Dream is a composition that further investigates eliminating the confines of the guitar fret board. Constructing chords manually, I assigned multiple sampled guitar notes each to their own individual track.[3] A process of pitch shifting and track arrangement was then developed to find chords with harmonious relationships. The chords created bypassed the standard six stringed formations, and created a ‘pluck’ aesthetic, opposed to a ‘strum’ aesthetic. Transposing these constructed chords into standard EADGBE tunings revealed the DAWs ability to help the artist expand beyond standard major scale patterns (diagram 1). The result confirms the relevance of Neil’s statement that “… the laptop is replacing the acoustic guitar as a primary instrument of expression for scores of new musicians” (2002).
Diagram 1
Composing Dream within the DAW also gave opportunity to experiment with shifts in time signatures. Although Neill speaks of the innovation within 4/4 timings, Ansgar Jerruntrup (2000) argues that computer composers, to their own detriment, often stick to the unwavering 4/4 pattern.
