term - catalyst

[Phil Morton]

Catalyst - An action to stimulate change in the musical character.

A Catalyst does not continue or reiterate, but rather happens only once, signalling a change. How the Flow is changed is unpredictable, but the fact that a change occurs immediately after a dynamic sound event of some kind makes it evident that it was catalytic in function. A Catalyst can be the product of a conscious, formal decision to change the Flow, to change the music in some definite way. It can also be an impulsive gesture completely outside of consciousness, the product of the Intelligent Body's sense of a need for change.

Source:
Free Ensemble Improvisation, Harald Stenström
Academy of Music and Drama
Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts
University of Gothenburg
site link

source: Nunn (1998) quoted & discussed in Free Ensemble Improvisation, Harald Stenström, page 90 url link 1

source: Nunn (1998) Wisdom of The Impulse. On the Nature of Musical Free Improvisation. pdf part 1 page 26 of 50 url link 1

topic ticket number T1394

[Phil Morton]

This is the topic thread for Catalyst - relational functions