{"id":{"repo_id":"edithcowan","oai_identifier":"oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-3203"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/edithcowan/oai:ro.ecu.edu.au:theses-3203","repository":{"repo_id":"edithcowan","name":"Edith Cowan University","base_url":"https://ro.ecu.edu.au/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The grain of the digital audio workstation","abstract":"This thesis explores the material conditions and practices of the digital audio workstation (DAW), treating them as a subject of musical composition. The DAW is a software application currently ubiquitous in facilitating the creation of recorded and electronic music. Despite its prominence, few have articulated its unique possibilities for compositional practice, or historically contextualised the emergence of such practices. To clarify the locus of inquiry, a theoretical framework termed the grain of the DAW is developed. Derived primarily from Roland Barthes’ notion of the grain (1977), it is understood as the sonic effects in a recorded musical work that infer the unique material conditions and practices associated with a sonic medium. It is argued that compositional techniques can foreground or conceal this grain, the latter of which is more common in many musical traditions. Employing practice-led research strategies and methods derived from experimental electronic music, compositional techniques that foreground the grain of the DAW are investigated, culminating in an album entitled Thru, the creative component of this thesis. Composition in this mode involves negotiating between sound design, arrangement, mixing, critical listening, data organisation, and managing conceptual burden (Duignan, 2008). It also involves situating the DAW as a socially constructed technology (Sterne, 2012; Pinch & Bijker, 2012), promoting individualised musical practice and mobilising several metaphors that articulate this condition.","abstract_html":"This thesis explores the material conditions and practices of the digital audio workstation (DAW), treating them as a subject of musical composition. The DAW is a software application currently ubiquitous in facilitating the creation of recorded and electronic music. Despite its prominence, few have articulated its unique possibilities for compositional practice, or historically contextualised the emergence of such practices. To clarify the locus of inquiry, a theoretical framework termed the grain of the DAW is developed. Derived primarily from Roland Barthes’ notion of the grain (1977), it is understood as the sonic effects in a recorded musical work that infer the unique material conditions and practices associated with a sonic medium. It is argued that compositional techniques can foreground or conceal this grain, the latter of which is more common in many musical traditions. Employing practice-led research strategies and methods derived from experimental electronic music, compositional techniques that foreground the grain of the DAW are investigated, culminating in an album entitled Thru, the creative component of this thesis. Composition in this mode involves negotiating between sound design, arrangement, mixing, critical listening, data organisation, and managing conceptual burden (Duignan, 2008). It also involves situating the DAW as a socially constructed technology (Sterne, 2012; Pinch & Bijker, 2012), promoting individualised musical practice and mobilising several metaphors that articulate this condition.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Terren, Michael"],"institution":"Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:22:24Z","subjects":["Digital audio workstation","experimental music","electronic music","sound studies","social construction of technology","Music"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2201","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Terren, Michael"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2019-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Digital audio workstation","experimental music","electronic music","sound studies","social construction of technology","Music"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2201","https://ro.ecu.edu.au/context/theses/article/3203/viewcontent/The_grain_of_the_digital_audio.pdf"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This thesis explores the material conditions and practices of the digital audio workstation (DAW), treating them as a subject of musical composition. The DAW is a software application currently ubiquitous in facilitating the creation of recorded and electronic music. Despite its prominence, few have articulated its unique possibilities for compositional practice, or historically contextualised the emergence of such practices. To clarify the locus of inquiry, a theoretical framework termed the grain of the DAW is developed. Derived primarily from Roland Barthes’ notion of the grain (1977), it is understood as the sonic effects in a recorded musical work that infer the unique material conditions and practices associated with a sonic medium. It is argued that compositional techniques can foreground or conceal this grain, the latter of which is more common in many musical traditions. Employing practice-led research strategies and methods derived from experimental electronic music, compositional techniques that foreground the grain of the DAW are investigated, culminating in an album entitled Thru, the creative component of this thesis. Composition in this mode involves negotiating between sound design, arrangement, mixing, critical listening, data organisation, and managing conceptual burden (Duignan, 2008). It also involves situating the DAW as a socially constructed technology (Sterne, 2012; Pinch & Bijker, 2012), promoting individualised musical practice and mobilising several metaphors that articulate this condition."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Theses: Doctorates and Masters"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The grain of the digital audio workstation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Terren, Michael"],"dc:date":["2019-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["This thesis explores the material conditions and practices of the digital audio workstation (DAW), treating them as a subject of musical composition. The DAW is a software application currently ubiquitous in facilitating the creation of recorded and electronic music. Despite its prominence, few have articulated its unique possibilities for compositional practice, or historically contextualised the emergence of such practices. To clarify the locus of inquiry, a theoretical framework termed the grain of the DAW is developed. Derived primarily from Roland Barthes’ notion of the grain (1977), it is understood as the sonic effects in a recorded musical work that infer the unique material conditions and practices associated with a sonic medium. It is argued that compositional techniques can foreground or conceal this grain, the latter of which is more common in many musical traditions. Employing practice-led research strategies and methods derived from experimental electronic music, compositional techniques that foreground the grain of the DAW are investigated, culminating in an album entitled Thru, the creative component of this thesis. Composition in this mode involves negotiating between sound design, arrangement, mixing, critical listening, data organisation, and managing conceptual burden (Duignan, 2008). It also involves situating the DAW as a socially constructed technology (Sterne, 2012; Pinch & Bijker, 2012), promoting individualised musical practice and mobilising several metaphors that articulate this condition."],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2201","https://ro.ecu.edu.au/context/theses/article/3203/viewcontent/The_grain_of_the_digital_audio.pdf"],"dc:publisher":["Edith Cowan University, Research Online, Perth, Western Australia"],"dc:source":["Theses: Doctorates and Masters"],"dc:subject":["Digital audio workstation","experimental music","electronic music","sound studies","social construction of technology","Music"],"dc:title":["The grain of the digital audio workstation"],"dc:type":["thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:22:24Z"}