tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post8918566630400836399..comments2023-10-08T08:38:09.714-04:00Comments on Musical Perceptions: Music Theory ApologeticsScotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01286095156825716887noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post-36282732827675346732010-04-15T23:32:09.425-04:002010-04-15T23:32:09.425-04:00CM, that is an interesting point about the alienat...CM, that is an interesting point about the alienating effect of terminology. And yet, do we complain about alienating terminology in physics or psychology? If one is going to express nuanced thoughts, advanced tools and terminology is needed. That shouldn't discourage neophytes from expressing their thoughts about music in whatever language they can access. And most music historians would be shocked to hear that they have not taught their students about the social contexts that affect music. Of course, Susan McClary announced at the last SMT conference that she considered herself more of a theorist than a musicologist these days, so I wonder how much she actually agrees with that quote anymore.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01286095156825716887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post-8218129492995459092010-04-15T14:58:39.687-04:002010-04-15T14:58:39.687-04:00Susan McClary, in her afterword to Attali's &#...Susan McClary, in her afterword to Attali's 'Noise', provides some thought-food: 'The tendency to deal with music by means of acoustics, mathematics, or mechanistic models preserves its mystery (accessible only to a trained priesthood), lends it higher prestige in a culture that values quantifiable knowledge over mere expression, and conceals the ideological basis of its conventions and repertories.'<br /><br />She also writes: '...non trained listeners are prevented from talking about social and expressive dimensions of music (for they lack the vocabulary to refer to its parts) and so are trained musicians (for they have been taught, in learning the proper vocabulary, that music is strictly self-contained structure).'CM Zimmermanhttp://bigmouthsmusic.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post-16151744636994242282010-04-15T14:26:59.106-04:002010-04-15T14:26:59.106-04:00Denk seems to be railing primarily on the basis of...Denk seems to be railing primarily on the basis of nomenclature, contriving a complaint that "passing" also connotes ephemeral and therefore the specific mood of the phrase is diminished. His argument is not compelling--and I want to doubt that he himself believes it. However, I can see how others, predisposed to rail against what they see as the tyranny that analysis imposes upon art, might be convinced.<br /><br />And that's a shame.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post-68882530153165937562010-04-15T14:16:52.785-04:002010-04-15T14:16:52.785-04:00I can see a good analysis a) reminding the reader ...I can see a good analysis a) reminding the reader why the music is so pleasurable, b) pointing the way to different performance opportunities, c) teaching the reader or analyst about themselves, and/or d) revealing other aspects of the piece or of life. Can an analysis be an end in itself? Just as much as any artwork or communication can be.Scotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01286095156825716887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post-7383430177662937122010-04-15T13:01:41.707-04:002010-04-15T13:01:41.707-04:00Well said, and I quote David Lewin's own "...Well said, and I quote David Lewin's own "post-Bloomian" concerns over the integrity of music theory's poem-of-a-poem status:<br /><br />"My skeptic will point out that this symphony is an exceptionally "dramatic" one, and ask how my contentions would fare in connection with less dramatic music. Here, finally, I must call a halt. As I said before, I am not proclaiming the virtues of any one mode of perception over all others.I am only concerned that our society encourages us to ignore some of those modes. To the skeptic above I say, "Find me a piece we both like that you are convinced is neither poetic nor dramatic. Then we shall discuss the matter further.""HT, with T for Tehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16090839814492865772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post-13407121670224376182010-04-15T12:41:46.287-04:002010-04-15T12:41:46.287-04:00Nicholas Cook has some powerful passages early on ...Nicholas Cook has some powerful passages early on in his 'Music, Imagination, Culture' concerning Schenkerian analysis. I can look through my notes for the specific passages, but Cook argues that a performer's interpretation can certainly be broadened or deepened through analysis of the work, but the analysis should only be used as a tool in the construction of an interpretation. Problems arise, as usual, when entering ideology. The ideological use of music theory has contributed to the 'specialization' of the music and the resulting intimidation and exclusion of audiences.CM Zimmermanhttp://bigmouthsmusic.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6980672.post-56124785423821571032010-04-15T09:54:55.120-04:002010-04-15T09:54:55.120-04:00It's despicable sometimes, isn't it? Other...It's despicable sometimes, isn't it? Other times, I wonder if the best kind of analyses succeed in sublating the pleasures of music into the pleasures of the text...HT, with T for Tehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16090839814492865772noreply@blogger.com