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Abstract
The study of analytical techniques in Live Electroacoustic works demands the recognition of issues and obstacles that inhibit musical interaction and synthesis of performer role within a given piece. This dissertation introduces an analytical approach to outline how the performer can identify and understand musically significant interactions between traditional and computer instruments, and how this understanding may influence the authority of the performer in Live Electroacoustic music (LEM). In LEM, there are several obstacles and challenges that the performer must overcome and meet. Some obstacles are easy to predict, such as an increased demand for sound equipment or other technologies; however, additional problematic areas are faced when the performer has a lack of means with which to understand or analyze the work. This issue arises from the fact that works utilizing live electronics tend to avoid notation of the computers output, despite comprehensively notating the intended output from the performer. The lack of balance in notation, and lack of a written record of the computers intended output, render traditional methods of analysis ineffective. Without an understanding of a particular works organization, or the performance practice within a specific genre or style, the foundations of musical preparation, necessary for a consistently high level of performance, cannot be established. This document proposes a mixed analytical approach to LEM that is influenced by the accepted analytical techniques from the fields of Spectromorphology and Performance Studies, as well as the incorporation of less formalized analytical techniques colloquially applied in practice by the performer. This approach will allow for an interdisciplinary perspective towards music analysis similar to current trends in musicology. Subsequently, the mixed approach will then be applied to the indefinite-pitched percussion works of composer Cort Lippe as a vehicle for furthering the understanding of interaction between the traditional instrument as played by the human performer and non-traditional instrument, whether the computer or sound technician, in LEM, as well as to provide insights on the analytical techniques of performers.