Post-sonic Perspectives on Socially Engaged Compositional Practices: Composing ‘after sound’ and beyond music

This article addresses the precedence given to sound in musical analysis and argues that socially engaged composers might reconsider importance they place on sonic output instead pay greater attention how we critically engage with subjects stimulate our practice. G. Douglas Barrett’s theorisation of music ‘after sound’ is established as a crucial methodology, one provides an important discourse around critical engagements have largely been neglected favour investigations into abstracted materials. The vocabulary provided by Barrett is, this article, used meaningfully appraise impact situated performance its dialogue society. Specifically, three authors collectively explore implications writing for conception, formation evaluation their own compositional practices. Subsequently, discussion also illustrates methods which approach instrumentalised device composition, rather than analytical tool already completed works. Finally, conclude alternative exploration what ultimately lies beyond ‘music after sound’, problematises notion specialist composer today.