Computation and semiotic practice as compositional process

In sound computation, computational processes are brought into the acoustic domain by a set of formalized instructions for controlling parameters in synthesis engines and compositional algorithms. From the acoustic events, listeners often extract patterns or “musical objects” in their perception to the extent that certain associations are made external to the computational process. Perceived, musical objects rapidly become immutable, and that immutability may be considered a compositional problem. The problem is how to approach a compositional project for bringing new insights into play while, on one side, using the existing representational system such as symbolic language in computation, and on the other side, facing listenersʹ perceptual tendency to make external associations. For composers, the problem requires technical solutions as well as an ability to articulate the philosophical issues. This problem also exists in semiotics, a general study of signs, when one has to borrow language from existing linguistic systems in order to express a new thought without being trapped within the immutability of given linguistic sources. Semiotic practice is a discipline which emphasizes the function of semiotics to generate necessary discourse to examine the linguistic system in use and its logocentric tendency—the tendency towards known signs. We define semiotic practice as a signifying process in which meaning may be generated during that particular process under study; thus, meaning in semiotic practice is temporal context-dependent as a function of signifiers. The compositional problems involving sound computation for generating cases to support semiotic practice inquires about two tasks: 1. (1) how to design software which enables acoustic events to be observed as processes rather than observing sounds only as familiar objects or transformations featuring the recognition of objects, and 2. (2) how to compose a piece of music so mutability of signs can be observed. To meet these problems, this paper examines perspectives on systems and cognition from multiple views such as semiotics, computation theories, and synergetics. We also discuss software designed for composition in terms of semiotic practice.