Compositional Processes from an Ecological Perspective

Keller, Damian.

Leonardo Music Journal, Volume 10, 2000, pp. 55-60 (Article)

Published by The MIT Press

For additional information about this article

http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/lmj/summary/v010/10.1keller.html

Access Provided by Roehampton University at 03/22/11 4:38AM GMT

 W
A
Y
W A Y S & M E A N S S

Compositional Processes &

M
E
A

from an Ecological Perspective A B S T R A C T

N
S

T he author discusses the

conceptual basis of an ecological
Damián Keller approach to music composition,
considering the epistemological
and compositional concepts in-
volved. The author’s text-and-tape
piece, touch’n’go/toco y me voy,
is presented as an example of an
ecologically based musical work,
CONCEPTUAL BASIS AND HISTORICAL in which the sound event functions
network of meanings; (3) the
as the basic unit of multilevel mu-
BACKGROUND composer’s knowledge of the ma- sical structures. Digital resynthe-
The ecological approach to music composition integrates terial as a way of shaping the sis techniques are integrated in
composition; and finally (4) the the compositional process by
models of environmental sound classes with social and cul- means of environmental sound
tural elements that contextualize a musical work. Epistemo- enhancement and transforma-
models. Ecological models estab-
logically, this approach treats compositional activity as a dy- tion of our worldview and percep- lish formal relationships without
namic process, in which materials determine techniques, and tual habits. obscuring the recognizability of
techniques enhance the available sound palette. The sounds Soundscape studies indicate that everyday sounds. Materials, tech-
music-making is constrained by its niques, perceptual constraints
used and the formal processes that define a piece are in a and references to social issues
state of constant flux. This method can be compared to the social context even as it reshapes
are integrated in a consistent
dynamics of individual-environment interaction [1], which that context. Regarding the impor- compositional method.
both constrain the way we perceive music and environmental tance of listener-environment in-
sounds [2] and lead us to develop forms of sonic organization teraction, this view relates closely
that are directly related to our everyday life. to the ecological approach. Eco-
Computer-based compositional work, as originally pro- logical psychology suggests that a mutual-determination process
posed by L.A. Hiller and L.M. Isaacson [3], Iannis Xenakis dictates how we perceive our environment—this process cannot
[4] and other composers, provides the technical basis for in- be parsed into arbitrary time-slices but needs to be understood
tegrating sound models with existing compositional tools. as a configuration of environmentally meaningful events. For
Xenakis laid out an approach to composition that let one this reason, in the following section I discuss two concepts taken
equate sonic elements to data structures and the transforma- from ecological psychology that are instrumental in composi-
tion of material to the use of algorithmic functions. Thus, tion with everyday sound: individual-environment interaction
Xenakis described composing as a three-stage process: (1) and finite time events.
First, define variables; (2) Then parse the time axis to estab-
lish a temporal structure for the piece; (3) Finally, compose, PERCEPTION AND ENVIRONMENT
by implementing functions that control the relationship be-
tween sonic variables and temporal structures. Although the ecological approach to psychology was first pro-
Although this schematic of composition is generally valid, posed in the 1960s by J.J. Gibson [13], it took 20 years for re-
the development of computer and electroacoustic music dur- searchers in auditory perception to embrace it. The last 15
ing the second half of the twentieth century has shown that years have shown an increase in the number of studies
sonic parameters cannot exist in a formal space devoid of grounded in this perspective [14,15]. Even the predominant
context. Listening processes are constrained by their tempo- information processing paradigm has adopted methods and
ral and spectral resolution. Our hearing system parses or ideas stemming from the ecological framework [16].
groups sound elements to form higher-level percepts such as From a Gibsonian perspective, information is structure that
streams and textures [5,6] in a context-dependent manner. specifies an environment to an animal. This structure inheres
In fact, music listening is deeply influenced by the in higher-order organization occurring over time [17]. As the
individual’s cultural background and by the music’s social animal gathers information from the environment, it effects
function within a specific community [7]. In addition, music changes on its surroundings. As the animal’s perception is
and sound-making influence the way listeners relate to their progressively “tuned” to the characteristics of the environ-
environment and perceive their sonic world. Taking these ment, it increases its chances of survival.
observations one step further, J. Attali [8] suggests that music Current research on perception of environmental sounds
and sound not only modify the environment, but also shape highlights epistemological issues that need to be considered
social dynamics. when composing with mundane sounds. From an ecological
From a compositional standpoint, the relationship between perspective, a system cannot be studied in isolated parts.
music and environment has been extensively explored by a Events actually occurring in the environment define ecological
group of soundscape composers in Vancouver [9–11]. As validity. Thus, ecological models should be constrained to eco-
stated by B. Truax [12], soundscape composition involves (1)
the listener’s recognition of the source material; (2) the Damián Keller (composer), 62H Abrams Court, EV, Stanford University, CA 94305,
listener’s experience of the material to complete the music’s U.S.A. E-mail: <dkeller@sfu.ca>.

