Which Musical Language?

Wasgiischwashäsch begins in G major and does not modulate until after the first cadence (Fig. 6.3); the musical language is tonal. It then modulates throughout the first movement until it becomes increasingly dissonant in the second movement. It eventually becomes completely atonal and removed from the harmonic language of the William Tell Overture. The stormy ending becomes an almost atmospheric section of music ‘dissolving’ as the instruments play quiet

held notes at the extremes of their registers, at the tempo ♩ = 40 (Fig. 6.4). As a

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unrecognisable – signifies a change in the data. The data’s meaning is embedded in the musical structure.

Fig. 6.4: Ending passage of Wasgiischwashäsch, at tempo ♩ = 40 (bars 298-303).

6.5.3 Scientist-Composer

The compositional process described in this chapter demands musical skills such as knowledge of tonal harmony and orchestration. Conceivably, the piece could have been produced by transposing a score through music notation software or pitch-shifting a recording. The first option would have resulted in a piece with

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extreme registers that are impossible to play with conventional instruments; it would also have resulted in simplistic mappings to a limited range of musical parameters. The second method would introduce artefacts that appear through pitch-shifting.

An example of pitch-shifting is a sonification of the value of the pound ‘to the tune of’ the British national anthem36_{. The tuning of God Save the Queen rises or falls} according to the value of the pound before and after Brexit (Belfast Telegraph, 2016). It uses pitch-shifting to achieve this effect, which is clearly audible. We would therefore consider it of average musical quality, as the modification of the original recording takes precedence over qualitative considerations. It is however an excellent example of an empathetic sonification. First, the relationship between the data and the sound is very clear because God Save the Queen is an obvious sonic symbol of the British economy. Furthermore, the mapping is easy to understand because of the public’s knowledge of the British anthem; any pitch shift will be recognised, therefore any change in data. In conclusion, by distorting the national anthem in a comical but grotesque manner, a clear and emotionally engaging sonification is created.

However, in order to avoid issues that arise when modifying a recording, or creating scores which cannot be played, a more sophisticated approach is necessary. Considerations beyond the ability to simply map data to musical symbols are necessary, for example because the instruments’ affordances must be taken into account. It could therefore be argued that a musification such as Wasgiischwashäsch can only be written by a composer, or a scientist-composer.

36 _{https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/video-news/video-listen-to-the-struggle-of-the-pound-}

150 6.5.4 Orchestral Sonification

The piece is intended to be played by an instrumental ensemble, whether in the instrumentation described here or a similar instrumentation. It is rare to find sonifications which are intended for or played by an instrumental ensemble. This is understandable in functional applications where the use of instrumental performers would be impractical or impossible, such as in hospital settings. In other cases, the use of sound synthesis or MIDI is the most practical process as it can be performed on just one piece of hardware; as described for The Voice of the Sea, where the data handling and sound production happen with the same software.

The use of an instrumental ensemble adds a performance element to the sonification, therefore entering the realm of musification. Some examples of sonifications played acoustic instruments include John Eacott’s Flood Tide (Eacott, 2012) and Daniel Crawford’s A Song of our Warming Planet (Ensia, 2015). In both cases, the primary purpose of the sonification is artistic even though both composers express a secondary intention of informing the listener about the environment. Because of the inherent performative element of instrumental ensembles, such sonifications will most likely be of an artistic nature rather than just functional.

In this case, the orchestral performance of the sonification was both necessary and beneficial. Some of the compositional decisions must be traced back to the demands and possibilities afforded by the nature of the concert and the available instrumentation for Wasgiischwashäsch. As discussed earlier, a limited and specific instrumentation was available. Furthermore, the use of an orchestral ensemble can create an emotional connection with the listeners. Most audiences

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are familiar with the symphony orchestra and its sound, which fosters a reassuring familiarity with the piece they are hearing. As the concept of musification might be novel to them, the presence of a symphony orchestra can give the listeners ‘something to hold on to’. Landy defines the ‘something to hold on to factor’ in relation to ‘sound-based works’, such as electroacoustic music, as ‘characteristics that could provide listeners with a listening strategy that would allow them to find a way into these works’ (Landy, 2007, p. 26). Another aid for the audience is the programme note which describes the process and intention of the piece to support their understanding of the music. To conclude, an orchestral sonification can be beneficial in the information process because it creates familiarity and ‘something to hold on to’ for the listener.

6.6 Emotional Content