The composition of timbre: a multidimensional approach

This study on timbre as a principal compositional resource in acoustic music seeks to develop a coherent approach to timbral complexity and its multiple dimensions. First, I work on a notion of timbre that responds to the process of interaction between the parameters of sound, their features, distribution, and development over time. Such interaction may be organised by physical and semantic associations that emerge out of the perception of particular timbral qualities. Furthermore, in this compositional approach, the piece itself is thought of as a percept, from a philosophical perspective: the final objective of the concept through which the timbral experience is modulated. Exploratory sessions with performers are the starting point for developing instrumental techniques. These are spectrally analysed to reveal how timbral components, such as loudness, dynamic envelope, pitch register, inharmonicity, or spectral centroid, are correlated to specific descriptors for the perception of timbre in terms of the three semantic dimensions proposed by Asteris Zacharakis, Konstantinos Pastiadis, and Joshua D. Reiss: luminance, mass, and texture. Through cross-modal perceptual associations with vision and touch these are the categories by which timbre is usually described. The adjectives for each dimension function as structural points according to the conceptual and metaphorical meanings attributed to each composition. This multidimensional approach accounts for diverse perspectives through studying the physicality, psychoacoustics, and semantics of timbre, leading to even more philosophical reflexions; these further enable a wider understanding of the timbral experience and contribute to the development of particular strategies and techniques for timbral composition.