The Jubal Project and Metabolist Composition

First Installment of "The Jubal Project" can be found here:

http://soundmorphology.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-jubal-project.html

Metabolism is a term used in music to describe a philosophy and approach to composition that emphasizes the idea that music is a living, dynamic entity that is constantly evolving and changing over time. Metabolism is often associated with a group of Japanese composers who were active in the 1960s and 1970s, known as the "Metabolists" or the "Group of Four". 

According to this philosophy, the music score is not a fixed, static entity, but rather a starting point for a musical work that is continually evolving and changing through the performance and interpretation of the musicians. In other words, the score is seen as a kind of "blueprint" for the music, rather than a finished product. 

Metabolist composers often employ techniques such as indeterminacy, improvisation, and aleatory (chance) elements in their music, in order to create a sense of spontaneity and unpredictability. They also emphasize the use of technology and electronic instruments, such as synthesizers and computers, to create new sounds and textures. 

Overall, the philosophy of metabolism is a rejection of the idea of music as a fixed, unchanging object, and an embrace of music as a dynamic and ever-evolving art form. 

In this compositional notation system (archetype), the performer is charged with adapting patterns to fluctuating desires and contingencies which can be an ongoing process with the performance becoming a method of directing change in the musical interpretation; a way of guiding them through different configurations. This relies on making and using patterns found within the notation that are more responsive than their modernist predecessors.

Visual Coherence  

 

The patterns found within this new notational system are first and foremost visual ones.  They are intended to provide the performer’s interpretation with aesthetic clarity despite differences in individual components.  Visual attributes are always present and recognizable, so a base pattern’s identity remains separate yet linked to the sonic forces that shape it.

Because of its internal consistency, a pattern produces gestalts that allow the performer to recognize and understand otherwise overwhelmingly complex visualizations.