Defining Transformations
Denis Smalley · Interface · 1993
Transformation concerns changes in the state of a sonic identity. Identities (and therefore transformations of them) may be defined in terms of their source‐cause and/or in terms of their spectromorphological attributes. A transformation may be regarded as travelling a certain distance from its base, and the type of change may be defined in terms of its direction ‐ whether the source‐cause implications are specific, implied or freed. Categories of transformation are defined by their type of temporal relations ‐ continuous transformation, unitary transformation, noncontiguous transformation, proximate transformation, simultaneous transformation, revelatory transformation and crossing transformation, drawing on examples from works by Truax, Chowning, Reich, Harvey, Wishart and Risset. Works involving live instruments and voice are discussed (Vaggione, Saariaho and Vinao) introducing the ideas of gesture transformation, transformation in parallel, and instigated transformation. The final section briefly highlights compositional motivations and the types of meaning which transformations can embody.