‘Musical Texture, Ensemble Coordination, and Social Network Analysis’
SMA Zoom Colloquium, 2 November 2023, 6:30pm GMT
Please use the following Zoom link: https://citylit.zoom.us/j/2388146793 [citylit.zoom.us]
Meeting ID: 2388146793 Passcode: 781335
Abstract
Research on musical texture often takes a listener’s perspective: it shows how simultaneous parts are grouped according to principles of auditory perceptual organization. Performers in a musical ensemble have a different viewpoint. A violist in an orchestra, a soprano in a choir, or a rhythm guitarist in a funk band will experience texture from the inside. For ensemble performers, texture combines sonic and interpersonal relations. They coordinate with other musicians, synchronizing or interlocking, leading or following. Texture, then, reveals music as a medium for social interaction, as a kind of ‘social media’. In this talk, I’ll approach ensemble textures via social network analysis. I’ll present networks where nodes correspond to parts in the ensemble, and links reflect the proportion of shared note onsets. This method facilitates multi-layered analyses that consider relational properties of the whole ensemble, clusters within it, or individual parts—and changes in all of these parameters over time. It can be applied to individual pieces or larger corpora, and my illustrations will include repertoire for symphony orchestra, chamber groups, choir, and jazz big band. Ultimately, I argue that social networks are a powerful tool for analyzing texture in ensemble music, which can engage both listening and performance.
Biography
Jonathan De Souza is an Associate Professor in the Don Wright Faculty of Music at the University of Western Ontario. His book, Music at Hand: Instruments, Bodies, and Cognition, received an Emerging Scholar Award from the Society for Music Theory.