ABSTRACT
The first of the above three processes is the continuum most directly relevant to us. Most contemporary approaches to musical composition can be seen in relation to it if one asks at what stage in the continuum the major concentration of decision-making occurs and takes note of which decisions are of major importance. Normally, the concentration is greatest in the crystallization region where the task of ordering and working out one’s materials is faced. Such a convention as the Baroque figured bass3 required a large number of lesser decisions to be made during the act of performance. So, also, does the music of indeterminacy, although here the impact and hence the importance of these far less stylized choices is greater. A similar mapping of notational emphasis can be made as one views the process between the idea and response, and might reveal other-than-normal roles for notation.
