Studie I
The study I ( or Electronic Study I ) by Karlheinz Stockhausen from 1953 is one of the first compositions for electronic music, which was constructed by serial number techniques and their electro-acoustic base material consists of sine waves. The Opus of the composer she wears along with study II, the No. 3 and is a total of 9:42 minutes. In addition to composition, there is a score.
Background
Karlheinz Stockhausen saw himself exposed in the early 1950s musical boundaries, as his " quest for a real synthesis of sound structures " (p. 39) through the composition with instrumental tones for different structures and a common rational proportion principle has not been carried out: " The contradiction consistent between serial composition and use of instruments is clearly trying to want to sort the timbres of different instruments by rows. So, how to arrange time and volume proportions and interval ratios of the pitches as series structure. "(P. 39) An instrument Alton is its harmonics and their volume ratios determined already in the array, which represents the characteristics of a Instrumentaltons. Therefore, the composer for Study I pure sine waves, which are generated with sine wave generators used. Each existing sound and therefore every sound is a mixture of such pure tones and their spectrum, determined by the number, interval, and volume ratios of the sine tones to each other the tone.
Furthermore saw Stockhausen in electronic music the opportunity to overcome the limitations of a performing player, which therefore also restrict the work of composers: " You found a music that could not be realized in vielerei ways with instruments. If in individual cases such music accordingly written with a lot of contortions and complications for instruments, so almost insurmountable difficulties [ ... ] of playing and finally the phonetic effectiveness (p. 41) set in borderline cases a. " Electronic music has overcome these limitations and thus could music will be composed, which was partly for kicker not technically playable. Still not refused Stockhausen instrumental music, but saw it as other qualities. Instrumental music was the ability to affect the player's action by optical character and appeal to a creative, always changing responsiveness. An instrumental performance is so unique every time. In electronic music can be one-off production with any repeatability of the performance reach. (P. 148 ff )
Formation
The work was written in the Electronic Music Studio of the WDR in Cologne, which was opened in 1953 and directed by Herbert Eimert. Stockhausen initially staged an Etude in 1952 in Paris, however, consists of sounds troubled piano strings. The fact prefabricated material to use, as is common in the tradition of musique concrete, however, did not agree with to be realized synthesis of sound structures, which was realized in study I why Stockhausen withdrew the Etude and initially not published for several decades.
Structure
The composer sat down the following condition for the realization on a tape: The number system to use the sine tones should start in a defined medium listening area by him, that in both directions of the pitch strives to Hörgrenzen. The duration of a tone to be inversely proportional to its defined frequency spacing. The sound intensity is proportional to the duration decrease with increasing frequency separation from the medium listening area.
The above-mentioned ratio of the frequencies is after five intervals of the overtone series defined: 12/5, 4/ 5, 8 /5, 5/12 and 5 / fourth
If we multiply a given output frequency for which Stockhausen 1920 Hz chose, results in a sequence of six tones. Every sound developed from the starting point of a new series. This process is continued until the limit of 66 Hz is achieved, which defines the composer as the lower limit of audibility. To illustrate this principle, the beginning of this frequency matrix is represented:
Etc.
From these individual sinusoidal tones clay mixtures will now formed, from which timbres can be developed, which can not be realized with -predetermined instrumental tones. For the grouping of Tongemischen following sequence is chosen that does not allow symmetric or monotone sequence: 4 5 3 6 2 1
The application of the above group scheme to the mapped frequency matrix gives the following composition as an example:
- 4: 1920, 800, 100, 625
- 5: 1500, 1200, 800, 333, 417
- 3: 260, 625, 500
- 6: 100, 417, 521, 325, 781, 625
- 2: 625, 260
- 1: 325
This scheme is now chosen to form structure of the whole work: tones make clay mixtures ( groups of notes - vertical), clay mixtures form sequences ( sound groups - horizontal), sequences form structures ( sequence groups - horizontal or vertical). As is, from a group of series arise uniform proportions of the whole work, such as:
- 4 tones in clay mixture 1, 4 sounds in sequence 1, 4 sequences in structure 1
- 5 tones in clay mixture 2, 5 tones in sequence 2, 5 sequences in structure 2, etc. (see page 26)
In order to structure these groupings six structure or group forms defined:
The group character of the structures for the formal overall idea of the work are the following also unbalanced order: 4 2 3 5 6 1 difficulty (see page 27)
To determine the time periods, the following relationship is established: The number of centimeters a second on the tape is 76.2 cm. The duration of a tone is to be 1/10 of the frequency number and is thus the example of the 1920 Hz tones, a 800 Hz and 1000 Hz band length of 192 cm, 80 cm and 100 cm. Each time period thus found is called the parent of time. The minor amount of time determines the relationship between sound and silence and amounts to between 1/6 and 6/6 of the total parent time period. The relationship between break - sound or - break is explained by the groups or structural form and also defines the length by an unbalanced number sequence. difficulty (see page 32)
Continuation
Stockhausen felt in Study I, an audibility of the individual sinusoidal components and saw his synthesis is not in the fusion of tones in sound mixtures realized. He developed a formal plan for the study II, in which was, however, apart from one interval structure of the overtone series and the sound mixtures were mixed with a reverberation room.
Trivia
In the electronic Study I, a non- serial systematics standing Beep marked (but for unprepared listener unobtrusively ) the time when Stockhausen was informed at work on the piece of the birth of his daughter Suja (Stockhausen speaks of a " cannon shot ").