The aural skills acquisition process of undergraduate electroacoustic (EA) music majors in the context of a new aural learning method

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston UniversityElectroacoustic (EA) musicians require aural skills that exist beyond tonality and meter; however, specialized ear training courses for EA music are rare in university and college music programs that offer EA studies (EaSt) in their curricula. Since 2005, this researcher has been developing and teaching EA aural training at a Canadian university in that was inspired by concepts from Auditory Scene Analysis (ASA) studies, primarily integration and segregation. In the 2009/10 academic year, the researcher conducted an action study with his intact EA aural training class of 25 first year undergraduate students majoring in EaSt for the purposes of better understanding and improving the students' aural skill acquisition process. and of refining the teaching and learning sequence. The action study was organized into four cycles of observation, critical reflection, and action, and focused on optimizing and autonomizing the skill acquisition process within the large, varied group. Actions were designed in response to critical reflection on emerging problems, evaluations of students' views about the process, their moods and attitudes, and measurements of students' achievements-with specific attention to eight EA-oriented skills and seven tonal and metric skills. Qualitative and quantitative data gathered from questionnaires, in-class surveys and tests, homework, and competence tests provided evidence of skill acquisition, primarily in loudness discrimination, timbral discrimination, tonal awareness, interval discrimination, meter discrimination, and descriptive ability. The most notable emerging problems in the skill acquisition process were related to the group's variety of ability levels, including imbalances in difficulty levels, in students' level of interest in the activities, and in the all-inclusive effectiveness of the training. The main transformational aspects of the action study were autonomization of the skill acquisition process at home through weekly reflective practice reports and developing a cooperative learning environment in the classroom through regular in-class discussion

“Whatever Works”: an Action-Centred Approach to Creation and Mediation in Designing Laptop Orchestra Performances

Concordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk) is an ensemble of 20-25 laptop performers, which operates in the framework of a university course built around the production of laptop-orchestra performances. Interdisciplinary and networked presentations are created within a prolific performance schedule; every piece is developed democratically and considered as a distinct context demanding specialised methods of creation and mediation. This approach was built through cycles of problem identification, reflection, solution, and testing, with a particular emphasis on temporal multiplicity and flexibility. We have named this approach «whatever works» (WheW) to emphasise its focus on actions that solve problems and propel the process of creation forward. It has been implemented on all levels of creation and mediation – synchronously during performances, asynchronously during preparations to performances, and in a longer-term asynchronous manner, using action research to unearth deeper problems and promote transformation. This article reports the evolution and implementation of WheW in the context of four pieces and in light of the research purposes driving CLOrk: expanding the ensemble’s creative output, exploring new performance modes and related technologies, enriching the skillset of the orchestra’s members, improving efficiency and effectiveness of the creative process, and improving and developing a better understanding of CLOrk’s process of evolution.“Whatever Works”: un approccio alla creazione e alla mediazione nella strutturazione delle performance per Laptop OrchestraConcordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk) è un gruppo costituito da 20-25 esecutori, attivo nel contesto di un corso universitario volto alla realizzazione di performances per laptop orchestra. Della variegata attività esecutiva fanno parte realizzazioni interdisciplinari e in rete; ognuna di esse è sviluppata democraticamente e considerata come un contesto a sé, che richiede metodi di creazione e mediazione ad hoc. Tale modalità operativa è stata costruita attraverso cicli di identificazione dei problemi, riflessione, soluzione e messa alla prova, ponendo particolare enfasi sugli aspetti di flessibilità e molteplicità temporale. Abbiamo chiamato questa modalità operativa «Whatever Works» (WheW) per sottolineare il focus posto su azioni finalizzate a risolvere problemi e stimolare l’avanzamento del processo creativo. Tale modalità operativa è stata implementata a tutti i livelli di creazione e mediazione: in modo sincronico durante le performances, asincrono in fase di preparazione delle stesse, e in modalità asincrona a lungo termine, cercando attivamente di portare alla luce problemi più profondi e promuovere la trasformazione. Questo saggio documenta l’evoluzione e l’implementazione di WheW nel contesto di quattro performances e alla luce degli scopi di ricerca che guidano CLOrk: ampliare gli esiti creativi dell’ensemble, esplorare nuove modalità performative e tecnologie connesse, arricchire le competenze dei membri dell’orchestra, migliorare l’efficienza del processo creativo, approfondire e sviluppare una migliore consapevolezza del processo evolutivo di CLOrk.Concordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk) is an ensemble of 20-25 laptop performers, which operates in the framework of a university course built around the production of laptop-orchestra performances. Interdisciplinary and networked presentations are created within a prolific performance schedule; every piece is developed democratically and considered as a distinct context demanding specialised methods of creation and mediation. This approach was built through cycles of problem identification, reflection, solution, and testing, with a particular emphasis on temporal multiplicity and flexibility. We have named this approach «whatever works» (WheW) to emphasise its focus on actions that solve problems and propel the process of creation forward. It has been implemented on all levels of creation and mediation – synchronously during performances, asynchronously during preparations to performances, and in a longer-term asynchronous manner, using action research to unearth deeper problems and promote transformation. This article reports the evolution and implementation of WheW in the context of four pieces and in light of the research purposes driving CLOrk: expanding the ensemble’s creative output, exploring new performance modes and related technologies, enriching the skillset of the orchestra’s members, improving efficiency and effectiveness of the creative process, and improving and developing a better understanding of CLOrk’s process of evolution.“Whatever Works”: un approccio alla creazione e alla mediazione nella strutturazione delle performance per Laptop OrchestraConcordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk) è un gruppo costituito da 20-25 esecutori, attivo nel contesto di un corso universitario volto alla realizzazione di performances per laptop orchestra. Della variegata attività esecutiva fanno parte realizzazioni interdisciplinari e in rete; ognuna di esse è sviluppata democraticamente e considerata come un contesto a sé, che richiede metodi di creazione e mediazione ad hoc. Tale modalità operativa è stata costruita attraverso cicli di identificazione dei problemi, riflessione, soluzione e messa alla prova, ponendo particolare enfasi sugli aspetti di flessibilità e molteplicità temporale. Abbiamo chiamato questa modalità operativa «Whatever Works» (WheW) per sottolineare il focus posto su azioni finalizzate a risolvere problemi e stimolare l’avanzamento del processo creativo. Tale modalità operativa è stata implementata a tutti i livelli di creazione e mediazione: in modo sincronico durante le performances, asincrono in fase di preparazione delle stesse, e in modalità asincrona a lungo termine, cercando attivamente di portare alla luce problemi più profondi e promuovere la trasformazione. Questo saggio documenta l’evoluzione e l’implementazione di WheW nel contesto di quattro performances e alla luce degli scopi di ricerca che guidano CLOrk: ampliare gli esiti creativi dell’ensemble, esplorare nuove modalità performative e tecnologie connesse, arricchire le competenze dei membri dell’orchestra, migliorare l’efficienza del processo creativo, approfondire e sviluppare una migliore consapevolezza del processo evolutivo di CLOrk

