Music Listening, Music Therapy, Phenomenology and Neuroscience

8 – Micromodulation

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The resulting sound is rich, complex and multilayered, strong and pene-

trating. This eruption of noise is related to a personal war memory of

Xenakis;

Athens - an anti-nazi manifestation - hundreds of thousands of

people droning out a slogan which is repeated in the shape of a

gigantic rhythm. Then, the fight against the enemy. The rhythm is

splintered in an enormous chaos of high penetrating sounds; whist-

ling of bullets; crackling of machine guns. The sounds begin to rarify.

Little by little, silence redescends on the city. (Xenakis/Matossian,

1981)

Micromodulation conveys emotional expression. In Coleman Hawkins'

recording of Body and Soul, described in chapter six, the modulation of the

saxophone tone communicates subtly shaded emotion.

Hawkins' melodic line is modulated by vibrato, portamento and

pitch bending integrated with refined variation and shading of timbre,

volume and fullness of tone. Not only the flow and form of melody, its

shape, expansion and contraction, but also the quality of every single

tone is crucial for Hawkins' musical expression.