly widely accepted definitions and constructing a clear framework. Chapter Two reviews the relevant literature. Different media or forms of work that utilize interactive audio – compositions, games, instruments – are addressed, as the nature of interactivity can blur the lines between these classifications, and for development it is important to provide clear boundaries to liquid music. The existence of liquid music is reviewed, with precedents to be found in contemporary popular music, video game music and art music. Existing works of popular music and video games are reviewed and analysed in order to establish the state of the art at the time of writing, with a case study made of Biophilia (2011). Chapter Three details the methodology of developing and testing a creation- model for liquid music. The technology for production, from traditional music production systems to interactive audio tools and video game audio systems, are evaluated. As a result, potential creation methods for liquid music are clarified and suggested. Interface design and the potential paths for dissemination of liquid music are touched on, while previous attempts at creating standard formats or platforms for liquid music in some form are also examined. The different strands of research are drawn together to inform a creation- model for liquid music. This model provides an approach adaptable to any genre or aesthetic, and any hardware or software tools. Chapter Three also presents detailed description of the aims, development and functionality of the portfolio of works accompanying this thesis, as demonstrations of the creation model and the supporting research. This culminates in a large form work entitled The Liquid EP. Conclusions and summation of the thesis are provided in Chapter Four. ii Acknowledgments I would like to thank my many friends, family and loved ones who have helped me in innumerable ways during the process of completing this thesis, drowning out my doubts with their kindness. They will all continue to receive my warmest thanks. My gratitude also goes to the staff and students of the music department in TCD, especially Martin Adams, to whom I owe a great debt of thanks for helping me to get started with this research; Richard Duckworth, Simon Trezise, and Gráinne Redican, for their help in various forms; and Jenn Kirby, for all of the tea breaks. iii Table of Contents Chapter One Introduction … 1 1.1 Participatory Culture … 4 1.2 HERM, and Liquid or Solid Music … 7 1.3 Research Aims and Placement within Existing Fields … 9 1.4 Definition of Terms … 12 1.4.1 Generative Music and Metacreation … 20 1.4.2 Popular Music … 22 1.4.3 Summary … 24 1.5 Thesis Structure … 25 Chapter Two Literature Review … 28 2.1 Classifications of Procedural Audio … 28 2.1.1 Composition … 31 2.1.2 Instrument … 35 2.1.3 Game … 41 2.1.4 Sound-toy … 44 2.1.5 Installation … 47 2.1.6 Drawing Boundaries … 50 2.2 Musical Mutability … 52 2.2.1 Early Precedents for Liquid Music … 54 2.2.2 Non-Linear Music … 56 2.2.3 Mutability in Popular Music … 61 2.3 Existing Liquid Popular Music … 67 2.3.1 Biophilia … 78 2.4 Liquid Music in Video Games … 88 2.4.1 Music Games … 89 2.4.2 Popular Music in Video Games … 100 2.5 Liquid Music in Classical and Contemporary Art Music … 115 iv 2.6 Conclusions … 123 Chapter Three Methodology … 129 3.1 Existing Interactive Audio Standards … 129 3.1.1 Standard File Formats … 130 3.1.2 Interactive Music Platforms … 133 3.2 Evaluation of Production Tools for Liquid Music … 137 3.2.1 Establishing Likely Distribution Methods … 138 3.2.2 Popular Music Production Tools … 142 3.2.3 Performance/Production Hybrid Tools … 143 3.2.4 Video Game Audio Technology … 145 3.2.5 Audio Programming Environments … 152 3.2.6 Conclusions … 155 3.3 A Creation-Model for Liquid Music … 160 3.3.1 Outline of Creation-Model in Three Stages … 162 3.3.2 Stage One—Audio Creation … 163 3.3.3 Stage Two—Audio Behaviours … 164 3.3.4 Stage Three—Interface Design … 166 3.3.5 Summary … 168 3.4 Composing Liquid Music … 169 3.4.1 The Vertical and Horizontal Approaches … 172 3.4.2 Examples of Vertical Alterations … 174 3.4.3 Meaningful Vertical Alterations: Music and Emotion … 178 3.4.4 Approaches to Horizontal Re-structuring … 183 3.4.5 Examples of Horizontal Alterations … 185 3.4.6 Transitions … 187 3.4.7 Randomness and Variation … 189 3.4.8 Conclusions … 191 3.5 Popular Music Compositional Aesthetics … 191 3.5.1 Identifying Three Meta-Genres … 193 3.5.2 Analysis of Songs … 196 3.5.3 Summary … 203 3.6 Practical Demonstrations … 204 3.6.1 Conception and Aims for Portfolio … 210 3.6.2 Ash Player … 212 v 3.6.3 Commoveo … 217 3.6.4 Minos … 222 3.6.5 Hydra … 226 3.6.6 Testing and Review of Initial Demonstrations … 230 3.7 Major Portfolio Work: The Liquid EP … 236 3.7.1 Presentation of The Liquid EP … 239 3.7.2 Discussion … 244 Chapter Four Evaluation and Conclusion … 246 4.1 Research Outcomes … 247 4.1.1 Proposal and Definition of Liquid Music … 247 4.1.2 Contextualization … 248 4.1.3 Development of Creation-Model … 250 4.1.4 Portfolio of Practical Works … 252 4.2 Directions for Future Research … 254 4.3 Conclusion … 256 Appendix A DVD of Dynamic Music Programs … 258 Bibliography … 261 vi List of figures 1.1 Hierarchy of terms used in the taxonomy of liquid music … 24 2.1 ‘Intersection of terms of classification’ (Dolphin, 2014, p.53) … 46 2.2 Radiohead, Polyfauna (screen capture by author) ... 72 2.3 ‘Solstice’ from Björk, Biophilia (screen capture by author) … 81 2.4 ‘Virus’ from Björk, Biophilia (screen capture by author) … 83 2.5 ‘Hanenbow’ level, Nintendo, Electroplankton (screenshot from DeoGenZ Gaming, ‘Let’s Play Electroplankton – Hanenbow, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4SxF4pV91E) … 96 2.6 First page from the score of Earle Brown, Twenty-Five Pages (1953); headers helpfully produced in inversion at the bottom of the page ... 119 2.7 Score excerpt from Pierre Boulez, Constellation-miroir (1963) ... 120 2.8 Glossary of terms from Chapter Two … 126 3.1 Table of potential interface elements for mobile devices … 141 3.2 FMOD Studio (screen capture by author) … 150 3.3 Wwise (screen capture by author) … 151 3.4 Interaction methods available with MobMuPlat … 159 3.5 Flow diagram of liquid music creation-model … 168 3.6 Audio layering zones in Fallout: New Vegas (Lawlor, 2010) … 178 3.7 Thayer’s arousal/valence two-dimensional emotion plane (Kanters, 2009) …180 vii 3.8 Table of chart-topping pop songs in the UK, 2007-2012 … 198 3.9 Table of top ten EDM songs of 2017 according to Billboard Critics … 200 3.10 Table of first eight song returns on Google search for ‘rock songs 2010s’.