Violin Revealed emerged in January 2015 as a spontaneous sequence of reflections on the techniques I use in improvisational performance. The need to systematize an intuitive musical language may seem contradictory at first, yet it arose as a creative impulse aimed at deepening the understanding of contemporary sound creation. The research included experimentation in the fields of sensory perception and cognitive mechanisms in intuitive creativity; also, research in the fields of performance psychology, anthropology, acoustics, instrumental electroacoustics, graphic design, video art, and the exploration of subtle synesthetic relationships between sound and image. Developing notations that later evolved into graphic compositions brought me to a turning point. It required a theoretical framework and the initiation of a discourse on contemporary sound creation outside outdated academic structures. With a focus on younger generations of creators, in 2018, I published the book Tremblings: A Treatise on the Nature of Sound and an Introduction to the Theory of Improvisation.
The broader cultural and
historical evolution of musical practice is inseparable from the evolution of
listening itself. The shift from natural harmonic systems to the tempered
scale, the rise of electronic sound, and the dissolution of rigid compositional
paradigms all point toward a contemporary condition in which sound can once
again be examined as energetic, relational, and embodied.
Contemporary discourse on
sound extends the notion of listening to a complex interplay of somatosensory
processing, autonomic regulation, and energetic flow. In this context,
listening can be perceived as a multisensory, psychoenergetic event modulating
cognition, emotion, and metabolic states.
In the gradual
dissolution of the classical paradigm, in the occurrence of digital sound, and
in the entropic aesthetics of the twentieth and twenty‑first centuries, the experimental
notation finds its place as a tool for navigating the evolving landscape of
sound, and as a possible cartography of novel sono-energetic experience. It also
contributes to the ongoing discourse on improvisation and perception, opening
the way toward a new culture of listening.
This new culture of
listening emerges from the recognition that sound is not simply an occurrence
to be decoded but a vibrational field in which memory, material, and futurity
continually co‑compose one another. It proposes listening as an act of sensing-with
rather than listening-at, as an embodied, relational, and ethically
responsive engagement. For improvisational practice, this means abandoning
rigid habits of perception and allowing sound, space, and the performer’s own
embodied energies to intra‑act and shape the unfolding of musical form. This
expanded listening is reciprocal and participatory. It acknowledges that every
sonic gesture is entangled with ecological, social, and material histories and
that the improviser’s task is to respond, co‑regulate, and remain with the
resonances that move through the field. In this way, improvisation becomes a
practice of resonant futurity, an active contribution to the world’s ongoing
processes of transformation through attentive, responsible, and vibrationally
aware listening.
A widespread lack of
awareness regarding the impact of sound on the body and environment continues
to create biological and cultural biases. We select desirable and undesirable
sounds mostly based on stylistic principles, reinforcing the belief that sound
is largely harmless. Yet in a world woven from vibrational resonance, where
sound is a key energetic and formative force, the harmful effects of sound pollution
can be significant. Understanding the embodied effects of microtonality, sonic
friction, and the spectrum of sensorial auditory responses requires closer
examination of the relational entanglement between body–mind, material, and
environment.
Contemporary examinations
of the embodiment of sound increasingly point toward models in which sound acts
simultaneously as stimulus, information, and energetic modulation.
The experimental graphic
notation system titled Violin Revealed, based around my violin practice
but extended to a conceptual methodology, arises from this broader
understanding of sound. By naming and visually encoding gestures, textures, and
resonant states, the system acknowledges that sound is not only heard but also
felt, processed, and transformed within the extended body–mind. Its symbolic
forms, rooted in geometric logic, intuitive association, and the material
mechanics of sound production, mirror the interdependence of sound and emotion
as a common carrier of energy.
VR notations
The conceptual foundation of the VR notation rests on the understanding that improvisation emerges from primordial modes of human sensorial and early cognitive perception and from its embeddedness in early communication development, ritual practice, and metacognitive evolution. It reflects the idea that sound carries information in fractal-like formations and that each vibrational event contains the totality of its energetic patterning. The instrument is treated as an extension of the body–mind and a site where these patterns can be activated, manipulated, and perceived through unconventional techniques that foreground resonance, friction, and microgesture, all stemming from the instrument’s full material body.
Historically, this
approach grows out of the trajectory of twentieth-century experimentalism,
where boundaries between noise and tone, composition and improvisation,
instrument and environment dissolved. The advent of electronic sound and the
deconstruction of musical form opened the way for entropic, multilayered, and
spatialized sonic practices. The VR notation system situates itself within this
lineage while extending it into the domain of visually–sonic abstraction, where
graphic symbols function as both compositional triggers and perceptual
catalysts.
Culturally, VR responds
to the persistent marginalization of improvisational and experimental practices
within mainstream musical discourse. Despite their historical depth and
creative centrality, these practices remain on the cultural margins. VR positions
improvisation as a primary creative methodology, reconnecting contemporary
practice with ancient ritual, embodied knowledge, and the energetic foundations
of sound.
