SOUND PATTERNS

A Structural Examination of Tonality, Vocabulary, Texture,
Sonorities, and Time Organization in Western Art Music

by PHILLIP MAGNUSON

MICROCOSMS

Chapter 47. Indeterminism

Chapter 41. Impressionism	Chapter 42. Primitivism	Chapter 43. Neo-classicism
Chapter 44. Expressionism	Chapter 45. Serialism	Chapter 46. Jazz
.	Chapter 48. Texturalism	Chapter 49. Minimalism
Chapter 50. Electronicism	Chapter 51. Neo-romanticism	Chapter 52. Eclecticism

INDETERMINISM: an appeal to spontaneity

	Jackson Pollock: Lavender Mist #1
Lavender Mist is an example of "action-painting". Pollock would throw, splatter, and dribble paint onto his canvas, allowing random motions to construct his art.	1950

47.1 BACKGROUND

There has been a general tendency in Western music to restrict options for the performer, and to require more accurate performances. INDETERMINISM is a reaction to this, and follows traditions from other musics and other cultures. 20th century Indeterminism can be a result of actions made by chance (ALEATORY..."alea" is Greek for "dice") or choice (not by the composer). One of the first recognized composers of Indeterminate music was John Cage. Read more on the web about his most famous composition, 4'33" .

Certain Indeterminate features have always been a part of Western music. Performers are generally in control of dynamics, articulations, and tempi of older music, and improvisation has a long history, as in the creation of cadenzas. Whether by chance or choice, each performance of a piece of Indeterminate music will be different. The resulting performance is frequently a composition of great complexity, and this randomness can sound curiously like music produced with Total Serialism. In other words, although these styles could not be more different in concept, the end result can be surprisingly alike.

47.2 COMPOSERS ASSOCIATED WITH INDETERMINISM

• John Cage (1912-1992)
• Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)
• Morton Feldman (1926-1987)
• Earle Brown (1926-2002)
• Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007)
• Cornelius Cardew (1936-1981)

47.3 MUSICAL ELEMENTS

1. Chance

   Chance can be created by any random process, such as

   • Tossing dice
   • Flipping coins
   • I-ching charts (Chinese tables of figures)
   • Random number sources (such as phone books or logarithmic tables)
   • Random events
   • Computer generation of numbers or patterns
   • Random electronic signals (such as radio or television)

2. Choice

   Choices can be made by the performers or audience.

   • The composer can provide written instructions to provide choices.
   • The composer can provide graphic symbols for the performer to interpret.

3. Materials

   Elements that can be selected, either by chance or choice, include

   • Pitch or pitch class
   • Rhythms
   • Tempi
   • Rests (such as pauses and entrances)
   • Expressive devices (such as articulations or dynamics)
   • Timbral devices (such as mutes or tremolo)
   • Medium (such as instruments or voices)
   • Form

ASSIGNMENTS:

SUGGESTED LISTENING

• John Cage: Imaginary Landscapes (multiple pieces) Listen to a performance
• Earle Brown: December 1952 Listen to a performance
• Karlheinz Stockhausen: Zyklus (1959) Listen to a performance
• Darren Solomon: In B Flat (2012) Create a performance (click on "In Bb 2.0")

ANALYSIS

1. John Cage: TV Koln (1958) [ATM #21] Listen to a performance
2. Aaron Allen: Mass Subjects Performers (2000)

SYNTHESIS

See project for Texturalism.

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