The views of categorisation presented in this paper along with my own are for the purpose of providing background for current taxonomic projects related to electroacoustic music (e.g. EARS: ElectroAcoustic Resource Site). The views might be summarised as top-down (ontology) as described in Peterson, bottom-up (folksonomy) as described in Shirkey and Weinberger, and a view from the middle ground (TagOntology) as described in Gruber. Semantic Wikipedia enters this discourse in relation to what one might call folk-ontology. It is crucial to conduct experimentation with minimal specifications and practical methodologies in order to facilitate the interoperability of dynamic, emergent knowledge bases within the Semantic Web context.

The challenges of understanding musical meaning are considered in light of ways in which electroacoustic practice and acousmatic listening might embody yet further nuances in how music can function as a signifying system. ‘Classical’ semiotics is discussed, as well as more recent developments with post-structuralist approaches and musical semantics in other areas of music scholarship. The idea, inherited from the tradition of ‘absolute music’, that musical meaning lies exclusively in the inner operations of the musical materials and their structural organisation, is questioned. Concepts from ecologically inspired music psychology are drawn upon to highlight the importance of interpretation, as well as perception, in acousmatic listening. It is argued that if new theoretical terminologies are needed, an invaluable project would be to develop a taxonomy (and thus theoretical framework) of how sound can ‘stand for something’, i.e. function as a sign in semiotic terms. It is also argued that such terminology should not reinforce distinctions between intra- and extra-musical that feature in many theoretical constructs used in relation to this music. Consideration of the Peircean semiotic model in electroacoustic music (as well as the more widely used Saussurean one), tropology in the study of literature, and a much more widely comparative and culturally explicit approach to analysis are suggested as practical starting points. A more critical approach to the integral role of sound recording and reproduction in relation to concepts of representation is needed.

Interactive electroacoustic music that alters or extends instrumental timbre, samples it, or generates sound based upon data generated in real time by the performer presents a new set of challenges for the performing musician. Unlike tape music, interactive music can continuously vary its response and, frequently, performers are unable are to predict how the computer will react. Many, if not most, scores include no visual representation of how the computer may affect the sound of the instrument.

Providing performers with a readily accessible visual representation of the sonic possibilities of interactive computer music will provide a conceptual framework within which performers can understand a piece of music. Interpretation of this type of notation by the performer will provide a perspective on how his or her acoustic instrument relates to the digital instrument. This can be especially useful when improvised or aleatoric methods are called for.

This paper outlines a system of interactive computer-music descriptive notation that links pictographic representations to the system of spectromorphologies suggested by Dennis Smalley. The morphological notation (MN) uses these morphologies and adds a z-plane to the well-established time-vs-pitch schema. Ideally, MN will not only represent the sound data of the moment, but also will be an intuitive picture of the musical possibilities of a composition's electronic component.

The last fifty years has witnessed an enormous development with regard to sound production, and has opened a new world of novel aural experiences. In order to be able to articulate and discuss these experiences there is a need for a corresponding novel set of terms and concepts. Such a terminology would also be relevant for analytical and interpretive approaches to electroacoustic music, avant-garde Western music, and ethno music. Pierre Schaeffer's typomorphology, developed in the 1960s, proposed a variety of novel terms, but they have not been of widespread use, since they unfortunately did not lend themselves very well for practical analysis. The present paper intends to develop Schaeffer's approach in the direction of a practical tool for conceptualising and notating sound quality. While carefully reducing the sometimes-bewildering number of terms found in Schaeffer's work, it introduces a set of graphic symbols apt for transcribing electroacoustic music in a concise score. The analysis of sound objects calls for a specific listeners' intention, called reductive listening.

Wireless Fantasy, Vladimir Ussachevsky's 4½-minute tribute to the birth of wireless radio, utilises a rich collection of sound materials, from antique spark generators and shortwave radio sounds to a recorded segment of Wagner's Parsifal. Wireless Fantasy is here examined not as much for the cultural meaning of its sources but for insight into Ussachevsky's dramatic counterpointing of those sources in real time. The analytical methodology focuses on pitch, rhythm, and timbre equally, using both standard music notation and spectral analysis to examine the contrapuntal elements in this classic electroacoustic composition. Special attention is paid to the coincidence of accent between the source materials that generates the work's climax and to the involvement of all the sources in articulating its final cadence. The larger issue of quotation within electroacoustic composition is discussed with regard to an abstract reference in the work's coda.

In this article the authors present an overview of the current situation in Ukraine, with regards to the question of analytical terminology applied to new methods of creation in electronic music composition. The article establishes the differences and the similarities between the analyses of instrumental and electronic music structures, while considering the role of technology in the creation of new electronic music works. This paper also establishes a link between the origin of current analytical processes and electronic music practice in Ukraine, taking into account the function of a given terminology and its characteristic elements relating to a local geographical and cultural context. The authors underline the importance of integrating new music forms in academic circles and discuss external influences in the development of new musical systems. This is demonstrated by exposing selected musical materials, which can be considered representative of the creative and theoretical processes found in the field of electronic music in Ukraine.

Electroacoustic music is relatively new and something of an experiment in Malaysia. Involvement in various technology- and art-related performing and composing activities has nurtured my interest, particularly with reference to electroacoustic music.

Unlike visual art, it is not known exactly where and when our historical perspectives in sound art originate, and I would suggest that no electroacoustic music or pieces are known to have been performed or presented in Malaysia since the art form was first pioneered in the West more than fifty years ago.

This paper introduces some thoughts and possibilities relating to electroacoustic music from the Malaysian perspective.

In 2005, the Princeton Laptop Orchestra (PLOrk), an ensemble of fifteen laptop-based meta-instruments, began its first season. In this article, the author explores the motivations for starting a laptop orchestra, both in musical and cultural terms, and some of the aesthetic, technical, and compositional issues that face those interested in working with such an ensemble.