research - adam scott neal

As a scholar, I have pursued two main areas of focus: audio pedagogy, and the relationship between composers and instruments. These areas connect in the act of listening—for both I am exploring how we listen, both as a technical skill and as a way of appreciating music. Currently, I am writing a book chapter about incorporating soundwalks in audio production courses.

selected publications and presentations

Soundwalks as a Primer for Engaging with Audio Effects and Mixing

Book chapter in Critical Listening Education in Sound Engineering. Stephane Elmosnino, editor. Routledge: 2026 (forthcoming)

Abstract: This chapter explores the application of sound walks in audio production courses. The author’s approach departs from the existing literature which primarily emphasizes general listening skills and environmental appreciation. Finding that audio students were creating sonically one-dimensional and creatively constrained mixes, he began employing sound walks as an experiential listening practice that explicitly bridges perception with concrete audio production techniques to encourage students to think more deeply about their productions. The approach is rooted in Allan Moore’s concepts of textural layers and the soundbox, along with Jason Corey’s concept of isomorphic mapping. By first immersing students in real-world acoustic environments, critical listening skills are attuned to reverberation, panning, and spectral balance. The chapter argues that this practice helps students translate their environmental acoustic observations into the creation of more complex, multi-dimensional, and imaginative sonic spaces within their productions. Ultimately, it extends the literature by demonstrating a targeted application of sound walk pedagogy for developing critical listening skills in audio engineering.

Lo-fi Today

Article in Organised Sound 27:1 (August 2022). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771822000188

Abstract: This article investigates two current incarnations of ‘lo-fi’ music and questions the extent to which these subgenres are actually low in fidelity. In essence, mainstream ‘hi-fi’ productions use similar effects, such as filtering to sound like a radio or adding noise to sound like a vinyl record. To understand lo-fi today, this article explores music by a lo-fi hip-hop producer and a lo-fi ambient producer, drawing upon the analytical methods of Alan Moore and Dennis Smalley. First to be discussed is Glimlip, one of the many anonymous producers behind the popular Lofi Girl YouTube streams. The next discussed is Amulets, an ambient musician known for using hacked and looped cassette tapes. Analyses of their music demonstrate a level of care in production that goes against the idea that lo-fi is primitive or naive.

Teaching fidelity in the age of Lo-Fi

Lecture prepared for the Westminster Music Technology Pedagogy Summit, March 2023. Available here

Abstract: Teaching what constitutes “good” audio is difficult, since today’s students grew up consuming music streamed over the internet and reproduced on earbuds and tiny phone speakers. The popularity of genres like lofi hip-hop complicates matters, since the audio may be purposefully “poor.” How does one teach fidelity in audio when there are such differing aesthetics? In search of answers, I surveyed instructors of music technology, asking about the audio selections they play in classes, as well as aspects of production their students struggle with. Their responses revealed two things–that students struggle most with achieving balance in their mixes, and that listening sessions center around historical significance, rather than demonstrating “good audio.” This survey informs a reflection on my Fundamentals of Audio course, which follows a listening-based approach.

Learning about critical listening through popular music

Book chapter in Audio Education: Theory, Culture, and Practice. Daniel Walzer and Mariana Lopez, editors. Routledge: July 2020. Available here

Introduction: Popular music—by its very name, the lingua franca of our culture—is a strong entry point for learning how music works. Along with harmony, rhythm, and formal structures, pop music also places high importance on timbre, texture, and text-painting. This chapter reflects my practical experience teaching critical listening in elementary schools (K–5 in the United States) and universities. In both cases, I tailored my instruction to a general audience. In this chapter, I discuss the concept of critical listening, suggest categories for elements of music, and present strategies for listening lessons using popular music recordings. These listening lessons are adaptable for students from elementary school through college.

Vital materiality in John Cage’s Music for Amplified Toy Pianos

Lecture presented at the Florida International Toy Piano Festival, January 2017. Available here

Introduction: John Cage’s second piece for toy piano, Music for Amplified Toy Pianos, from 1960, may be one of the earliest works in the toy piano literature, but is it really “for” the instrument? In addition to the toy pianos, the composition features a number of sound-making objects which arguably become more important in defining the character of the piece. In this talk, I will use my experience performing the work as a springboard for relating Cage’s practice of indeterminacy to Jane Bennett’s concept of vital materiality. Her book Vibrant Matter describes the concept as the capacity of things “not only to impede or block the will and designs of humans but also to act as quasi agents or forces with trajectories, propensities, or tendencies of their own.” By using Bennett’s vital materiality to interpret Cage’s use of chance, we see that chance is not random coincidence, but a ‘distributed agency’ among the objects involved in realizing the work.

Everything and the Kitchen Sink: Interview with Atlanta-based composer Klimchak

Article in eContact! 18.3. December 2016. Available here

Atlanta-based composer Klimchak creates playfully experimental works for film, theatre and dance, which he performs himself. Each piece features a unique, often conceptual setup, involving theremins, looper pedals, found objects, eccentric homemade instruments and the proverbial kitchen sink.

Buy, Build Break: Composers and Objects

PhD dissertation. University of Florida: May 2014. Available here

Abstract: Experimental music demonstrates a dialectic between two compositional attitudes. One seeks tools to realize abstract musical ideals, while the other strives to find the best way to describe objects through music. This study focuses on the latter approach, which the author calls “object-oriented composition.” In this mode of composition, the composer engages in a dialogue with his instruments, treating them as partners in the creative process. The body of this dissertation discusses three modes of practice in experimental music that constitute aspects of object-oriented composition: buying, building, and breaking. Chapter 3, “Buy,” considers objects that composers use for their particular sonic and semiotic associations. Chapter 4, “Build” focuses on objects designed and built by composers for new musical functions. Chapter 5, “Break,” analyzes objects that are modified to elicit new capabilities. The discussion of these modes of practice leads to a concluding chapter that demonstrates the author’s object-oriented compositions.

The Continuum of Indeterminacy in Live Computer Music

Presented at the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium, 8/8/09. Published in eContact! 11.4. Available here

Introduction: The laptop ensemble (sometimes dubbed “laptop orchestra” depending on its size) is an exciting new type of ensemble emerging all over the world. As a composer, I have been fascinated by the potential of these ensembles, but some questions come to mind:
- How much control can the composer impose before the piece becomes boring for the performers?
- How little control can the composer impose before the piece ceases to be a “composition”?
This project includes five compositions for laptop quartet which explore a continuum between deterministic composition and pure improvisation. Each piece encourages exploration and expression while controlling form and ensemble interaction in order to create coherent and identifiable compositions.