© 2000 ISAST LEONARDO MUSIC JOURNAL, Vol. 10, pp. 55–60, 2000 55
W
A
Y
S logically feasible parameter ranges and variables are observed. That is, the sig- bitrary amplitude envelopes do not en-
& should take into account the interaction nificant unit of observation is the event gender perceptually meaningful trans-
M between an active individual and an ever- defined by ecologically meaningful formations. The concept of the ecologi-
E
A changing environment, which deter- boundaries. As we will see below in the cally feasible event is necessary both
N mines a process of pattern formation. section on compositional methods, the from an epistemological and a practical
S
C.F. Michaels and C. Carello argue concept of the event in ecologically point of view. For composers concerned
that time is directly related to the infor- based composition has a direct impact with sonic structure, their material
mational structure of the stimulus: on the organization of temporal layers shapes the techniques they use and
and on pattern-formation processes. these techniques serve as tools to gener-
Time is not chopped into an arbitrary
succession of nows, but is organized ate new material.
into naturally occurring events of vary- Traditional music theory chooses to
ing duration. . . . If time is viewed as an
MUSICAL STRUCTURE work with a unit that maps easily onto
abstraction from change we might as VERSUS EVERYDAY SOUND? Western music notation, i.e. the note.
well question the value of that abstrac-
From the discussion above we can infer Unfortunately, sound organization by
tion. After all, change itself (events in
space-time) is of interest to a behaving that a musical work is shaped by the per- means of algorithmic tools, or percep-
animal, not absolute time. . . . The no- ceptual processes involved in listening, tual processes triggered by musical
tion of absolute time is given up in fa- though at the same time it modifies the stimuli, do not necessarily correspond to
vor of space-time on the belief that per- individual’s perception of music and en- discrete, invariant signs on a musical
ceivers do not perceive space and time,
but events in space-time [18]. vironment. Therefore, a useful repre- staff. Models that use spectral and micro-
sentation of musical structure has to temporal information [20] can be orga-
Against the assumption of absolute tackle both perceptual and social issues. nized in units that map onto higher lev-
time as separate from actually occurring Compositional processes involve sev- els of musical structure. This approach
events, I have developed compositional eral levels of organization. Parsing the could eventually lead to a more flexible
models that parse time into event-de- sound material at the level of the note is representation of musical sound models.
pendent chunks [19]. This creates a sys- not appropriate for the complex micro- Composers concerned with perceptual
tem that is reconfigured whenever it and meso-structure of everyday sound. issues, such as T. Murail and G. Grisey,
finds new information. Change acquires At the other extreme, independent pa- have written and experimented with vari-
a new meaning: it is not simply the fluc- rameters such as frequency (within the ous spectral and temporal configura-
tuation of variables; it dictates how these context of Fourier-based models) or ar- tions, applying spectral models both to
instrumental writing and electronic
sound. The use of consistent strategies to
Fig. 1. touch’n’go/toco y me voy, text-and-tape piece published as an enhanced CD, 1999. organize spectral material and macro-
(Graphic design: Tanya Petreman. Photo: Andrew Czink. © earsay productions.)
temporal structures addresses a key prob-
lem in late twentieth-century composi-
tion, namely, the lack of meaningful
units to manipulate musical structures.
Authors in related fields have em-
braced the idea that a dissection of com-
plex auditory stimuli qualitatively
changes the underlying perceptual pro-
cesses [21,22]. Thus, various alternatives
have been devised to overcome the limi-
tations of atomistic approaches. Broadly
speaking, they are: (1) experimental aes-
thetics, which studies the social factors
governing aesthetic trends [23]; (2)
acoustic communication, which concen-
trates on the compositional use of envi-
ronmental sound within specific cul-
tural contexts [24]; (3) cognitive
approaches that study perception from a
functional and information-based per-
spective [25]; and (4) ecological acous-
tics, which focuses on auditory percep-
tion within a Gibsonian paradigm [26].
Cultural context and social dynamics
are a rich source of data for music mod-
els. Linking an acoustic sound structure
to the music pattern-formation pro-
cesses within a given cultural context of-
fers a broader perspective than that pro-
vided by traditional music theory. In this
light, the assumption of a “universal mu-
sical language,” implicit in most cogni-

