Randell, Jacob Terry (2022) Exploring the Compositional Possibilities of Decoupled Organ Pipes. PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
Abstract
My practice explores the extended sonic possibilities of a collection of organ pipes that have been decoupled from the instrument. As many unserviceable church and theatre organs are dismantled and sold as scrap materials, I demonstrate how organ pipes may be repurposed as handheld, mouth-blown instruments or components within sound-making devices that utilise fan-blown mechanisms, allowing participants to interact with pipes in new ways. Through a portfolio of warm-up tasks, studies, group activities and building instructions for interactive sound installations, I explore how textual and graphic notation may guide and encourage participants to individually and collectively investigate the performability of decoupled organ pipes.
Following an introduction to my research and methodological approach, including an overview of my research focuses and key works that relate to my compositional approach, a supporting commentary is provided for my portfolio. I demonstrate how textual and graphic notation can be used to create music-making sessions that are engaging, adaptable and accessible for all participants, regardless of performance experience, instrumental skills and understanding of musical terminology. The documentation provided evidences participants exploring a variety of activities and the accompanying survey responses indicate successful aspects of the music-making sessions and some areas that may require further consideration. The outcomes demonstrate that the collection of organ pipes is an exciting resource for informal music-making, where the ethos of this activity may be understood as exploring the performability of decoupled organ pipes through intuition and experimentation, without concern for a correct or proper approach to this process or working towards a more polished performance. By creating sessions that are informal, supportive and inclusive, I may invite more people to participate in activities, gathering a greater variety of interpretations to my instructional materials, and more thoroughly demonstrate how music-making activities, communicated through textual and graphic notation, can facilitate the instrumentalization of decoupled organ pipes.
Metadata
Supervisors: | Spencer, Mic and McLaughlin, Scott |
---|---|
Keywords: | Composition; Organ Pipes; Experimental Music; Improvisation; Instrumentalization; Community Music; Sound Installation |
Awarding institution: | University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Music (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Mr Jacob Randell |
Date Deposited: | 07 Dec 2023 12:53 |
Last Modified: | 09 May 2024 08:19 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:etheses.whiterose.ac.uk:33232 |
Downloads
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Portfolio - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes.pdf
Description: Music Score Materials
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Portfolio - Imitation.pdf
Description: Music Score Materials
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Portfolio - Pistons Bourdon.pdf
Description: Music Score Materials
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - WARM-UP.mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - WARM-UP
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - MOTH (version 1).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - MOTH (version 1)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - MOTH (version 2).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - MOTH (version 2)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - ANCHOR (version 1).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - ANCHOR (version 1)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - ANCHOR (version 2).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - ANCHOR (version 2)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - ANCHOR (version 3).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - ANCHOR (version 3)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - COLLECT (part 1).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - COLLECT (part 1)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - COLLECT (part 2).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - COLLECT (part 2)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - BRANCH (version 1).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - BRANCH (version 1)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - BRANCH (version 2).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - BRANCH (version 2)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - BRANCH (version 3).mp4
Description: Making Music with Decoupled Organ Pipes - BRANCH (version 3)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Imitation - Performed by members of Leeds University Union Music Society.mp4
Description: Imitation - Performed by members of Leeds University Union Music Society
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Imitation - Performed by particiapants at Sound Thought Festival (excerpt).mp4
Description: Imitation - Performed by particiapants at Sound Thought Festival (excerpt)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Pistons Bourdon - Performed by LSTwo Ensemble (excerpt).mp4
Description: Pistons Bourdon - Performed by LSTwo Ensemble (excerpt)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Filename: Randell, J. - Pistons Bourdon - Performed by Unfoldings (version for one pipe and two players).mp4
Description: Pistons Bourdon - Performed by Unfoldings (version for one pipe and two players)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Examined Content
Description: Pistons Bourdon - 'The Visitation' version with Organ part composed by Mic Spencer (excerpt)
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Final eThesis - complete (pdf)
Filename: Randell J. - PhD eThesis.pdf
Licence:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Export
Statistics
You do not need to contact us to get a copy of this thesis. Please use the 'Download' link(s) above to get a copy.
You can contact us about this thesis. If you need to make a general enquiry, please see the Contact us page.