Composing across the Divide

: A Genre-Bending Descriptive and Creative Musical Framework

Abstract

This submission consists of four musical compositions (with a fifth in an appendix) and a supporting commentary of 18,198 words, excluding references, appendices, and lists of contents.

Is there an alternative to casting creative processes like “composition” and “songwriting” and products like “compositions” and “songs” in evaluative language like “high” or “low” art or “classical” or “pop” music? This commentary proposes a Malleability-Reducibility Matrix, a framework for analysing musical compositions, ranging from song to symphony, in style- and genre-neutral descriptive terms, based on certain of a work’s underlying attributes rather than along conventional evaluative lines. The compositions contained in this portfolio, spanning the songwriting-composition divide, ranging from songs to symphony, help delineate and explore the origin, terrain, utility, and limitations of the Matrix, both as a descriptive framework and creative resource.

Date of Award	4 Feb 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bristol
Supervisor	Emma C Hornby (Supervisor) & John Pickard (Supervisor)