Music Theory's Other Nature: Reflections on Gaia, Humans, and Music in the Anthropocene

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-22
Author(s):  
Alexander Rehding
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
Symphony Orchestra ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Traditional Music ◽  
Harmonic Series ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Gaia Hypothesis ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The new historical paradigm ushered in by the Anthropocene offers a timely and urgent opportunity to rethink the relationship of humans and nature. Bruno Latour's take on the Gaia hypothesis, which rejects the traditional subject/object divide, shows how the human can be inscribed into the work of music theory. This turn toward Latour's Actor-Network Theory, which erases the categorical difference between human and nonhuman agents, now dressed up in cosmic garb under the banner of the Gaia hypothesis, appears to be distant from traditional music-theoretical concerns, but the connection is in fact less far-fetched than it seems. J. G. Kastner's music theory, taking its cue from the sound of the Aeolian harp, serves as a test case here: the Aeolian harp, played by wind directly, had long served as a Romantic image of the superhuman forces of nature, but Kastner argues that the Aeolian network only becomes complete in human ears. By unraveling the various instances and agencies of Kastner's theory, this article charts a novel approach to music and sound that sidesteps the conceptual problems in which the nineteenth-century mainstream habitually gets entangled. Kastner's work is based on a fundamental crisis in the conception of sound, after the invention of the mechanical siren (1819) tore down any certainties about the categorical distinction between noise and musical sound. Seeking to rebuild the understanding of sound from the ground up, Kastner leaves no stone unturned, from the obsolete Pythagorean tradition of musica mundana to travelers’ reports about curious sonic environmental phenomena from distant parts of the world. Where the old mechanistic paradigm was built on a “physical music” (and a static “sound of nature” based on the harmonic series), Kastner proposes a new “chemical music” that is based on the dynamic, ever-changing sonority of the Aeolian harp. This chemical music does not (yet) exist, but Kastner gives us some clues about its features, especially in his transcription/simulation of the sound of the Aeolian harp scored for double symphony orchestra. Kastner's “chemical music” finally closes the music-theoretical network that he builds around his new conception of the supernatural sound of the Aeolian harp and its human and nonhuman agents.

Calculation of Incremental Force of External Steel in Simply Supported Externally Prestressed Beams

2010 ◽  
Vol 163-167 ◽  
pp. 1719-1723
Author(s):  
Di Hu ◽  
Zhi Wu Yu
Keyword(s):  
Concrete Beam ◽  
Turn Angle ◽  
Simply Supported ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Beam Equations ◽  
Time Dependent Effect ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Train Of Thought ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Prestressed Beams

Considering the relationship of displacement and turn angle in anchorages and deviators between the externally prestressed steel and concrete beam under the action of load in simply supported externally prestrressed beam, equations on solving the incremental force in externally prestressed steel are established. The presented novel approach and the train of thought can be easily extended to analyze time-dependent effect for externally prestressed beams. The example shows that the theoretical values based on the presented formulae are agreeable with the results obtained by other methods.

John Ferrillo

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-67
Author(s):  
Michele Fiala
Keyword(s):  
Symphony Orchestra ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Metropolitan Opera ◽  
Boston Symphony Orchestra ◽  
Curtis Institute Of Music ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

John Ferrillo joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra as principal oboe in 2001. From 1986 to 2001, he was principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. In this chapter, he discusses his early career, auditions, breathing for wind playing, and the relationship of teaching and playing. He also reminisces about his experiences at the Curtis Institute of Music with John de Lancie and about his most memorable performances.

From the Sacred to the Sacred Object

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Sayes ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Social Thought ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Rene Girard ◽  
Michel Serres ◽  
Sacred Object ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The philosophy of Bruno Latour has given us one of the most important statements on the part played by technology in the ordering of the human collective. Typically presented as a radical departure from mainstream social thought, Latour is not without his intellectual creditors: Michel Serres and, through him, René Girard. By tracing this development, we are led to understand better the relationship of Latour’s work, and Actor-Network Theory more generally, to traditional sociological concerns. By doing so we can also hope to understand better the role that objects play in structuring society.

scholarly journals Clique topology reveals intrinsic geometric structure in neural correlations

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (44) ◽  
pp. 13455-13460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad Giusti ◽  
Eva Pastalkova ◽  
Carina Curto ◽  
Vladimir Itskov
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Geometric Structure ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Wheel Running ◽  
Matrix Analysis ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Position Coding ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Detecting meaningful structure in neural activity and connectivity data is challenging in the presence of hidden nonlinearities, where traditional eigenvalue-based methods may be misleading. We introduce a novel approach to matrix analysis, called clique topology, that extracts features of the data invariant under nonlinear monotone transformations. These features can be used to detect both random and geometric structure, and depend only on the relative ordering of matrix entries. We then analyzed the activity of pyramidal neurons in rat hippocampus, recorded while the animal was exploring a 2D environment, and confirmed that our method is able to detect geometric organization using only the intrinsic pattern of neural correlations. Remarkably, we found similar results during nonspatial behaviors such as wheel running and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This suggests that the geometric structure of correlations is shaped by the underlying hippocampal circuits and is not merely a consequence of position coding. We propose that clique topology is a powerful new tool for matrix analysis in biological settings, where the relationship of observed quantities to more meaningful variables is often nonlinear and unknown.

scholarly journals The Medieval Concept of Music Perception. Hearing, Calculating and Contemplating

