Variations 10b: a digital realization of cage's variations II

Beginning in the middle of the twentieth century, composers of experimental music developed a number of new notational representations, most often falling under the category of graphical scores. John Cage’s Variations II is a prime example, utilizing only dots and lines as its basis. I describe an interactive version of Cage’s piece, called here Variations 10b, where a performer can change the score and receive immediate auditory feedback as to the results of the manipulation. This stands in contrast to the process of working through the analog score, where the aural output was not coincident with movement of the dots or lines. I suggest that creating and using digital versions of these early experimental music works radically changes the process of interacting with the pieces. Categories and Subject Descriptors: J.5 [Arts and Humanities]: Performing arts; H.5.5 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: Sound and Music Computing—Methodologies and techniques General Terms: Human...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2006
• Where: MM
• Authors: Nicholas Knouf
• Keywords: Immediate Auditory Feedback, John Cage Variations, MM 2006, Twentieth Century