Technology and Creativity in Electroacoustic Music (TaCEM)

A collaboration between the University of Huddersfield and Durham University

Principal Investigator: Prof. Michael Clarke (CeReNeM, University of Huddersfield)
Co-Investigator: Prof. Peter Manning (Durham University)

Post Doctoral Research Assistant: Dr Frédéric Dufeu (CeReNeM, University of Huddersfield)

This AHRC funded research project (2012-15) seeks to investigate “the impact of technology on the creative processes of composing electroacoustic music.” It will investigate questions such as:

• How far has new technology affected the ways in which particular musical works are shaped and structured?
• To what extent has the use of technology been guided by particular aesthetic or creative principles?
• How and to what extent has technology informed the development of the compositional language of electroacoustic music?
• How can the technical and the musical outcomes of such investigations be most meaningfully communicated both to the academic community and a wider audience?

The TaCEM project will examine these issues through a series of approximately eight case studies. Each case study will involve the detailed investigation of a particular work, looking at the technical means employed in its creation, analyzing its musical structure and examining the place of the work within the composer’s oeuvre and the broader historical context. A range of works will be chosen to reflect different aspects of the genre.

The outcomes of the TaCEM project will involve written materials (including a book), integrated with software designed to help readers gain a deeper understanding of both the technical and analytical issues surrounding each work. The software will extend the  techniques previously developed by Michael Clarke and will be freely available. Users will have the chance to try out the techniques used in particular works for themselves and be able to explore the music interactively in sound.