Volume I. Percussion Sextet. (Original composition);. Volume II. The simulation of acoustical space by means of physical modeling

The dissertation is in two parts:;2. The simulation of acoustical space by means of physical modeling. This is a written report describing the research and development of a computer program which simulates the characteristics of acoustical space in two dimensions. With the computer program the user can simulate most conventional acoustical spaces, as well as those physically impossible to realize in the real world. The program simulates acoustical space by means of geometric modeling. This involves defining wall equations, phantom source points and wall diffusions, and then processing input files containing digital signals through the program, producing output files ready for digital to analog conversion. The user of the program is able to define wall locations and wall reflectivity and roughness characteristics, all of which can be changed over time. Sound source locations are also definable within the acoustical space and these locations can be changed independently at any rate of speed. The sounds themselves are generated from any external sound synthesis program or appropriate sampling system. Finally, listener location and orientation is also user definable and dynamic in nature. A Receive-ReBroadcast (RRB) model is used to play back the sound and is definable from two to eight channels of sound. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).;1. Percussion Sextet. The Percussion Sextet is a one movement musical composition with a length of approximately fifteen minutes. It is for six instrumentalists, each on a number of percussion instruments. The overriding formal problem was to construct a coherent and compelling structure which fuses a diversity of musical materials and textures into a dramatic whole. Particularly important is the synthesis of opposing tendencies contained in stochastic and deterministic processes: global textures versus motivic detail, and randomness versus total control. Several compositional techniques are employed in the composition. These methods of composition will be aided, in part, by the use of artificial intelligence techniques programmed on a computer. Finally, the percussion ensemble is the ideal medium to realize the above processes since it encompasses a wide range of both pitched and unpitched timbres, and since a great variety of textures and densities can be created with a certain economy of means.