What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to examine how tinkering serves as a compositional method that opens new relationships to music and sound.

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May 28, 2026

Tinkering as a speculative tool for music composition

Key Points

The research aims to examine how tinkering serves as a compositional method that opens new relationships to music and sound.
Explored hands-on experimentation as a compositional method.
Investigated the roles of composer, performer, instrument, and sound in a dynamic system.
Challenged conventional frameworks by embracing uncertainty and error.
Identified tinkering as a generative force in music composition.
Demonstrated that speculation encourages new ways of engaging with sound and performance.
Highlighted the evolving relationship among composer, performer, and instrument in real time.

Abstract

This research explores tinkering as a speculative tool for music composition, examining how hands-on experimentation can open new ways of relating to instruments, sound, and performance. Tinkering is treated not as a preliminary stage but as a compositional method in itself—one that unfolds through searching, making, breaking, and reconfiguring materials without predetermined outcomes. By foregrounding speculation, the practice challenges conventional compositional frameworks and embraces uncertainty, error, and unpredictability as generative forces. Central to the inquiry is the shifting role of composer, performer, instrument, and sound, understood not as separate entities but as an entangled system that evolves in real time. keywords: Tinkering, Composition, practice-based research, experimental composition, speculation, KonCon Lectorate

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