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Tagg:Musics Meanings 229
7.
Interobjectivity
Intro
IN CHAPTER 6 we started trying to unpack the
blackboxofmusicalmeaning(Figure71).Ethno
graphicobservation,receptiontestsandataxonomyofVVAs led to theestablishmentofshared
subjectivity of response, as evidence of other
thingsthanjustmusicthatdemonstratetheexist
enceofsemanticfieldslinkedtomusicalstructure
inananalysisobject(AO).Thoseotherthingsare
calledparamusicalfields of connotation,orPMFCs
forshort.Thelinksarenotextra butparamusical
because theyexistalongsideor inconnection
with
themusic,asanintrinsicpartofmusicalsemiosis
inarealculturalcontext,notasexternalappend
agestothemusic.1TheVVAs inChapter6all
verbalisedintermsofmovement,location,mood,
feelingandpeople,all those librarymusic titles
anddescriptionsetc.areintrinsicallyparamusical.Theyareessential
to theestablishmentofPMFCs, i.e.ofparticular semantic fieldsconnected toparticular setsofmusicalsound inparticularculturalcon
texts.Now,thePMFCsinChapter6derivedmainlyfromintersubjective
observationsofresponseinrelationtoparticularstructuralconfigura
tionsinparticularpiecesofmusic.Thischapterfocusesonaninterobjec
tiveapproachtomusicalsemiosis(Figure72,p.238).
Interobjectivityclearlyhassomethingtodowithrelationshipsbetween
objects.Itpresupposesthatobjectsconsistofstructuralelements,andthatoneobjectcanbemoreorlesslikeanotherdependingontheele
1. (para)=beside,alongside,issuingfrom,etc;extra(Latin)=outside.
Fig. 7-1. Black box: escape route 1
NM07-IObjSpecimen.fm.
2012-
12-
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230 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
ments,ifany,theyshareincommon.Now,ifanyofmusicsstructural
elementsare,asweveargued,capableofcarryingmeaningwellneed
firsttohavesomeideaofwhatismeantbythreeconcepts:[1]amusical
object;[2]amusicalstructure;[3]amusicalstructurethatcarriesmeaningormuseme.Withthoseworkingdefinitionsbehinduswellbeable
tofocusmoreclearlyoninterobjectiveprocedures.
Basicterminology
ObjectandstructureIntheexpressionanalysisobject(AO),objectisnotusedinthePeircean
sense(p.
156).
Here
it
just
means
an
identifiable
piece
of
music
in
audibleform,theobjectofanalysis.2Itcanbeapopsong,aclassicalsymphony
movement,ajingle,afilmmusiccue,aTVthemeetc.,anditusuallyhas
anameortitleofsomesort.Whenusedinthissense,amusicalobject,if
storedasrecordedsound,willtypicallyoccupyoneCDtrackorconsti
tute a single audio file. Therefore, the interobjective procedures ex
plained later in this chapter involve the establishment of sonic
relationshipsbetweenananalysisobject(AO)andatleastoneothermu
sicalobject(piece,song,movement,track,etc.).Therecurringproposi
tion in interobjectiveanalysis is thatsomething inmusicalobjectA (the
AO)soundslikesomethinginmusicalobjectB(orCorDorZ).
Now,thatSOMETHINGTHATSOUNDSLIKEcouldbealmostanything.It
mightbeaturnofmelodicphrase,ariff,asonority,arhythmicpattern,
aharmonicsequenceortypeofchord,aparticularuseofparticularin
struments,ofvocal timbre,ofacoustic space,anyofwhich couldbe
presentedataparticularspeed inaparticularregisterataparticular
levelofintensityandsoon.Anysuch something,canbepoetically
identifiedasaparticularconfigurationofdifferentparametersofmusical
expressionofthesortjustmentioned(rhythm,pitch,timbre,etc.).Itwill
alsousuallybeacombinationofseveralsuchsomethings.Itcouldbe
aparticularharmonicsequenceplayedbyparticularinstrumentsusing
aparticularrhythmicpattern,oraparticularmelodicturnofphrasede
liveredwithaparticularvocaltimbreataparticularpitchandvolumeinaparticulartypeofacousticspacetowardsthefront,back,left,right