56 Keller, Compositional Processes from an Ecological Perspective

 W
A
Y
Table 1. touch’n’go/toco y me voy consists of 11 sections, which can be freely scribes a Japanese garden in which the S
explored by the reader/listener. visitor must choose among several paths &

Section English title Spanish title CD tracks at each bifurcation. The road chosen be- M
E
1 Pandemonium Pandemonio 1,8,14 comes the traveler’s reality, and all other A
N
2 Realpolitik En Vías de Desarrollo 2 potential futures are lost. S
3 Action to Be Taken ¡Qué Quemo! 3 This idea is not explicitly explored in
4 Farewell, Welfare La Partida 4 any section of touch’n’go but permeates
5 Let Me See . . . How Can I Word It? Palabras 5,7 the structure of the music and the text.
6 Least, but not Last Todo Pasa 6 The form of the piece is created as the
7 A Waltz in a Ball Como Bola sin Manija 9 listener/reader “walks” through its sec-
8 sCRATch El Escrache 10 tions. The path can be laid out by using
9 Coin a Name (Me) Río de la Plata 11 the shuffle mode on a CD player or it
10 Spill, Spiel, Spoil No al Derramamiento 12
can be set by the user while listening to
11 Vox Populi Vox Populi 13
the tracks.

tive literature on music [27], can only explored through its hypertext links Text
be grounded in a nineteenth-century (Fig. 1). In each musical section of touch’n’go, short
aesthetic perspective. I propose, how- I chose the enhanced CD format for literary texts complement or develop the
ever, that the processes involved in our the commercial release of touch’n’go ideas presented in the music (Fig. 2). This
perception of sound structure can be based on the formal layout of the piece. format can be seen as an extension of the
applied to musical composition with en- Touch’n’go can be heard as a linearly traditional program notes. Nevertheless,
vironmental sounds as well. In other composed piece, or it can be explored the hypertext presentation opens up a
words, models of musical structure through randomly chosen paths. The more complex interlocking of meanings.
should also deal with sources outside the piece comprises 11 self-contained sec- For example, the words chosen as
instrumental palette. From an ecologi- tions, each of which stand as indepen- hypertext links suggest a specific relation-
cal perspective, this implies a shift in fo- dent compositions. The CD is divided ship with the text to which they lead. Simi-
cus from abstract representations to into 14 tracks. Each track corresponds to larly, the unfolding of text establishes a
sound structures constrained by the in- one section, with the exceptions of Pan- dynamic form of poetry that is hard to at-
teraction of the individual with the envi- demonium—separated into three tracks— tain on plain paper (e.g. Coin a Name,
ronment. To implement this epistemo- and Let Me See . . . How Can I Word It?, sCRATch). Most importantly, the explora-
logical turn, concepts such as which has two parts (see Table 1). Its tion of the text becomes a time-based pro-
individual-environment co-determina- structure is based on Jorge Luis Borges’s cess similar in form and dynamics to the
tion, pattern-formation process, finite [28] 1956 short story The Garden of the form-creation process one realizes by lis-
time event and ecological validity need Forking Paths. In this story, Borges de- tening to the piece.
to be incorporated into our day-to-day
compositional activity.
Fig. 2. There are texts in English and Spanish for each section of touch’n’go/toco y me voy,
The following section focuses on the
1999. Texts are formatted in HTML.
impact of ecological concepts on the
compositional techniques I used to cre-
ate my text-and-tape piece touch’n’go/toco
y me voy. First, I explain how ecological
models extend the palette of sound re-
synthesis and transformational methods
in composition. Then I explore further
the concept of the ecologically feasible
sound event. A discussion of source
placement and spatial consistency
rounds out the section.

