Methodology
- Taylor Cook
- Jan 9
- 4 min read
This research adopts a system-based, mixed-methods methodology to investigate singing bowls as a coupled human–instrument system. Rather than approaching singing bowls as isolated musical instruments or as objects of aesthetic or experiential interest, the research treats them as a bounded experimental system through which broader methodological questions can be examined. In this system, sound emerges through continuous interaction between physical constraints, embodied motor control, excitation interfaces, and representational methods.
The methodological focus of the research is therefore not limited to sonic outcomes, but extends to understanding how stability, controllability, and reproducibility arise, or fail to arise; within a continuously excited, nonlinear system. This framing positions the research as an investigation into method itself: how research tools succeed, where they break down, and what adaptations are required when studying phenomena that resist standard event-based or symbolic approaches.
System-based research design
The research design is organised around the analysis of a single system composed of four interacting subsystems:
Physical variation in singing bowls
Technique variation as embodied control
Mallet variation as excitation interface
Notation as representational abstraction
Each subsystem is examined both independently and in relation to the others. This design allows the research to identify constraints, dependencies, and interaction effects that cannot be observed when variables are isolated. The system-based approach also enables the study of emergent behaviour, including instability, failure, and adaptation, which are treated as informative data rather than experimental error.
Subsystem I: Physical variation as boundary conditions
Physical variation among singing bowls is treated as the establishment of boundary conditions for system behaviour. Rather than assuming all bowls are acoustically equivalent as prior academic research has done, this research examines how differences in geometry, mass distribution, rim profile, and material composition compose and constrain the range of stable excitation states available to the human performer.
Comparative analysis is conducted across multiple bowls to identify consistent patterns in responsiveness, overtone prominence, susceptibility to instability, and sensitivity to control parameters. These observations are not used to rank bowls aesthetically, but to map how physical properties shape the solution space within which human control operates. This subsystem establishes the physical limits that subsequent subsystems must negotiate.
Subsystem II: Technique variation as adaptive control
Playing technique is analysed as a form of adaptive motor control rather than as expressive performance. The research focuses on identifying which aspects of embodied action function as meaningful control parameters within the system, including rotational speed, applied pressure, contact angle, and micro-adjustments in movement.
Qualitative observation is used to document how performers achieve instability events such as chatter, irregular excitation, or mode switching. Particular attention is given to how stability is regained, how control strategies evolve, and how skill emerges through feedback-driven adaptation rather than through fixed or repeatable gestures. In this context, failure and instability are treated as diagnostic events that reveal system sensitivities and control thresholds.
Read More At: Technique Variation as a Methodological Tool
Subsystem III: Mallet variation as excitation interface
Mallets are examined as excitation interfaces that mediate energy transfer between the human performer and the bowl. Different mallet materials and surface characteristics introduce distinct properties, compliance, and energy coupling behaviours, which in turn shape which excitation states are accessible or sustainable.
Comparative trials are used to examine how mallet variation filters system behaviour, biases for certain frequencies or modes, and alters the performer’s capacity for fine-grained control. Rather than treating mallets as neutral tools, this subsystem analyses them as active mediators that shape the interaction between physical constraints and embodied control.
Read More At: Methodological Tools Of Mallet Variation
Subsystem IV: Notation as representational method
This research treats notation not as documentation of outcomes, but as a methodological abstraction of system behaviour. Conventional musical notation is inadequate for representing continuous excitation, rotational motion, and instability thresholds inherent in singing bowls. In response, this research develops a graphical notation system designed to encode relationships between control parameters and system behaviour without over-specifying sonic results.
This notation system functions as a methodological experiment: it tests which aspects of the system must be constrained for reproducibility, which can remain open, and which resist representation altogether. The success or failure of the notation is analysed as data, contributing to an explicit evaluation of the limits of representational tools when applied to embodied, nonlinear systems.
Read More At: Rotational Notation as a Methodological Tool
Reproducibility and variability
A central methodological concern of this research is reproducibility under conditions of inherent variability. Rather than defining reproducibility as the replication of identical sonic outputs, the research adopts a definition based on repeatable access to comparable system states. This reframing acknowledges that variability is not noise to be eliminated, but a structural feature of the system.
Experimental design and notation development are therefore oriented toward enabling others to reach similar regions of system behaviour, even when precise outcomes differ. This approach allows reproducibility to be evaluated at the level of method and control strategy rather than at the level of fixed results.
Data, analysis, and reflexivity
Data in this research include quantitative observations of technique, instability events, and adaptive behaviour, as well as comparative analyses across physical and interface variables. Analytical emphasis is placed on identifying patterns of constraint, control, and breakdown rather than on statistical generalisation.
The researcher is explicitly recognised as an active component of the system under study as an expert musician for performing singing bowls. Reflexive documentation is therefore incorporated to distinguish between system-driven behaviour and researcher-specific adaptation, ensuring transparency regarding positionality without collapsing the analysis into subjectivity.
Methodological transferability
While the case studies in this project centre on singing bowls, the methodological insights developed extend beyond this specific system. The research addresses broader questions concerning how continuous, embodied, and nonlinear phenomena can be studied, controlled, and represented when standard research tools prove insufficient.
These insights are transferable to other research contexts involving sustained excitation, embodied interaction, complex human–system coupling, and mixed-methods inquiry. As such, the methodology aligns directly by foregrounding methodological reasoning, critical evaluation of tools, and adaptability across disciplines.
Transition to subsequent sections
The following sections of the project present detailed investigations of each subsystem and their interactions, followed by integrative analysis through the notation system. Together, these sections demonstrate how methodological insight emerges through sustained engagement with a bounded but methodologically demanding research system.
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