2. Pieceofmusicisdefinedonpage272.
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 231
orcentreofthemix.Mostofthesesomethingswillbeshortenoughto
fitintotheextendedpresentbuttheycanalsobeprocessual,compris
ingtheorderandmannerinwhichdifferentsections(episodes)inthe
AOarepresented,varied,extended,shortenedorrepeated.3
Whatever the exact structural characteristicsof thepossible typesof
somethingmaybe,Ijustusedpoeticratherthanaesthesictermstoex
emplifythoseconstituentaspectsofamusicalobject,i.e.Iusedterms
derived from theprocessofconstructing thesoundsrather fromhow
theyreperceivedas communicatinganything else than themselves.4
Thesomethingsofthepreviousparagraphareinthatsensequalifiable
asstructuralbecauseanyonethemcanbeconceptualisedasamusical
structureregardlessofsemioticpotential.Just like thesewords typed
intomycomputer,written todiskanduselessuntil theyarereador
heard,musicalideasalsohaveasemioticallydormantmodeofexist
ence,whetherstoredasanaudiorecording,orasascore,orinthebrain
cellsof individuals constituting amusical community: they are also
useless until they are reproduced andheard inside thehead or out
loud.5Inotherwords,amusicalstructure,asapoeticallydeterminable
entityandsetofsoundsinphysicalform,alwayshasthepotentialto
becomeasigninPeircesprimarytrinityofsemiosis.6Inthatcaseitssta
tusassignpresupposesthatthestructuralentitymaterialisesaninitial
ideaorintention,and,moreimportantly,thatitslinkedtoaninterpre
tant.Ifsuchastructureisnotconsideredsemioticallyitremainsjustthat
amerestructurebutifitsconsideredalongwithintendedorper
ceivedmeaningitalsobecomesasign,astructuralitemofmusicalsignification.Astructuralitemwithsemioticpropertiesinmusicwillbecalleda
MUSEME.Ifonlythingswerethatsimple
3. SeeGlossaryandpp.272273forexplanationoftheextendedpresent.ParametersofmusicalexpressionarediscussedinChapters812.
4. Forexplanationofpoeticandaesthesic,seeGlossaryandp.115,ff.5. Thisdormantstatecanbecomparedtoaparkedcar.Tobeofanyuseasavehicle,it
hastobedesigned,itspartsproducedandassembled.Youhavetoknowhowto
driveit,butunlessyoureamechanic,youwontthinkofthecarinthesamewayasthosewhomadeit.Parkedmotionlessitstillexistsandcanbethoughtofasaphysicalobjectaswellasofintermsofitspotentialuses.
6. Peircesprimarytrinity:object,sign,interpretant(pp.156158).PleasenotethatImnotusingobjecthereinthePeirceansense.
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232 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
Museme
ThetermmusemewascoinedbyCharlesSeeger(1960:76).7
[Itisa]unitofthreecomponentsthreetonebeats[which]cancon
stitutetwoprogressionsandmeettherequirementsforacomplete,in
dependentunitofmusiclogical formormood inbothdirectionand
extension.Itcanberegardedasamusicalmorphemeormuseme.
The lastpartof thisstatement isclearenough: ifamorpheme is the
smallestlinguisticunitthathasmeaninginandofitselfthenamuseme
isthesmallestunitembodyingmeaninginmusic.8Ifthatisso,Seegers
explanationofthetermisproblematicforseveralreasons.
Tone,as in tonebeat, is thefirstproblemwithSeegersdefinitionofmuseme.Iftonemeansanoteofdiscerniblefundamentalpitch,thena
musicalstructureconsistingof threenoteswithoutdiscernible funda
mentalpitch,asinadrumpattern,wouldhavenomusiclogicalform
ormoodandwouldcarrynomeaning.Sincethatconclusion isboth
falseandaninsulttodrummersletsassumethatSeegermeantthree
notes,usingnote in theMIDI senseof theword, i.e.a single,discrete
soundoffinitedurationinapieceofmusic,whetherornotthesoundistonal.9 At least that definition caters for the connotative distinction
most Western listeners are capable of makingbetween, say, a sym
phonictimpanirollandaFUNKYDRUMMERloop.Itwouldalsoletususe
thetermmusemetohorizontallyidentifymeaningfulunitsofrhyth
micandmelodicstructuration,i.e.intermsofatleastthreeconsecutive
notesandtothinkaboutsuchunlayeredmusemesasconstituentele
mentsinsinglestrandunitsofmusicalmeaningmusemestrings,as
evidencedinmusicalmotifs,phrases,ostinatopatternsorriffs,etc.10So
far,sogood.Thetroubleisthatmusicalmeaningisnotsolelydepend
entonnotesequences(thediachronic,horizontalaspect).Itis,aswell
7. Seeger(18861979),UScomposer/musicologist,andfatherofPeteandPeggy,tookpioneeringstepstobridgethegapbetweenmusicologyandotherdisciplines.