COMPOSITIONAL PROCESSES
IN TOUCH’N’GO/TOCO Y ME VOY
touch’n’go/toco y me voy (1998–1999) is a
piece for eight-channel computer-gener-
ated tape and hypertext. Depending on
the venue, touch’n’go has been played as
a tape solo piece with an eight-speaker
diffusion system, as a stereo piece with
hypertext markup language (HTML)
and as a live performance work for actor
and tape. In its live version, the text can
be interpreted by one bilingual actor or
by two actors who share the Spanish and
English texts. As a WWW page, it can be

Keller, Compositional Processes from an Ecological Perspective 57

W
A
Y
S Varela and his colleagues [33] have used
& the term “pattern formation” to de-
M scribe the mutual adaptation processes
E
A taking place between the individual and
N the environment.
S
From the ecological perspective, the
formal structure that serves as a vehicle
for communication seamlessly inte-
grates references to the cultural envi-
ronments of both the listener and the
piece. This compositional approach
does not imply any judgment on the
value of abstract music; I am simply ac-
knowledging the impossibility of listen-
ing to music in a cultural vacuum.
Furthermore, the sound classes my
work utilizes as source material con-
Fig. 3. touch’n’go/toco y me voy explores political and cultural references through its the- strain the transformational processes
matic axis and choice of texts, 1999. employed. The relevance of everyday
sounds as compositional raw material
derives from their acoustic richness and
The cross-cultural references in the the modus operandi of the military killers their direct reference to the listener’s
piece as well as the impossibility of a lit- was to throw their victims alive into the environment. Ecological models pro-
eral translation of poetic material led me river from helicopters. Presently, human vide a framework that extends the use of
to write different texts in English and rights organizations are denouncing mundane sounds to formally and per-
Spanish. As demonstrated by master- these and other crimes by doing public ceptually consistent domains, i.e. the
pieces of translation, the best way to demonstrations called escraches. Escrachar sound classes can be compositionally
adapt a text to another language is to re- means to put in evidence, to unveil shaped without losing their perceptually
write it. But this is not feasible for well- someone who tries to hide his true iden- relevant characteristics. Once a sound
known works such as José Hernández’s tity [31]. Many individuals who commit- model is defined, a range of behaviors
Martín Fierro, or Borges’s and Cortázar’s ted crimes against humanity are still can be explored. Because ecologically
texts [29,30]. Therefore, I organized a free. Some of them occupy positions of based sound classes can be easily recog-
working team of English and Spanish political power and continue their ille- nized, paradoxical and extended sonic
speakers, including a certified translator, gal practices. The objective of the transformations can be integrated into
Ivan Roksandic, and myself to attempt a escraches is to make their names and ad- the compositional discourse. These
close transcription of meaning and feel dresses known to the communities in techniques are explored in Coin a Name,
for these texts. I wrote the remaining which these people live. Realpolitik was where the sound of splashing water is
material in either English or Spanish, inspired by the bombing of Baghdad. smoothly turned into splashing glass—
without attempting a literal translation. During the realization of touch’n’go, real- that is, glass impacts that resemble the
The same procedure was used for the ity caught up with art as Belgrade, Yugo- meso-temporal behavior of splashing
title of every section (see Table 1). slavia, another ancient and culturally water. Similarly, in Action to Be Taken in
Each title suggests ambivalent mean- rich city, was destroyed by bombs. the Event of Fire, the sounds of matches
ings and hints at political and social is- being lit are used to excite string resona-
sues within either a North American or Sound tors, creating the effect of stringed in-
Latin American context. Explicit politi- Ecologically based composition inte- struments being played by fire.
cal references are explored in Coin a grates representations of environmental The musical material of touch’n’go is
Name ([Me] Río de la Plata), Realpolitik (En sound classes with social and cultural the result of dynamic processes both at
Vías de Desarrollo) and sCRATch (El references. Sound models are con- the meso and macro levels. Two struc-
Escrache). Moreover, both the thematic strained to perceptually recognizable tural processes are exploited in this
axis and the choice of texts imply a so- parameter ranges. In this context, for- piece: (1) the emergence of macro-struc-
cial commentary and a firm cultural mal issues take a quite specific meaning. tural properties by interactions among
grounding (Fig. 3). José Hernández’s Form is a dynamic process taking place lower-level elements and (2) isomor-
Martín Fierro is the epic poem that gave at the micro, meso and macro levels. phism. Farewell, Welfare provides an ex-
birth to the tradition of socially engaged When properties not explicitly deter- ample of isomorphic processes at con-
Argentinean literature. The main char- mined by specific parameters emerge at ceptual, algorithmic and perceptual
acter of the book, the outcast wanderer different levels, we witness a pattern-for- levels. The section develops Zeno’s idea
gaucho, is symbolically taken up in mation process [32]. In this case, form is of an infinite labyrinth [34]. This laby-
touch’n’go. Thus, the piece could be un- not defined by the algorithmic param- rinth consists of a straight line that one
derstood as the possible worlds visited by eters of the piece but results from the travels recursively by covering half its
a gaucho or a traveler. Coin a Name interaction among its sonic elements. In length with each movement. Obviously,
draws a parallel between the action of a general sense, pattern-formation re- the end of the line can never be
throwing coins in a river and the mur- fers to the emergence of higher-level reached. The algorithm I used for pro-
ders committed by the most recent mili- forms or behaviors resulting from the ducing all sounds in this 2-minute sec-
tary dictatorship in Argentina. One of interaction of two or more systems. F.J. tion is a variation of the Karplus-Strong

