Abstract
Mobile music tools are one of the most significant advances in contemporary music production technologies. Innovative and portable instruments allow us to leverage the latest technological developments and enhance mobile audio storytelling. In this chapter, I outline the model of setting-based music creation with the use of handheld mobile equipment. This is a model of performative music making where several elements of the creative process are executed in real time. Based on my own creative work, as well as participation in multiple communities of practice and collaborative work with other mobile musicians, I have identified six elements of setting-based music storytelling. I provide analysis of these elements and discuss them in the context of creating mobile music. I highlight various ways in which mobile tools impact on the practices of contemporary music producers and I argue that performative methods provide a unique possibility for implementing production techniques in musical pieces that communicate local settings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson, I. (2016). Soundmapping beyond the grid: Alternative cartographies of sound. Journal of Sonic Studies, 11. https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/234645/234646/0/0. Accessed 24 September 2020.
Anthony, B. (2017). Mixing as a performance: Creative approaches to the popular music mix process. Journal on the Art of Record Production, 11. https://www.arpjournal.com/asarpwp/mixing-as-a-performance-creative-approaches-to-the-popular-music-mix-process/. Accessed 24 September 2020.
Baker, C., Molga, K., & Schleser, M. (2009). Aesthetics of mobile media art. Journal of Media Practice, 10(2–3), 101–122.
Bell, A., Hein, E., & Ratcliffe, J. (2015) Beyond skeuomorphism: The evolution of music production software user interface metaphors. Journal on the Art of Record Production, 9. https://www.arpjournal.com/asarpwp/beyond-skeuomorphism-the-evolution-of-music-production-software-user-interface-metaphors-2/. Accessed 24 September 2020.
Berry, M., & Schleser, M. (Eds.). (2014). Mobile media making in an age of smartphones. Palgrave Macmillan.
Berry, M., & Schleser, M. (Eds.). (2018). Mobile story making in an age of smartphones. Palgrave Pivot.
Candy, L. (2006). Practice based research, a guide, CCS report: 2006-V1.0 November. University of Technology Sydney. https://www.creativityandcognition.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PBR-Guide-1.1-2006.pdf. Accessed 14 April 2021.
Candy, L., & Edmonds, E. (2011). The role of the artefact and frameworks for practice-based research. In M. Biggs & H. Karlsson (Eds.), The Routledge companion to research in the arts (pp. 120–138). Routledge.
Clan Analogue. (2019). Mobile strategies zine. Clan Analogue.
Harden, A. C. (2019). Narrative and the art of record production. In R. Hepworth-Sawyer, J. Hodgson, & M. Marrington (Eds.), Producing music (pp. 263–278). Routledge.
Hjorth, L., & Richardson, I. (2018). Stories from the field: Playing with mobile media. In M. Schleser & M. Berry (Eds.), Mobile story making in an age of smartphones (pp. 75–85). Palgrave Pivot.
Hugill, A. (2012). The digital musician (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Kilby, J., & Berry, M. (2018). Wayfaring, creating and performing with smartphones. In M. Schleser & M. Berry (Eds.), Mobile story making in an age of smartphones (pp. 51–61). Palgrave Pivot.
Koszolko, M. K. (2019). The tactile evolution—Electronic music production and affordances of iOS Apps. In J.-O. Gullö (Ed.), Proceedings of the 12th art of record production conference mono: Stereo: Multi (pp. 187–204). Royal College of Music (KMH) & Art of Record Production.
Koszolko, M. K. (2020). Rapid music: Machine assisted composition and portability in mobile music making. http://philosophyofsound.info/blog/archives/1048. Accessed 24 September 2020.
Krause, B. (2015). Voices of the wild. Animal songs, human din, and the call to save natural soundscapes. Yale University Press.
Mazzola, G., Noer, J., Pang, Y., Yao, S., Afrisando, J., Rochester, C., & Neace, W. (2020). New concepts of musical instruments. The future of music. Springer.
Moore, A. (2019). Tracking with processing and coloring as you go. In R. Hepworth-Sawyer, J. Hodgson, & M. Marrington (Eds.), Producing music (pp. 209–226). Routledge.
Nisbet, G. (2019). Why imperfection is the secret to making better music. https://www.musicradar.com/news/why-imperfection-is-the-secret-to-making-better-music. Accessed 24 September 2020.
Norman, D. (2013). The design of everyday things: Revised and expanded. Basic Books.
Roads, C. (2015). Composing electronic music. Oxford University Press.
Smith, H., & Roger, T. D. (2009). Practice-led research, research-led practice in the creative arts. Edinburgh University Press.
Various Artists. (2019). Mobile strategies: Battery powered sonics. Clan Analogue. https://www.clananalogue.org/featured/ca053-mobile-strategies-various-artists. Accessed 15 July 2021.
Various Artists. (2020). Then & now. Apptronica. https://apptronica.bandcamp.com/album/then-now. Accessed 15 July 2021.
Western, T. (2018). Field recording and the production of place. In S. Bennett & E. Bates (Eds.), Critical approaches to the production of music and sound (pp. 23–40). Bloomsbury.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Koszolko, M.K. (2021). Performative Storytelling: The Model of Setting-Based Mobile Music Creation. In: Schleser, M., Xu, X. (eds) Mobile Storytelling in an Age of Smartphones. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87247-2_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87247-2_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-87246-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-87247-2
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)