VR also aligns with a new culture of listening. This culture recognizes sound as a carrier of multimodal information; acknowledges the entirety of the body–mind as an active participant in sonic perception; and embraces improvisation as a site of intuitive intelligence, relational awareness, and creative transformation. In this expanded framework, Violin Revealed becomes both an evolving system and an invitation: a mapping tool for free instrumental or object‑based improvisation beyond conventional techniques, and a way of engaging sound as a living, energetic, and perceptual field in which performer, instrument, and environment co-create the conditions for new forms of musical experience.
The notation system
begins with naming specific sounds, playing techniques, or sonic textures
produced on an instrument or sound object. These names arise from intuitive
association, classical terminology, the physicality of the instrument, and
simple creative solutions drawn from both English and Serbo‑Croatian. Because
they describe atypical instrumental treatments and often complex technical
gestures, the notations gain full meaning only when paired with their graphic
representations.
Initially, VR symbols
appeared within the traditional five‑line staff. Yet even in early sketches,
the limitations of the staff became apparent. The system gravitated toward
geometric symbolism and visual forms that function as objects rather than
abstracted musical signs. I recognized the importance of highlighting the
geometry of sound, its energetic nature, and its often-overlooked perceptual
complexity. This shift reflects the basic physics of sound and the
understanding that sound is spatial, spherical, and vibrational, alluding to
sonic bubbles and fractal-like propagation. Abandoning the staff was not a
rejection of tradition but an alignment with contemporary cognition. As our
perceptual environment becomes increasingly shaped by technology, our listening
modalities evolve accordingly. VR reflects this evolution by rejecting
predetermined spatial hierarchies and embracing open, multidirectional visual
logic. In its first intuitive phase, the system produced nearly one hundred
symbolic forms, each a micro-mapping of a sono‑energetic event.
VR
notations
The symbolic representation of a sound arises from the correlation between the material source of the sound and the mechanics of its creation. This correlation is not merely technical; it reflects the premise that sound is a vibrational event.
The complexity of sound
naturally generates a visual hierarchy. VR symbols evolve from simple geometric
forms into increasingly abstract structures, eventually dissolving into graphic
textures that mirror the entropic, multilayered nature of contemporary sonic
practice.
This symbolic evolution
parallels cognitive processes. The sequence symbol → association → intuitive
reaction resembles a simplified form of algebraic reasoning: symbols condense
narrative complexity, enabling abstraction, transformation, and the emergence
of new solutions. VR notation is not a prescriptive system but a
cognitive–energetic interface. It activates intuitive, somatosensory, and
analytical processes simultaneously. The symbol becomes a trigger and catalyst
for sonic imagination rather than a constraint.
IX The Universe, [[[ 333 ]]] Book I; graphic score by Manja Ristić
The playing techniques in
VR originate from live improvisational practice and electroacoustic
exploration. They reflect an entropic tendency of modern sound art, an
aesthetic that embraces noise, friction, instability, and the dissolution of
traditional musical hierarchies. The poetics of sound is central to creating
this notation system and the improvisational methodology around it. VR represents
a shift in instrumental thinking by approaching the instrument as a
comprehensive sonic entity. Even the smallest part of the instrument,
regardless of material or conventional musical value, becomes a site of
resonant potential. On the violin, wood, varnish, strings, bridge, tailpiece,
pegs, ribs, scroll, bow hair, bow stick, and even the air cavity are treated as
elements capable of generating unique sonic expressions, clusters, or textures.
The graphic aspect of VR
notation is designed as an open system, adaptable to electroacoustic contexts
and responsive to the performer’s perceptual and energetic state. Each symbol
is a node within a larger cartography of sonic possibility. Symbols may be
decomposed, expanded, appropriated, recontextualized, layered, or transformed.
The scores do not impose strict temporal, dynamic, or structural frameworks. Instead, they invite performers to engage somatosensory feedback and intuitive flow. In group performance, VR notation becomes a map of attention and a guide for navigating the energetic landscape of abstract communication.
VR cards for composing
The conceptual openness
of the notation reflects broader cultural and perceptual shifts in which
boundaries between sound practices dissolve, and improvisation becomes a
primary mode of artistic inquiry. The notation can be interpreted on any
instrument and, by extension, on any resonant object with sonic potential.
Performers using digital devices may interpret the symbols through their own perceptual
filters or translate visual cues into electronic or hybrid sound. VR encourages
experimentation with aspects of music creation that are usually fixed. It
encourages experimentation with time, dynamics, and structure; close
collaboration between composer and performer; exploration of abstract
communication; and awareness of the energetic nature of sound.
Violin Revealed is a beginning, a point of departure for deeper exploration, for mapping personal improvisational style, and for expanding the perceptual and energetic dimensions of sound. It is a system, a method, a philosophy, and an invitation. A way of listening, perceiving, and creating, and a bridge between ancient sonic intuition and contemporary artistic research.