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 369-376
Author(s):  
Elzbieta Witkowska-Zaremba
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Music Theory ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Significant Feature ◽  
Medieval Music ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Abstract Categories ◽  
Medieval Music Theory ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Seeking to indicate the most salient features of the medieval perception of music, we must first of all point to the close relationship between the sensual and intellectual elements. This relationship is most conspicuous in the term "harmonica" introduced in the Latin Middle Ages by Boethius and defined as follows: "harmonica is the faculty of perceiving through senses and the intellect the differences between high and low sounds". The same definition reveals another significant feature of the perception of music, namely, that the importance is attached not to individual sounds, but to the differences or relationships between them, that is to the intervals. Since - in accordance with the Pythagorean tradition, which was a major force in medieval music theory - the relationship between sounds can be expressed numerically, it may therefore be considered in terms of the relationship of two numbers, apart from actual sound and beyond physical time. The question arises whether this concept of music could influence the perception of a medieval listener. For instance, can listening to music be understood as a process which engages both cognitive powers and concerns reducing in some unspecified manner the data perceived and processed by the senses to abstract categories which can be conceived only by the intellect?.

Elaine Douvas

2020 ◽  
pp. 44-56
Author(s):  
Michele Fiala
Keyword(s):  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Symphony Orchestra ◽  
Figure Skating ◽  
Tone Production ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Elaine Douvas has served as principal oboe of the Metropolitan Opera since 1977 and oboe instructor at the Juilliard School since 1982. In this interview, she discusses her early life and career, auditions, her teaching, and the relationship of vocal and instrumental music. She offers advice on tone production, articulation, reeds, and vibrato. She talks about the differences between playing in an opera orchestra versus a symphony orchestra and the connections between figure skating and music.

Actor-Network Theory as a sociotechnical lens to explore the relationship of nurses and technology in practice: methodological considerations for nursing research

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Booth ◽  
Mary-Anne Andrusyszyn ◽  
Carroll Iwasiw ◽  
Lorie Donelle ◽  
Deborah Compeau
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Nursing Research ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

scholarly journals KAJIAN BENTUK DAN MAKNA LAGU “GAMBIRI TOPI PASAR” DI DESA SARIMATONDANG KECAMATAN SIDAMANIK KABUPATEN SIMALUNGUN

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Chrismay Denny Purba
Keyword(s):  
Music Theory ◽  
Qualitative Method ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Semantic Theory ◽  
Cultural Activity ◽  
Know How ◽  
Form Theory ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The purpose of this research is to know the origin of Gambiri Topi Pasar song, to know the formof Gambiri Topi pasar song, to know the meaning contained in Gambiri Topi Pasar song, toknow the character of Gambiri Topi Pasar song, to know how the response of Simalungunsociety in Sarimatondang Village Sidamanik District Simalungun Regency against Gambiri TopiPasar song.The theory used in this research is the theory of study that explains the definition of study that is ordescribes a detailed matter so that the review, music theory is music is a cultural activity that isvery familiar with human life, the form theory is the form is a scheme or a whole structure fromseveral phrases, the theory of meaning that uses the theory of semiotics and semantic theory, thetheory of Gambiri Topi Pasar song is a story that describes the relationship of romance betweenyoung people.The method in this research is descriptive qualitative method. Based on the results of researchconducted it can be seen that the origin of the song Gambiri Topi Pasar is an ethnic song inheritedfrom the ancestors of the community Simalungun to generation hereditary orally. His trademarkuses Inggou Simalungun. The Gambiri Topi Pasar form of the song consists of two forms: formA consists of phrases a and a'. form B consists of the phrases b and b'. The meaning of GambiriTopi Pasar song is an individual meaning that is now used as a death song.

Grooming interchange for resource tolerance: biological markets principles within a group of free-ranging rhesus macaques

Behaviour ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 154 (11) ◽  
pp. 1145-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.N. Balasubramaniam ◽  
C.M. Berman
Keyword(s):  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Biological Markets ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Group Competition ◽  
Network Comparisons ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Exchange Patterns ◽  
The Relationship

In group-living animals, allogrooming is a common, heterogeneously distributed affiliative behaviour. Among non-human primates, Barrett et al. (1999) predicted ways in which Biological Markets principles interact with competitive regimes to influence grooming reciprocity and interchange. Most tests of these predictions, done at a group level, have produced inconsistent results. Here we take a novel approach by testing these predictions across individuals within a group. This is based on the premise that in groups facing moderate-to-high within-group-competition, individuals vary in their abilities to access resources based on their competitive abilities, causing them to pursue different grooming exchange strategies. We examine evidence for grooming reciprocity and interchange for tolerance at drinking sources among adult females within a group of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) on Cayo Santiago. We test the above premise by assessing hierarchical steepness, and the relationship between individuals’ David’s scores (DS) and access to drinking sources. Finally, we examine the relationship of DS with grooming reciprocity and interchange to see whether they are consistent with the operation of market forces among individuals. Social network comparisons revealed that giving grooming was strongly predicted by both receiving drinking tolerance (interchange) and receiving grooming (reciprocity), despite strong associations with proximity and maternal kinship. The group showed a moderately steep hierarchy, and negative correlations between individuals’ David’s scores and difficulties in accessing drinking stations. Finally, we found partial support for a market-based explanation. Individuals with relatively low David’s scores were more likely to interchange grooming with drinking tolerance. However, grooming reciprocity wasn’t greater among individuals with higher David’s scores. Our findings suggest that multiple explanatory frameworks — reciprocity, market-based interchange, and/or proximity-mediated interchange/social bond investment — may all shape rhesus grooming exchange patterns. Future directions include examining evidence for additional forms of grooming interchange, and the influence of between-group-competition and stress-indicators on grooming reciprocity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document