Digital Hybrid: correspondence with digital materials, exploring a hybrid composition practice across multiple domains

Roberts, Tywi John Hywel (2023) Digital Hybrid: correspondence with digital materials, exploring a hybrid composition practice across multiple domains. Doctoral thesis (PhD), The Royal Northern College of Music in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This thesis proceeds from a discussion of hybridity between electronic and acoustic forces in contemporary classical ensembles and composition, proposing that such ensembles demand a hybrid skillset. This can be supported by the manner in which the digital technology itself is applied (for example: finding novel ways of integrating digital processing of sounds into an ensemble on stage, or by merging digitally synthesised elements into the process of composing), or by including additional composers/artists in the creative process (hybrid authorship). By ‘creative process’ I am referring to everything leading up to the premiere of the work from the notation of musical ideas, recording and processing of audio material, generation of visual material, and the assembly of all these into a single whole. I will further argue that while working on the digital aspects of such projects one’s practice is benefitted greatly by knowledge of pre-digital methodologies, and vice-versa. Hybridising the two domains prompts ideas in each of them that would be unlikely to arise if the composer did not have experience of both. The notion of hybridity shall be explored further by considering it in other contexts – in particular, hybridity between aural and visual content (hybrid media), hybridity between spoken word and music, as well as pieces whose texts merge multiple languages (these two latter being construed as hybrid text). In exploring these subsets of hybridity I will document how my use of this term moved from a practical consideration to describe my practice at the beginning, towards describing a personal aesthetic later, and finally to becoming a pointer towards a more integrated form of compositional practice which transcends the notion of hybridity altogether. My research aims to contribute to composition methodologies by providing a personal, autobiographical account of a particular time in my practice. It will offer a portfolio of my work from 2018-2022 and accompanying commentary containing reference points which could be referred to in future by other composers and researchers. I will also touch on the question of standardisation, and how this may affect the longevity of new works with significant technical requirements.