Indeterminacy

Musicians and Composers are always taking risks simply by sharing their ideas with the public. But this next section is about a type of music that includes a style of composition where the exact outcome is completely unknown!!

‘Chance Music’ or ‘Indeterminacy’ is a compositional technique where ‘rules’ or ‘guidelines’ are given to musicians that say how to play the music, but the exact outcome is not ‘pre-determined’. In a sense it is like a ‘Game’. The instructions tell the musicians what to do when something else happens.

The following examples have been donated to us for ‘free use’ by Dr Stuart Greenbaum of the University of Melbourne.

The First Example is called Bingo (2003). This piece uses electronic Dice!!

The Second example is called And the Music!

Indeterminate Composition Task

Write a composition which is an example of Indeterminacy. You will need:

• Instructions to the Musicians
  • How the music starts
  • How the music ends
  • How to know what notes to play
  • How to know when to change
  • Are the audience involved?
  • What instruments/sounds/electronics are to be used.
• Write your instructions as a Paragraph using English.
• Test your composition by giving it to a friend.
• Perform your composition for the Class.