58 Keller, Compositional Processes from an Ecological Perspective

 W
A
Y
[35] string model and uses a single short cracking wood, glass hitting glass, etc. grain, the number of simultaneous S

sample as source material. This sample is The key contribution of the ecological spaces created depended on the limits &
“walked” by two pointers at different models to this piece is the organization of of our auditory system in discriminating M
E
rates, producing an ever-rising or ever- spectrally complex samples into feasible sounds coming from different reverber- A
N
falling sound, depending on the param- meso-temporal patterns. Furthermore, ant spaces. The other method I utilized S
eters input to the model. These param- the consistency among meso and macro for virtual sound placement is phase-
eters are randomly generated within levels unveils new properties resulting controlled granulation. This type of pro-
dynamically changing ranges. The sound from the interaction of these levels. For cessing increases the volume of the
produced is akin to a combination of example, the rising pitch produced by source sound, as defined by Truax [43],
Shepard tones with self-similar events two bottles bouncing against each other by superimposing several granulated
that occur at ever-expanding time spans. results from amplitude modulation of the versions of the processed sound. If the
Although Farewell, Welfare does not make accelerating, resonant glass impacts [38]. phase-delay among these streams is kept
use of everyday sound models, it ex- Likewise, the wind-like sound of high- constant, the effect is akin to the reflec-
plores a sound space generated by a syn- density water-drop textures is produced tions produced by a reverberant space.
thetic instrument consistently with the by the overlap of granular decays, which The number of “reflections” is roughly
methods employed in other sections. are heard as slowly varying formants [39]. proportional to the number of streams.
Specifically, sound results from the inter- As used here, the method is somewhat The “structured rain” in least, but not last
action of an excitation process with a similar to formant wave function (FOF) was produced using these techniques.
resonant system. Here the system does synthesis [40]. Ecological consistency guided my or-
not represent a real-world model, but its At the basis of the ecological models I ganization of the eight-channel diffusion
behavior produces a sonic result consis- use lies a set of constrained random al- of the piece. I used Harmonic Functions’
tent with the concept and the algorith- gorithms that generate constantly vary- DM8 computer-controlled diffusion sys-
mic structure of the piece. ing parameters within predetermined tem [44]. Actions that suggest move-
The model I developed for Vox Populi ranges. The constraints applied approxi- ment, such as breaking, rolling or scrap-
uses a small pool of conch shell sound mate the range of variation in environ- ing, were diffused through dynamically
samples. These samples have a har- mental sound classes. I obtained ranges changing patterns. I gave environmental
monic spectrum with some noise con- of parameter variation by synthesizing background sounds produced by static
tent. When combined randomly, they hundreds of instances of each sound sources—e.g. water and distant horns—
approximate the behavior of choir-like model and comparing the aural results wide diffusion settings and very little or
formants [36]. These formants result to various examples of recorded sounds. no movement. I treated the human voice
from the interaction of the samples at a I further tested the recognizability of re- as a single source by placing it on a ste-
