Music at Hand

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan De Souza
Keyword(s):  
Martin Heidegger ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Music Cognition ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
Transformational Theory ◽  
Phenomenological Philosophy ◽  
Music Theory And Analysis

Musical instruments ground players’ actions and the sounds they create. Yet this book further claims that instruments mediate perception and imagination. Practicing an instrument builds bodily skills, while also fostering auditory-motor connections in players’ brains. These intersensory links reflect the ways that a particular instrument converts action into sound, the ways that it coordinates tonal and physical space. Reactivated in various ways, these connections can influence instrumentalists’ listening, improvisation, and composition. To investigate these effects, the book engages both classical and popular styles, from Bach to electronic music, from Beethoven to the blues. It uses Lewinian transformational theory to model instrumental interfaces and to analyze patterns of body-instrument interaction. Though based in music theory and analysis, the book also draws on psychology, including cognitive neuroscience, and the phenomenological philosophy of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Martin Heidegger. Ultimately, it argues that music cognition is not simply embodied; it is also conditioned by musical technology.

Music Theory and Mainstream Digital Journalism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alyssa Barna
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
Popular Press ◽  
Music Theory And Analysis ◽  
Digital Journalism

The tools of music theory and analysis have appeared in articles published in popular press venues for the last decade. Many of these articles, however, are written by non-experts and often stir controversy among academic writers due to assumptions or inaccuracies. Instead of passively arguing about this form of public music theory, this chapter encourages academic theorists to write stories for digital journalism outlets by explaining the role and context of this type of journalism, then outlining the process of pitching, writing, and editing a story. This chapter closes with a discussion of the specific responsibilities of music theorists who write for these venues, and the role of the academic in digital journalism.

scholarly journals 來自「東方」的聲音圖景：江文也作品的異國情調與民族追尋

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (36) ◽  
pp. 081-106
Author(s):  
張琬琳 張琬琳
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Musical Instruments ◽  
International Standards ◽  
The Other ◽  
Western Music ◽  
Political Issue ◽  
The World ◽  
General Society

<p>二十世紀初，在國際間崛起的各國勢力，加速了各民族內部自我整頓與反省的動力，東方音樂家學習西方音樂，也試圖以西方音樂的樂制，來整建自我民族內部的音樂紋理。</p> <p>東方音樂家欲望著西方，希冀能登上國際音樂舞臺；西方樂壇也期待從東方音樂家那裡，聽見西方人能夠「聽得懂」的「東方聲音」。在東 / 西方彼此期待、渴望之間，音樂本身被賦予極大的感官寓意，對西方人而言，帶有異國情調的音樂，尤其能夠吸引他們的目光；對於東方音樂家而言，這些「東方」的元素，卻是取自於不同民族風土的獨特聲音。</p> <p>本文聚焦臺灣近代音樂家江文也，以近年來新出版的傳記、日記和音樂作品全集，以及本論文作者近年於歐洲搜集的史料為分析佐證，探討江文也「屬於自己 / 東方的聲音」創作，如何引發西方樂壇對於「東方聲音」的想像。</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><p>The early twentieth century was a century that had the two global-scale World Wars between world powers across continents and oceans. Rising nationalism and increasing national awareness became a major political issue in general society. Eastern musicians reflected on the issue and diligently learned Western music system to get a remarkable grasp of it. Because they knew well the so-called Oriental music sounds must be rooted in the Western music theory to be able to compete among nations by international standards. On one hand, Eastern musicians desired to be seen and rival upon the world stage; on the other hand, Western musicians looked forward to hearing pure Oriental music sounds from the East. However, for Taiwanese composer Jiang, Wen-Ye, the Oriental music sounds are not the ones of a traditional and exotic concept. Traditionally, the Oriental music sounds derive its flavor from the pentatonic scale and use traditional Chinese musical instruments to play. It is under such circumstances Jiang, Wen-Ye compose beautiful musical forms that embody his love and respectful duty to the Taiwanese motherland throughout frequent international music events and competitions.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

scholarly journals Ways of Knowing the Body, Bodily Ways of Knowing

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Martens
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Music Cognition ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Music Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Musical Score ◽  
Research Methodologies

