This research stems from personal observations on the interplay between sound, perception and notation, focusing on how sound can be described, as well as the role of listening, playing and writing in framing these descriptions. The primary impetus for these considerations comes out of a tension between music and perception, and the ways in which this tension informs both the experience and the representation of sound. From this, a research has emerged which develops my personal observations through an idiosyncratic practice with voice and bespoke feedback instruments. Situated at the threshold of audibility, and oscillating between intention and non-intention, this practice lays the foundation for an inquiry into composition through both instrumental and corpus-driven musicking. This inquiry seeks to illuminate the role of the body in the interplay between sound, perception and notation, as well as offer an examination on the nature, role and function of the score in composition. These trajectories are articulated through a commentary that details the creation of technologies of inscription, as well as methods of conversion between these inscriptions. A portfolio of compositions and improvisations documents the interactions these technologies and methods have sustained, in both individual and collaborative projects, and constitutes the primary evidence of the research.
| Date of Award | 12 May 2026 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Alex Harker (Main Supervisor) & Monty Adkins (Co-Supervisor) |
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