[microsound] Electroacoustic techniques

[David Powers]

Greetings,

For a new project (actually Pi Day), I have decided to take a
different route and compose my piece in a more traditional manner,
basically as a piano piece, and then add in electronic elements, some
of which will probably be based on probabilities and some more or less
notated.

So with that being said, in my mind the great weakness in the classic
books for electronic techniques that I've read ('Formalized Music' and
'Microsound') is that, in my opinion, they fail to bridge the gap
between the world of composing as I know it, and new ways of
approaching sound. I am not interested in discarding traditional
techniques but rather extending them.

So, I would be interested to hear from composers who work with
traditional musical materials and instruments alongside electronic,
especially those who use "normal" notation, manipulate cells and
motives, and do not rely on improvisation for the performance of the
electronic elements. How do you approach the use of electronics in
your work? How do you bridge the gap in sound between the electronic
and acoustic elements in your piece? Any software and technology that
you find to be especially helpful? If you work on micro timescales,
how do you bridge the gap between that timescale and the more normal
timescale of notated music?

I'm considering finally digging into CSound to do the current piece;
the other options that occur to me offhand are ChucK, for the Physical
Modeling code, and PD, which I know reasonably well but usually only
use to generate data which I send via MIDI or OSC elsewhere. Any
advice would be appreciated.

~David