Sound mass, auditory perception, and ‘post-tone’ music

The term ‘post-tonal’ embodies a broad distinction between musical explorations of new combinations of tones (‘post-tonality’) and explorations of sonic resources other than tones (‘post-tone’). A significant turning-point in post-tone thinking occurred when some composers replaced notes with masses of notes, or sound masses, as musical units. Existing definitions of sound mass are reviewed and a new definition drawing on empirical evidence is offered. The perceptual principles that are involved in the perception of polyphonic music are demonstrated to also ground sound mass perception, with opposite aesthetic goals achieved through radically different musical organisation.