Ontological substance and meaning in live electroacoustic music
pp. 216-226
in: Kristoffer Jensen (ed), Computer music modeling and retrieval. genesis of meaning in sound and music, Berlin, Springer, 2009Abstract
Philosopher Stephen Davies has used the terms "ontologically thin" and "ontologically thick" to describe compositions with varying amounts of flexibility under interpretation. Placing these two poles on a continuum of ontological substance, I extend Davies's ideas to shed light on issues concerning meaning in live electroacoustic music. I demonstrate that algorithmic and interactive elements lend an extra dimension to the existence of the musical work and that the apparent obsolescence of live performance caused by new technology is really an opportunity to develop meaning in a new parameter of musical structure.