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Modular Music James Saunders For me, every attempt to bring a work to a close after a certain time becomes more and more forced and ridiculous. I am looking for ways of renouncing the composition of single works and?if possible?of working only forwards, and of working so "openly" that everything can now be included in the task in hand, at once transforming and being transformed by it; and the questing of others for autonomous works just seems tome so much clamor and vapor. ?Karlheinz Stockhausen1 WITH THIS STATEMENT, Stockhausen articulates the impulse to create a modular composition. That a piece could be flexible and subject to constant change between performances was beginning to become relativelywell-established as an idea; with the possible exception of some periods of Cage's work,2 the notion that such an approach could form a complete compositional method was not. Even though works might be internally flexible, generally they had limits and were deemed complete (in terms of their composition) following the compo sition of all component parts and the structural format which bound Modular Music 153 them.What ifthiswas not the case though, and a piece became continu ously extensible so as to form a complete compositional method encompassing all of a composer's work? This paper attempts to set out principles for the design of such amethod, drawing on modular product platform theory, and implementations ofmodularity to different degrees within object art, literature, and music. After discussing the needs which drive the development of such an approach, key concepts and techniques of modularity and system design are presented with examples drawn from these fields, supported by an extended examination of my own modular project #[unassigned]. The paper concludes with a considera tion of the implications ofworking in amodular way. Why Modularity? As a starting point, it isworth establishing a definition of modularity. According to theOxford English Dictionary, amodule is: module n. 1 a standardized part or independent unit used in con struction, esp. of furniture, a building, or an electronic system.3 A compositional, or indeed any,method involvinguse ofmodules therefore would require a number of standardized units and a procedure for fitting them together. This forms the basic concept of such a way of working, whatever the context. There also clearly needs to be amotivational force to adopt such an approach, presenting a perceived advantage over other methods. In Anna Ericsson and Gunnar Erixon's Controlling Design Variants: Modular Product Platforms, reasons for industry's adoption of modular product architecture are summarized, demonstrating theirbenefits: The development ofmodular product designs results inmany posi tive effects on the product range level. A properly used modulariza tion has the following advantages: higher flexibility?product changes, due to market or new technology, can be made more easily since theywill only influence limited parts of the product; reduction of product development lead time?parallel develop ment activities are possible once the interfaces between modules have been defined; parallel development of the product and production system? product development plans can be translated into production plans for each module; 154 PerspectivesofNew Music reduction of production lead time?parallel manufacturing of modules instead of manufacturing an entire product in a single sequence; less capital tied up inproduction?work-in-progress is reduced due to shortened lead times, less stock maintenance of ready-made products; reduced material and purchase costs?the reduction of part numbers means less to purchase and less to administrate, and higher volumes per part number; improved quality?modules tested before final assembly have shorter feedback links, allowing easier adjustments; easier service and upgrading?standardized interfacesmake adding or replacing amodule easy; and easier administration?quoting, planning, and designing custo mized products can be done more efficiendy.4 Most of these reasons relate to increasing productivity, reducing costs, and simplifying administration: essentially working in a more efficient manner without a reduction in the quality of the result. They also highlight themore creative benefits such an approach provides: greater flexibility, improved quality, and independent development of a product and production system. For example, reuse ofmodules in new contexts allows more of the material's potential to be explored through new configurations rather than limiting it with a fixed...

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