Geometries in sound: an investigation of embodied cognition in contemporary art music

This paper examines how listeners hear contemporary art music practices such as post-spectralism, glitch-electronica, contemporary classical and electroacoustic music. The sound configurations of this music evoke sensorial qualities and mental imagery as abstract geometries. These result from tonotopic information of acoustic stimuli organised according to Gestalt and kinaesthetic patterns. The study, employing listening surveys, suggests that our aural experience involves an embodied connection to the world. This paper proposes that contemporary art music facilitates an engagement with our experiential knowledge, minimising semantic interpretation and factual listening. Overall, it offers new insights into perceptual approaches to contemporary art music.