See nothing: for string quintet and electronics

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Treya Michelle Nash (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Alejandro Rutty

Abstract: See Nothing is a piece for string quintet (two violins, viola, cello, double bass), and electronics. The electronic component is a ‘tape track’ that uses pre-recorded string pitches tuned to the frequencies of a single harmonic series. The performers use the tape track as a live tuning device to allow for the accurate reproduction of pitches based on harmonic series overtones. See Nothing follows a long historical precedent of Western music that uses the harmonic series as a foundational resource. This thesis discusses two of the most canonized musical ideas that use the harmonic series: just intonation and spectralism. It also compares some of the musical components of See Nothing to works by James Tenney, Georg Friedrich Haas, and Michael Harrison. The thesis describes the formal, harmonic, and timbral features of See Nothing, as well as reflecting on some of the more and less successful practicalities of using the tape track as a method for accurate live tuning.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2020
Keywords
Harmonic Series, String Quintet
Subjects
String quintets
Electronic music
Chamber music $2 lcgft
Scores $2 lcgft

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