Locus of music Open discourse and dynamics of control in music making

Abstract

Locus of Music is a creative portfolio of original works by Ekrem Eli Phoenix (formerly known as Mülayim), as part of a PhD degree in musical composition. These works, and the accompanying research paper, are creative investigations into the notion of open discourse and dynamics of control in music making. The traditional model for the musical process is a vertical, hierarchical dynamic with the composer at the top and the audience at the bottom. In this model the power and the control lie with the composer. He is the definitive author of his creation, and therefore is the sole provider of the musical ‘truth’ for other parties to receive, interpret, recreate, and ultimately consume. Modern musical practices have challenged this model with notions such as ‘open work’, ‘indeterminacy’, and ‘shared authorship’. Such practices share parallels with changes in scientific thought as can be found in quantum physics and multi-value logics. This paper provides a philosophical base for these concepts by examining the theories of truth, question, decision making, and control. Through this examination, a circular dynamic emerges as an alternative to the vertical hierarchy. In this alternative model, the control, once solely possessed by the composer, is shared and redistributed amongst the parties involved in music making. The music makers are expected to maintain an open discourse during the realisation process. However, open discourse is a process that needs to be cultivated, diligently sustained and, at times, forcibly imposed in order for it to remain open, alive and vigorous. Otherwise, habitual musical decisions can be repeated at each performance and the works can no longer be referred as open. Enquiry reveals that a discourse is open in the face questions and it is closed when a statement is made and a truth is provided. Similarly, a decision making process takes place only in the face of questions and uncertainty. Uncertainty is characterised by the absence or loss of control over an activity or process. Decisions, consequently, can be seen as attempts at reclaiming or negotiating control. When music making is viewed as a decision making activity, the presence of uncertainty, therefore, emerges as essential for open discourse. As a result, this research, with its accompanying portfolio, is a systematic approach at devising works that challenge the control possessed by the music makers, deprive them of it, face them with uncertainty and, finally, limit their access to habitual, safe and repetitive decisions so that the music making process remains an open discourse.