Abstract: “This presentation discusses applicability of logic and certain elements of analytic philosophy and mathematics into structural music analysis.
I will start with a brief overview of metaphorical correlations between quantum mechanics and avant-garde music. This will not only present views on interpretations of quantum mechanics, history and philosophy of the twentieth century physics, focusing on Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, Pauli exclusion principle, superposition, quantum entanglement etc., but will also serve as a prelude to the discussion of advanced composition techniques.
In music where pitches and rhythms are dominant and eloquently present, application of logic, mathematics and geometry is fruitful and has already been researched to a substantial extent. What this talk takes into consideration is the sonoristic direction of avant-garde music, where timbre-texture is the fundamental co-ordinate, while pitches and rhythms are emergent.
I will also introduce new and innovative concepts such as multi-dimensional 'nets' of techniques (as opposed to single-dimensional 'sets') and timbral-textural classes and morphisms (from category theory), and will investigate the applicability of logical space and possible worlds into music structure as well as vagueness and ambiguity of timbres and the role of epistemicism in music. It will be argued that probabilistic logic (and modal operators such as necessity and possibility) can be applied to timbral structures in music.”
Jowett Society Organising Committee: Ryan Kendall | Jowett Society Website
