Concrète control: Pierre Schaeffer's concrète in digital control algorithms

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with the algorithms determining the manner in which digital audio is processed. My interest in this subject is due to my impression that the idiomatic and common ways of designing control algorithms for digital audio are often not of a very dynamic nature, but rather of a binary or linear design. I draw on the ideas of Pierre Schaeffer, particularly his conception of a concrète/abstract axis, in order to articulate this issue. An interface is programmed in order to explore the concrete aspects of sound through control algorithms. By doing this I hope to contribute to an articulation of a fluidity and complexity that sound is uniquely capable of revealing, but which is sometimes obscured by an excessive occupation with static symbols and concepts.