Research, Writing and Presentation on Electric Guitar and Contemporary Composition

This section collects research-based writings, academic papers, and reflective texts on electric guitar, contemporary composition, and instrumental writing.

The materials presented here stem from scholarly research, artistic practice, and teaching contexts, with particular attention to the electric guitar as a compositional medium in contemporary art music.

Presentations

Concert Electric Guitar Composition: Techniques, Challenges and Creative Possibilities

Research Poster Presentation, Brunel University London, 4 May 2026

This research poster presented selected outcomes from my PhD research on electric guitar composition, focusing on notation, instrumental technique, amplification, and performer–technology interaction. It introduced the electric guitar as a modular compositional system, in which sound production, pedals, amplification, and instrumental gesture form part of the compositional material.

Research Writing

The Electric Guitar in Contemporary Art Music: Cultural Synthesis and Genre Crossing

Vincenzo La Spesa
Brunel University London

This article explores the evolving role of the electric guitar in contemporary art music, focusing on its function as a medium of cultural synthesis between popular and classical traditions. Drawing on case studies and composer perspectives, it examines how the instrument expands its technical, expressive, and aesthetic potential within modern composition.