The central role of the body in producing music is hardly debatable. Likewise, the body has always played at least an implicit role in music theory, but has only been raised as a factor in music analysis relatively recently. In this essay I present a brief update of the body in music analysis via case studies, situated in the disciplines of music theory and music cognition, broadly construed. This current trajectory is part of a broader shift away from the musical score as the sole focus for analysis, which admittedly—though, in my view, delightfully—raises a host of challenging epistemological questions surrounding the interaction of performer (production) and listener (perception). While the concomitant research methodologies and technologies may be unfamiliar to scholars trained in humanities disciplines, I advocate for a full embrace of these approaches, either by individual researchers or in the form of cross-disciplinary collaboration.

scholarly journals Our Varying Histories and Future Potential: Models and Maps in Science, the Humanities, and in Music Theory

2011 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Narmour
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
Music Cognition ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Social Transformations ◽  
Parent Organization ◽  
Musical Knowledge ◽  
Future Potential ◽  
Intellectual Potential

part 1 briefly recounts the influence of social unrest and the explosion of knowledge in both psychology and the humanities circa 1970-1990. As the sciences rely on explicit top-down theories connected to bottom-up maps and models, and whereas the humanities build on bottom-up differences within malleable top-down “theories” (approaches, themes, theses, programs, methods, etc.), the changes in the sciences during this period contrasted sharply with the changes in the humanities. Part 2 discusses in detail how these two social transformations affected the histories of music theory and cognitive music theory. The former fractiously withdrew from its parent organization (AMS), whereas the latter was welcomed into SMPC. Inasmuch as both music theory and cognitive music theory rely on maps and models, Part 3 examines the metatheoretical importance of these terms for music cognition, music theory, and cognitive music theory. Part 4 speculates about the future—how music cognition, cognitive music theory, and music theory contribute to the structure of musical knowledge. The intellectual potential of this unique triadic collaboration is discussed: psychology provides a commanding empirical framework of the human mind, while music theory and cognitive music theory logically model moment-to-moment temporal emotions and the auditory intellections at the core of musical art.

scholarly journals What does the interactive brain hypothesis mean for social neuroscience? A dialogue

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1693) ◽  
pp. 20150379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne De Jaegher ◽  
Ezequiel Di Paolo ◽  
Ralph Adolphs
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Dynamical Systems ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Social Neuroscience ◽  
Phenomenological Philosophy ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Directions ◽  
The Brain ◽  
And Robotics

A recent framework inspired by phenomenological philosophy, dynamical systems theory, embodied cognition and robotics has proposed the interactive brain hypothesis (IBH). Whereas mainstream social neuroscience views social cognition as arising solely from events in the brain, the IBH argues that social cognition requires, in addition, causal relations between the brain and the social environment. We discuss, in turn, the foundational claims for the IBH in its strongest form; classical views of cognition that can be raised against the IBH; a defence of the IBH in the light of these arguments; and a response to this. Our goal is to initiate a dialogue between cognitive neuroscience and enactive views of social cognition. We conclude by suggesting some new directions and emphases that social neuroscience might take.

Beethoven’s Prosthesis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan De Souza
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Ecological Psychology ◽  
The Body ◽  
Culturally Specific ◽  
Conceptual Metaphors

This chapter takes performances by the deaf Beethoven as an instance of body-instrument interaction. Prior research in music theory, drawing on cognitive linguistics, suggests that Beethoven’s music was shaped by conceptual metaphors, which are both culturally specific and grounded in the body. Yet this chapter shows that players’ experience is not simply embodied but also technical. To that end, the chapter explores cognitive neuroscience, ecological psychology, and phenomenology. Patterns of auditory-motor coactivation in players’ brains are made possible by the stable affordances of an instrument. These auditory-motor connections support performative habits, and they may be reactivated and recombined in perception and imagination—supporting Beethoven’s auditory simulations after hearing loss, for example.

scholarly journals Is that a new language coming?

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-384
Author(s):  
Nataša Crnjanski
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
Music Cognition ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
General Linguistics

Music semiotics is a branch of music theory that has been particularly developing since the 1960s. As semiotics moved from general linguistics, structuralism and theory of communication to cognitive and psychological linguistics, as sources of understanding music cognition – that is, as it moved from “hard” to “soft” semiotics as Agawu calls them (1999: 154) – its vocabulary became strongly metaphoric and complex. At the same time, there was no strict convention concerning the usage of the vocabulary in question. In this paper, I will focus on some important interrelated issues of music semiotics vocabulary, such as the concept of meaning, and all rhetorical variations regarding this term in music. Special attention will be given to explanation of terminological issues of the two most prominent “languages” of music semiotics, that of Robert Hatten and Eero Tarasti.

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