meso level. Thus, the effect at the macro synthesized sounds through an informal reo field. The circular speaker layout al-
level is qualitatively different from the listening sessions with both musicians lowed me to explore a variety of sound
characteristics of the source sounds. and non-musicians. trajectories: front-to-back, back-to-front,
A similar phenomenon can be ob- Ecological models produce statisti- diagonal and side-to-side movement.
served in the “structured rain” material in cally constrained sound classes instead This disposition disrupted the hierarchy
least, but not last, which makes use of a of a single deterministic sound. As sim- of front as the only important reference
three-stage process to generate this plistic as it may seem, this is what allows and kept the audience constantly sur-
sound. First, I produced several types of algorithmic models to simulate the be- rounded by consistently placed sources.
drop sounds using convolution. Convolu- havior of ever-changing environmental
tion consists of applying the spectral dy- sonic worlds. No sound in the environ-
namics of a source sound to those of a tar- ment exists twice in the same configura- CONCLUSION
get sound [37]. I then organized the tion. Therefore, no sound in an ecologi- Ecologically based composition makes
drops as constrained random meso-level cally based piece should be literally use of everyday sound models that are
events. Finally, I distributed the meso repeated. By the same token, each real- constrained to perceptually meaningful
events in a slightly irregular rhythmic pat- ization of the piece is unique in its mi- parameter ranges. Complementarily, it
tern by employing a slowly evolving dy- cro- and meso-level characteristics [41]. provides references to the social context
namic process. The result was a sound In touch’n’go, all sounds “live” in fea- in which the music is created. The char-
that resembled wind and rain with metal- sible spaces. I used two methods for acteristics of the source material inform
lic reverberations in the background. placing events within a virtual acoustic the development of techniques for re-
Least, but not last makes use of two con- field: convolution of granular samples synthesis and transformation of environ-
trasting spaces—metaphorically speak- and control of phase synchronicity mental sounds. My synthesis methods
ing, the space of the living and the space among granular streams [42]. A convo- make use of ecologically feasible time
of the dead. I produced the first space by lution-designed grain consists of an eco- patterns and finite sound events. Thus,
mixing a recording of a big, open build- logically meaningful short sound, such both materials and formal processes are
ing; the enclosed space was created as a water drop or a bubble, which is closely related to the listener’s experi-
through convolution of granular samples. convolved with the impulse response of ence within a specific sound environ-
The sound event as a basic musical unit a cavern or any other reverberant space. ment. Given that the sonic environment
is the driving principle of the synthesis When distributing these grains as meso- and the listener are engaged in a pro-
and organization of material in touch’n’go. level time patterns, the result is a stream cess of mutual determination, ecologi-
No sound in this piece includes an eco- of events that occurs within the space cally based composition provides us with
logically impossible attack or decay. Exci- defined by the impulse response used; tools to shape the sounds that surround
tations arise from using grains extracted for example, bubbles inside a cavern. us and to change the way we perceive
from real-world sounds: water drops, Given that I could use several types of these sounds.

