Composition at the DAW: Corporeal, Performative and Therapeutic Experiences of Computer Composition

Abstract

The DAW is often thought of as a virtual and non-corporeal method of composing. This paper presents the argument that in fact, the opposite is true. Through qualitative and self-reflexive research, this exegesis explores in depth the ways that the DAW invites and facilitates performance, gesture and embodiment during the process of composition at the computer. It looks at the ways such interaction with the DAW creates what I call a ‘feed-back loop’. This is a concept emerging from the effects of unique features of the DAW, such as its immediate audio and visual feedback, and recording capability, which distinguish it significantly from traditional tools and methods of composing.

This core of this thesis is a portfolio of creative work titled Lady of Blue Anima. The structure follows a song-cycle with transitions, and hybridises contemporary and popular music styles. The exegesis is a critical articulation of at least two significant aspects of my creative process for Lady of Blue Anima: therapeutic experience, and a DAW-based creative process. I examine a number of vital aspects of compositional work at the DAW; the input devices that act as extensions to the body, listening and the emotional responses and/or therapeutic experiences, as well as physical sensorial experiences. These aspects also gives rise to surrounding environments, and other abstract notions of physical transcendence and fantasy. All of these aspects ultimately feed back into Lady of Blue Anima and are of especial value to me as a composer.

This research aims to present the ‘missing voices’ of composers, whom are seldom heard from directly, rather than in the typically retrospective and hypothetical, philosophical, analytical, or theoretical manners of speaking about the compositional process. My self-reflexive approach places the wider academic context in relation to an empirical investigation from myself, where I am both subject and researcher of my compositional process. Throughout the paper I provide field notes about my own compositional experiences at the DAW, examples which give insight into both the creative application of the DAW as well as my experiences of and approaches to composition.