The intersection of light and sound: an examination of compositional approaches in multimedia works for electric guitar and visual projections

The use of light to accompany and augment musical performance dates back to the 1920’s. While the popular music industry has long embraced immersive, multimedia performances which utilise lighting, projections and visual effects, such performances are a relative rarity even within the realm of contemporary classical music, and rarer still in works involving the electric guitar. Though recent decades have seen an increase in the number of compositions for the instrument which include a visual element (only around 30 works in total), there are currently none by Australian composers.

This lecture recital examines the use of visual projections and effects in works for electric guitar, providing a brief synopsis of the approaches utilised in the existing repertoire, and exploring in depth two new works commissioned by the author, including the first such work by an Australian composer. Icelandic composer Gulli Bjornsson’s work, written for electric guitar, Max-patch, and visuals, employs an innovative approach that utilises a type of guitar step-sequencer which triggers manipulations of a prerecorded video clip in realtime response to the sounds of the live performance. Australian composer Victor Arul’s piece is currently being written, and will be examined upon completion in the coming months.