J. Sam

This! dissertation! analyzes! the! original! composition! Radial,! which! is! scored! for! alto! saxophone!solo,!small!orchestra!and!live!electronics. Multiphonics!are!a!common!feature!on the aural!surface!of!Radial.!This!analysis!will!show!that!alto!saxophone!multiphonics!are!also! a!primary!structural!element!in! the!work,!hierarchically!organizing! the! timbres,!harmonies,! instrumental!interactions and!largeTscale!form!of!the!score.!Interestingly, no!source!suggests! how! multiphonics! can! be! an! independent! organizational! force.! Numerous! book! length! multiphonic!catalogues!for!diverse!instruments!give!fingerings!for!these!sounds!and!describe! them! as! harmonies! so! that! they! can! be! fitted! into! harmonic! contexts,! and! a! small! but! significant! scientific! literature! on!multiphonics! discusses! the! acoustic! principles! underlying! these! sounds,! but! no! document! considers! their! independent! structural! potential.! After! providing!a!general!account!of!multiphonics!and!their!relation!to!harmonic!and!inharmonic! sounds,! this! dissertation will! propose! an! answer! to! that! problem! by! drawing! together! concepts! from!American!experimental!music,!spectralism!and!cognitive!music! theory,!with Radial reviewed as!an!example!of!this!method!in!action.!Historical!issues!and!a!broad!range! of!implications!for!this!research!will!also!be!discussed.