The Attribute of Space in Music: Three Examples
Nicolás A. M. Arnáez · ERA: Education and Research Archive (University of Alberta) · 2014
Sound and space are physically inseparable; all sounds have a defined spatial location. Our ears receive the energy generated by sound sources traveling in the air and inform us about location, motion, and in many cases also the velocity of movement of that source. Since the 1950s, technology has allowed music composers to investigate the possibility of locating and moving sounds through space. These spatial principles of acoustics have become new artistic parameters in musical composition. Because all sounds we interact with have spatial content, it is crucial to study and understand how they behave in our everyday situations, how we perceive them, and how they affect us psychologically. This will allow us to create musical pieces with a natural and organic ability of motion. This thesis presents three musical compositions that deal with this new parameter, using different approaches.