Materials, resonance and interaction

Materials as compositional decisions

Material, geometry, excitation and coupling influence what a musical object can do. In Speculative Organology these become parts of the compositional process, alongside gesture, interface and performance conditions.

A working method

The research moves between parametric and speculative design, acoustic modelling, fabrication, measurement and playing. Rehearsal is a place to revise both an object and the assumptions that guided its design.

Some experiments begin with an acoustic question; others begin with an imagined instrument or an impossible constraint. Their development asks how an idea becomes a concrete musical situation and what is learned when the material response differs from the proposition.

This page describes the research approach. Individual measurements, prototypes and performance documentation will provide the evidence for particular findings.