Inwards Listening: Meditations on Sound in Search of Silence

Abstract

This thesis, on the one hand, constitutes an exploration of silence within the realm of new music; on the other, it is an attempt at outlining and articulating a particular musical aesthetic. The author — a composer of predominantly quiet music — strives to demonstrate the ways in which silence has influenced his compositions and overall artistic practice. Silence, quietness, stillness: throughout this thesis it is argued that these qualities of sound (alone) can instil a state of listening which is at once attentive and relaxed: meditative. This notion is explored through four of the authors musical works (Gömd, Silhuett, Spegel and Places, nowhere), alongside other relevant works within the field of experimental score-based music. By deconstructing this musical aesthetic into four distinct parameters — time/stillness, space/emptiness, listening/focusing and silence/ silent — and by reflecting on each parameter along with the underlying themes they entail (such as solitude, attention spans and nature), the author aims to explore and attempts to describe what throughout the thesis will come to be referred to as silent sound, and the extent to which it can shape and expand the listening experience. This thesis does not seek to arrive at any truth, rather it focuses on compositional practices and experiences of sound and in doing so opens up for further reflection and discussion on topics such as listening, perception, attention and silence.