UC Irvine

This dissertation extends the investigation of the utility and function of abstract graphic music notation, through scholarly and creative practical research. Graphic notation is often situated in an ephemeral current of aleatoric music– a gig; a momentary and impulsive transaction between composer and performer, with a focus on spontaneous interpretation. Analysis of graphic notation generally comprises artists’ statements, historicization, and intrigue for this novel and relatively obscure genre of composing. As graphic notation continues to emerge within myriad subcategories of creative music, as well as contemporary art contexts, pedagogical, and neurological research, it is important to survey its modern provisions, affordances, and socio-cultural outcomes.In this project, I first examine existing research into graphic notation, and briefly trace its emergence in contemporary music since the mid-20th century, to demonstrate how it has and continues to address the creative and technical needs of composer- performers. I touch upon other scientific domains, specifically music education. vii Examples of graphically notated works are then cited and analyzed for their musical performance and/or art exhibition. From a semiotic perspective, I measure the interpretation and meaning-making of abstracted notational symbols. As a visual language, I look closely at the space surrounding its ever-evolving vocabulary. I theorize about both qualitative and quantitative valuation of interstices in the syntax of graphic notation passages. From the dynamic positioning to the contrasts in color, texture, shape, and size between abstract characters, transformational relationships are equally important for interpretation by improvising musicians. Citing successful exhibitions in the art world, I investigate the appearance of graphic notation in galleries and museums by composers and conceptual artists alike, particularly the subsequent impact on music’s ontological status and cultural reach among an expanding audience. This scholarly framework sets the tone for the autoethnographic account of my practical research experiments during my doctoral tenure. The creative activity for this dissertation comprised multiple ways of using graphic notation in practice, ranging from semi-permanent art exhibitions, which doubled as performance environments, to a large- scale concert of ensemble scores which were spontaneously generated by manipulating commercial software and graphic design techniques as an improvisational and interactive form of composition and conducting.