Keller, Compositional Processes from an Ecological Perspective 59

W
A
Y
S 25. Bregman [5]; S. Handel, “Timbre Perception and ecological models—algorithmic tools used for the
References Auditory Object Identification,” in B.C.J. Moore, ed., resynthesis of everyday sounds.
& Hearing (New York: Academic Press, 1995); S.
1. F.J. Varela, E. Thompson and E. Rosch, The Em-
McAdams, “Recognition of Sound Sources and ecological psychology—the study of perceptual
M bodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience processes from a systemic perspective. Perception is
E (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1989). Events,” in S. McAdams and E. Bigand, eds., Thinking
A in Sound (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 1993) pp. understood as an adaptive process that transforms
N both the perceiver and the environment.
S 2. C.F. Michaels and C. Carello, Direct Perception 146–198; D.W. Massaro and N. Cowan, “Information
(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1981). Processing Models: Microscopes of the Mind,” An-
ecological validity—a set of experimentally based
nual Review of Psychology 44, 383–425 (1993).
3. L.A. Hiller and L.M. Isaacson, Experimental Music: principles that define parametric constraints for
Composition with an Electronic Computer (New York: 26. Warren et al. [15]. sound resynthesis models and sonic organization
McGraw-Hill, 1959). strategies.
27. McAdams [25]; C.L. Krumhansl, Cognitive Foun-
4. I. Xenakis, Formalized Music (Bloomington, IN: dations of Musical Pitch (New York: Oxford Univ. formants—groups of partials that form a spectral
Indiana Univ. Press, 1971) p. 22. Press, 1990). peak. Vowel sounds are characterized by two or
more formants produced by the resonances of the
5. A.S. Bregman, Auditory Scene Analysis: The Percep- 28. Keller [19]. vocal track. FOF (formant wave function) synthesis
tual Organization of Sound (Cambridge, MA: MIT simulates formants by using trains of pulses. The
Press, 1990). 29. J. Hernández, El Gaucho, Martín Fierro, Vol. 1 pulses are windowed sine waves; the characteristics
(Buenos Aires: Peuser, 1946). of the formants depend on the shape of the win-
6. B.T. Tróccoli and D. Keller, A série harmônica: dow applied.
interpretação inter-disciplinar—física, psico-acústica, 30. J. Cortázar, La Vuelta al día en ochenta mundos
histórica—e o processo audio-perceptivo, technical re- (Madrid: Siglo XXI, 1967). grain pools—several short sampled sounds that re-
port (in Portuguese) (Brasília, DF: Fundação de tain their natural attack and decay characteristics.
31. H.I.J.O.S. <http://www.hijos.org>.
Apoio à Pesquisa do D.F, 1996).
grains—sound quanta. Short windowed sounds
32. Kelso [22]; G. Kampis, Self-Modifying Systems in
7. A.C. North and D.J. Hargreaves, “Experimental with durations from a few milliseconds to several
Biology and Cognitive Science (Oxford: Pergamon
Aesthetics and Everyday Music Listening,” in D.J. centiseconds.
Press, 1991).
Hargreaves and A.C. North, eds., The Social Psychol-
ogy of Music, (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1997). granular—pertaining to the grain. Granular attack
33. Varela et al. [1].
and decay occur within milliseconds, as opposed to
8. J. Attali, Noise: The Political Economy of Music (Min- 34. Kampis [32]; J.L. Borges, Ficciones, in Obras the event’s attack and decay, which can last several
neapolis, MN: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1985). Completas, Vol. 5 (Buenos Aires: Emecé, 1956). seconds. See grains.

