The Rhetorical Method for the Critical Appraisal of Electroacoustic Structures

Abstract

In the absence of a concrete code for the critical appraisal of the structures of electroacoustic music, classical approaches were undertaken to construct coherent musical discourses which would eventually increase perception of musical expression. Electroacoustic pieces of music were selected to be analysed, in order to locate rhetoric elements and practices in them, as well as how these practices apply to electroacoustic form and musical expression. Several pieces were found to include rhetoric structure or philosophical approaches in composition based on rhetoric, while other pieces were proven to follow different modes of utterances. In order to create a concrete mode of utterance, emphasizing musical expression, rhetoric methods were used and applied in analysing electroacoustic pieces of music, which incorporate either philosophical approaches, or rhetoric structure, or both. The degree of musical expression accomplished depends on subjective perception and understanding of the musical outcome.