THE ELECTRONIC WORKS OF GYÖRGY LIGETI AND THEIR ...

Determining which of these dimensions of timbre plays an active role in the piece is
an analytical activity closely related to the process of segmenting the surface of the piece
and determining points of difference, change, or contrast. If an oppositional category is
inactive, constant, or even absent (as is often the case for beating) for the entire course of
a piece, it is extremely unlikely that it will be heard as a meaningful part of the piece’s
morphology. On the other hand if a number of changes occur at once, this is likely to
effect a greater degree of difference, which may be perceived as a significant change, and a
single opposition which participates consistently in a number of such changes may acquire
the status of a primary parameter for the piece.
Returning to the spectrograph presented above (Figure 1.1), one can see that the
change from diffuse noise bands to compact sine tones, along with the move from material
in both registral extremes to more centered material helps strengthen the first change at
around 1'48"; while the individual sine tones move in register throughout the next
seventeen seconds, these changes, not paired with any other oppositional changes, are
unlikely to be perceived as more salient than the initial change in multiple oppositions.
Thus the first change is likely to be perceived as one of sectional importance while the
changes of individual sine tones are likely to be heard as subdivisions within this new
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section.
34This
method of tabulating the number of differences in various domains is used by a number of authors
including Cogan in New Images, and also, notably, Christopher Hasty, “Segmentation and Process in
Post-Tonal Music,” Music Theory Spectrum 3 (Spring 1981), 54-73. Hasty’s list of domains, however,
does not include aspects of timbre other than differentiating arco from pizzicato, separate instrumental
voices, and dynamic levels.
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