Improvisation as an Evolutionary Force in Laptop Orchestra Culture

Improvisation has always been at the heart of the laptop ensemble and it constitutes a core force in the evolution of individual laptop orchestras and the art form at large. A drive to innovate artistically, technologically, and collaboratively opens the way for many new modes of improvisation that are unique to the laptop-orchestra (or LOrk) setting, such as improvising with collective instruments, gestural controllers, and live coding. Navigating these novel logistical settings, collaborative forms, technologies, and sonic structures demands rapid, creative responses to emergent possibilities and challenges. Due to their tradition-defying, multidimensional, and hybridic nature at cultural, stylistic, geographical, personal, social, and technological levels, laptop orchestras may be viewed as a matrix of related behaviours and beliefs rather than a definite genre. In this essay I focus on how non-idiomatic improvisation serves as a crucial local and global evolutionary force within LOrk culture by breaking with old patterns to discover new sui generis expressive possibilities and by developing skills that radically expand improvisatory strategies. I also provide a snapshot of current improvisatory practices that are unique or have special implications for laptop orchestras (based on extensive contact and email interviews with laptop orchestra directors and members across various geographical and cultural contexts). Additionally, I offer my own experiences as founder and director of the Concordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk)

Stabilizing and Destabilizing Agents in Laptop Orchestra Improvisation

L’objectif de cette étude est d’explorer des stratégies efficaces pour une improvisation réussie dans un contexte d’orchestre d’ordinateurs portatifs. La musique collective nécessite une écoute et une interaction avec les autres afin d’offrir une performance cohérente. Pourtant, l’expression musicale implique également une agentivité (Maus 1991 ; Levinson 2004), qui est le plus souvent perçue lorsque les individus prennent temporairement des rôles de décideurs créatifs dans lesquels ils posent des actions qui déstabilisent le sentiment de cohésion, soit pour le renouveler ou pour servir de catalyseur de changement. Durant mon expérience en tant que professeur et chef du Concordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk), j’ai observé que les membres de l’orchestre apprennent à être attentifs à la stabilisation et à la cohésion, et appliquent ces concepts assez rapidement à leur pratique musicale ; cependant, ils ont plus de difficulté à assimiler et appliquer les techniques de déstabilisation et de catalyse. Grâce à des questionnaires et des entrevues passés auprès des membres de CLOrk, j’ai découvert que les obstacles à l’action déstabilisante en cours d’improvisation peuvent être de nature technique (surtout des défis de contrôle), personnelle (fatigue décisionnelle et limites de l’attention), et/ou sociale (risques de rejet par les pairs, d’exclusion ou de honte). Les membres de CLOrk proposent des stratégies pour faire face à ces défis, incluant 1) organiser l’orchestre en sous-groupes pour améliorer la cohérence du contrôle audio et diminuer la charge attentionnelle et 2) discuter régulièrement de sujets pertinents tels que les obstacles sociaux et émotionnels, afin de créer un environnement attentif au partage et un espace sécuritaire qui permette les essais et les erreurs au cours du processus créatif.The purpose of this study is to explore effective strategies for successful collective improvisation in laptop orchestras. Collective music-making requires listening to and interacting with others in order to create a cohesive performance. However, musical expression also involves a sense of agency (Maus 1991; Levinson 2004), which may be perceived most prominently when individuals take temporary creative leadership roles and intentionally destabilize the sense of cohesion, either to rejuvenate it or to catalyze change. In my experience teaching and directing the Concordia Laptop Orchestra (CLOrk), I have observed that orchestra members learn to be attentive to stabilization and cohesion and to apply those concepts to their music-making relatively quickly, but that they have more difficulty learning and applying destabilization and catalysis techniques. Through interviews and questionnaires with CLOrk members, I have learned that the obstacles to taking destabilizing actions while improvising may be technical (primarily monitoring challenges), personal (ego depletion and attentional limits), and/or social (risks of peer rejection, exclusion, and shame). CLOrk members proposed strategies to address these challenges, including (1) arranging the orchestra in subgroups to improve audio monitoring coherence and to reduce attentional load and (2) communicating regularly about all relevant matters, including emotional and social obstacles in order to promote a mindful environment of sharing and a safe space for trial and error in the creative process