http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/241 2026-04-30T15:45:36Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/33227 Title: Concert electric guitar composition: Techniques, challenges and creative possibilities Authors: La Spesa, Vincenzo Abstract: The growing presence of the electric guitar in contemporary art music highlights the need for a focused investigation into its compositional role. This thesis examines the instrument within what is here defined as the domain of the concert electric guitar, that is, the use of the electric guitar in notated, composer-led art music contexts. The thesis functions both as a musicological study and as a compositional resource. It is structured around a theoretical section, addressed to musicologists and composers, which analyses the development of the electric guitar in art music and the ambiguities between popular and concert practices from which the notion of the concert electric guitar emerges. A practical component, specifically directed at composers, complements this discussion. The latter includes annotated examples, original audio and video demonstrations, and a collection of nine studies and a fugue composed by the author, conceived as compositional case studies. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/31780 Title: Approaching improvisation through maqam practices Authors: Demir, Pax Abstract: This study explores the differences between the Ottoman/Turkish, Anatolian, Persian, Arabic and Azerbaijani maqams, and how improvisation works in the maqam tradition. The concept of maqam varies from area to area, and this study has examined four different maqam traditions to try to find similarities that can create community and understanding. It refers to thinking from a broader perspective instead of thinking only about a single maqam tradition. This study also considers ideas about improvisation and demonstrates that there are always rules in maqam and improvisation does not mean just playing freely and musicians must know the rules. This work includes some comparisons with Indian music, especially with raga and improvisation, as there are similarities with the maqam tradition. Researching improvisation in maqam music is unusual but I have chosen to focus on this through observations and discussions and observations from different maqam areas to gain a broad perspective. The project also includes a series of my own improvisations from different maqam areas. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/29960 Title: LIE scales: Composing with scales of linear intervallic expansion Authors: Bizzell-Browning, Nicholas John Abstract: This thesis includes a portfolio of scored compositions with written commentaries and a list of all completed pieces (2017–2024) composed using LIE scalic principle. All compositions use extended fixed pitch fields (FPFs) as source scales and are primarily scored for acoustic instruments. LIE scales (scales of Linear Intervallic Expansion) were initially derived from my discovery of a unique correspondence between consecutive counting numbers (+1, +2, +3...) and Messiaen's “mode 2” scale ,0, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10-. In brief, this compound-chromatic theory of scales combines Non-Octave-Repeating Scales (beyond interval cycles) with Axiomatic scale theory. I explain my development of LIE scales, addresses some of the perceptual aspects of these FPFs, catalogue numerous scales and draw a compositional conclusion. My structural methodology is informed by the work of Webern, Bartók, Schillinger and Slonimsky, for example, but transcends 12-tone theory per se and suggests an alternative approach to harmonic dualism, whilst providing a rich generative vein for compositional development. I explore abstract harmonic polarity by using extended anti/complimentary scales, treating melody and timbre as emergent entities rather than structural prerequisites, and research how harmonic meaning and our awareness of octave equivalence can be enhanced or avoided through composing with compound LIE scalic structures. This thesis should be of interest to any composers working with synthetic mathematically derived patterns, and musicologists specialising in early 20th Century compositional approaches. LIE scales could also be used as a repository of alternative scalic ideas for improvisational purposes. Future research might explore LIE scalic principles microtonally and with regard to granulation, a spectral centroid, and a-spatial (or medial) theories of auditory perception. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/23191 Title: The Computer Music Designer in the context of physical computing and interactive instrument design Authors: Gourtani, Ardeshir M. Abstract: This thesis explores the role of the Computer Music Designer in the development of interactive instruments within the context of collaborative work with other creative artists. The recent development of physical computing and the devices and techniques associated with human/computer interactivity has had a strong influence on the place the CMD occupies in a creative project. My thesis presents a selection of unique projects undertaken during the course of my research in order to further establish the role the CMD plays in collaborative creations, in particular how this figure can shape innovation through Max programming, data manipulation, interface design. Recent studies have established the CMD’s highly specialised role in collaborative work and their capacity to harness musical experiences as a performer and composer with special technology and technical skills. This submission extends research in this area by focusing on the role of the CMD as a creator of interactive sensor-based digital instruments influenced by advances in physical computing technologies. I present the hidden creative process of collaborative projects as well as emerging technology and digital tools through the production process of selected bespoke projects. As well as taking into consideration the important place of collaboration in the development of computer music creation, the thesis also scrutinises the collaborative process between the CMD and other creative artists working in more established roles, arguing that a wider appreciation of the new forms of musical expression offered by emerging technology continues to present challenges in collaborative work and that these necessitate the specialist skills of the CMD. Description: This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z