What the study found
The paper argues that digital notation practices can enhance live performances of new music by broadening the audiovisual to include alternative notational approaches that engage with space, which it calls "spatial notation." It also says that the concert project Drawing Sound in Space aimed to create a more immersive encounter with music notation as a multimodal, social practice.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that this approach may enhance audience engagement and musical understanding, while also transforming musicianship and audience experience. They suggest that presenting notation to audiences as well as performers can create a novel concert experience.
What the researchers tested
The paper examines a concert presentation called Drawing Sound in Space, in which seven Australian composers were commissioned to create digital scores for an electroacoustic chamber music ensemble. The scores were shared with the audience, and the author provides a theoretical framework for analyzing the works through semiotic expansion, temporal engagement, distributed agency, and spatial reconfiguration.
What worked and what didn't
According to the abstract, different ways of presenting music notation in the project were used to explore audience experience and to challenge composers to design notation for both audiences and performers. The paper reports that these approaches were intended to offer a more immersive and novel concert experience, but the abstract does not give detailed comparative results for individual works.
What to keep in mind
The available summary does not describe specific audience measurements, performance outcomes, or limitations. It also does not provide detailed findings for each commissioned work, only the concepts used to analyze them.
Key points
- The paper links digital notation with a concept the author calls "spatial notation."
- Seven Australian composers were commissioned to create digital scores for an electroacoustic chamber music ensemble.
- Audience members were shown the scores during the concert presentation.
- The authors say the approach may enhance audience engagement and musical understanding.
- The abstract does not provide detailed quantitative results or named limitations.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Digital spatial notation reshaped audience and performer engagement
- Authors:
- Cat Hope
- Institutions:
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Edith Cowan University, Monash University
- Publication date:
- 2025-12-01
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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