9. R.M. Schafer, The Tuning of the World (New York: 35. K. Karplus and A. Strong, “Digital Synthesis of granular phase synchronicity, or phase-controlled
Knopf, 1977). Plucked-String and Drum Timbres,” Computer Music granulation—a technique developed by Keller and
Journal 7, No. 2, 43–55 (1983). Rolfe (1998) [45] that uses the phase among grain
10. B. Truax, “Composing with Time-Shifted Envi- streams as a synthesis parameter.
ronmental Sound,” Leonardo Music Journal 2 (1992) 36. D. Keller and C. Rolfe, “The Corner Effect,” Pro-
pp. 37–40. ceedings of the XIIth Colloquium of Musical Informatics parsing (or segregation)—the process of separating
(Gorizia, Italy, 1998); X. Rodet, “Time-Domain sound events from the constant flow of auditory
11. H. Westerkamp, Transformations, empreintes stimuli. From a compositional perspective, parsing
Formant Wave Function Synthesis,” Computer Music
DIGITALes Compact Disc (Montreal, 1996). is defined as the process of selecting sounds that
Journal 8, No. 3, 9–14 (1984); B. Truax, “Discover-
ing Inner Complexity: Time Shifting and Transpo- fulfill ecological constraints.
12. B. Truax, “Soundscape, Acoustic Communica-
tion and Environmental Sound Composition,” Con- sition with a Real-Time Granulation Technique,”
pattern formation—refers to the emergence of
temporary Music Review 15, No. 1, 47–63 (1996). Computer Music Journal 18, No. 2, 8–48 (1994).
higher-level forms or behaviors from the interac-
37. C. Roads, “Sound Transformation by Convolu- tion of two or more systems. From a biological per-
13. J.J. Gibson, The Senses Considered as Perceptual Sys- spective, Varela et al. [46] define it as the process of
tems (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1966). tion,” in C. Roads, S. T. Pope, A. Piccialli and G. De
Poli, eds., Musical Signal Processing (Lisse: Swets & mutual adaptation between the individual and the
14. W.H. Warren and R.R. Verbrugge, “Auditory Zeitlinger, 1997) pp. 411–438. environment.
Perception of Breaking and Bouncing Events: A macro-time—level of sound structure composed of
Case Study in Ecological Acoustics,” Journal of Ex- 38. D. Keller and B. Truax, “Ecologically Based
Granular Synthesis,” Proceedings of the International several events. Forms of organization at this level
perimental Psychology: Human Perception and Perfor-
Computer Music Conference (Ann Arbor, MI: ICMA, usually result from interactions among lower-level
mance 10 (1984) pp. 704–712. processes.
1998); <http://www.sfu.ca/~dkeller>.
15. W.H. Warren, E.E. Kim and R. Husney, “The
39. Keller and Rolfe [36]. meso-time—level of sound structure ranging from
Way the Ball Bounces: Visual and Auditory Percep-
a few grains (centiseconds) to several seconds. Most
tion of Elasticity and Control of the Bounce Pass,” 40. Rodet [36]. ecologically feasible events can be resynthesized by
Perception 16 (1987) pp. 309–336.
using meso-time patterns.
41. D. Keller, “. . . soretes de punta,” in Compact Disc
16. D.P.W. Ellis, Prediction-Driven Computational Au-
Harangue II, earsay productions (Burnaby, BC, micro-time—level of sound structure lasting be-
ditory Scene Analysis, Ph.D. thesis (Cambridge, MA: 1998); <http://www.earsay.com>. tween a few nanoseconds to a few milliseconds.
MIT Press, 1996); see also Bregman [5].
42. Keller [19]. soundscape—a term coined by composer R.M.
17. Michaels and Carello [2] p. 9.
Schafer [47] to describe the acoustic environment.
43. Truax [36].
18. Michaels and Carello [2] p. 13. spectral—related to the spectrum of a sound, i.e. its
44. Harmonic Functions is the company that manu- frequency content.
19. D. Keller, touch’n’go: Ecological Models in Composi-
factures the DM8 system. See C. Rolfe, DM8 Auto-
tion, master of fine arts thesis (Burnaby, BC: Simon
mated Diffusion System (Burnaby, BC: Harmonic time-patterns—temporal structures of sound
Fraser University, 1999); <http://www.sfu.ca/sonic- Functions, 1996). events.
studio/EcoModelsComposition/Title.html>.
45. Keller and Rolfe [36].
20. P. Ru and S.A. Shamma, “Representation of
Musical Timbre in the Auditory Cortex,” Journal of 46. Varela et al. [1]. Manuscript received 1 March 2000.
New Music Research 26 (1997) pp. 154–169.
47. Schafer [9].
21. R. Aiello, ed., Musical Perceptions (New York:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1994).
22. J.A.S. Kelso, Dynamic Patterns: The Self-Organiza- Damián Keller was born in Buenos Aires, Ar-
tion of Brain and Behavior (Cambridge, MA: MIT
Glossary
gentina. Since 1997 he has been working on the
Press, 1995). abstract music—music in which the sound organi- ecological approach to composition. His works
23. North and Hargreaves [7]. zation strategies avoid extra-musical references.
Most “serious” European and North American mu- include tape pieces, music for theater, film and
24. Truax [12]. sic falls within this category. installations.

60 Keller, Compositional Processes from an Ecological Perspective