8. SeeGlossaryforexplanationsofmorphemeandphoneme.9. Seepp.273276andGlossaryforexplanationofnote,pitch,toneandtonal.
10. SeegersATLEASTTHREENOTESrule,questionedonpage235,isperhapsbetterunderstoodasanATLEASTTWOCHANGESrulebecause:[1]thechangefrommusicalsilencetonoteatthestartofapieceorafterapauseisalso(quellesurprise!)amusicalchange;[2]thefinalnoteofasinglestrandmusemeisoftenelidedintothefirstnoteofthesubsequentsinglestrandmuseme(Tagg,1982:5458).
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 233
see,atleastasmuchamatterofsimultaneouslayering(thesynchronic,
verticalaspect)ofnotes.11
ThisisneitherthetimenorplacetodiscusstheepistemologicalbackgroundtoSeegerspioneeringideasaboutmusicalmeaning,exceptto
saythatitsproblemsmayderivepartlyfromthetypeoflinguisticthe
orycirculatinginhisday,partlyfromconventionalmusicologysfixa
tionwithnarrativeform(diataxis)andanapparentreluctancetodeal
withsemanticsorpragmatics.12ManylinguistshavesinceSeegersday
argued thatprosodicaspectsof speechtimbre,diction, intonation,
volume,facialexpression,gesture,etc.aresemioticallyatleastasim
portantasthewordstheyaccompany.13Ifsuchlayeringofsonicstruc
turation is important to the mediation of meaning in speech, its
absolutelyessentialand intrinsic tomusicbecausenotescannotexist
withoutthesoundcarryingthem,bethatsoundanditsnote[s]imag
inedinsideyourheadorheardoutloud.Toputitinsimpletermsfrom
themusiciansstandpoint,thesoundyouputwiththenoteshowyou
playorsing them issemioticallyat leastas importantas thenotes
youputwithyoursound.Neithercanexistasmusicwithouttheotherand,whenitcomestomusicalsigns,thehow(notesorsound)isinevi
tably an intrinsic and inseparablepartof thewhat (soundornotes).
Theseideasmaybecomeclearerwithabitofconcretisation.
The two statements DONT WORRY ABOUT ME said nonchalantly and
DONTWORRYABOUTMEspokenwithbitterresentment14quiteclearly
sendnomorethesamemessagethandothefirstlineofyournational
anthemplayedbyaprofessionalsymphonyorchestraaccompanyinga
11. Forfurtherdiscussionofmuseme,seeTagg(1982:45,ff.,2000a:106,ff.,2005b:10379).Forexplanationsofnote,seefootnote9,p.273,andTagg(2009:17,ff.).
12. Seepp.145148underSemioinChapter4;seealsoChapter11(p.383,ff.).13. Likeotherscholarsofhistimewhosoughttoexplainhowmusicrelatestoother
symbolicsystems(e.g.Nettl(1958),Bright(1963)),Seegerreferredtolinguisticmodelsthatstillaccordedsemioticprimacytothewrittenword,todenotationandtothearbitrarysign.Suchattemptstoalignmeaningfulelementsinmusicwiththoseof
languageweresubsequentlycriticisedbymusicologists(e.g.Nattiez(1975,1987),Imberty(1976,1979),Lerdahl&Jackendoff(1977)andKeiler(1978)).AmongrepresentativesofmorerecentlinguistictheoryareBolinger(1989),Cruse(1988),Eco(1990)andKress(1993).
14. Seep.345ff.formoreonprosodicmeaningsofDontworryaboutme.
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234 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
largechorusoftrainedvoicesandthesamepassagesungoutoftune,
withthewrongwords,bysomeonewithaforeignaccentaccompanied
bytwodrunksmistreatingaconcertinaandabatteredoldacousticgui
tar.Ofcourse,thedifferencebetweenthefirstthreesungnotesofonenationalanthemandanotherissemioticallysignificant,howeverthey
areperformed,becausethatdifferenceallowslistenerstomusicallydis
tinguishonenationfromtheotherduring,say,TVcoverageoftheOl
ympics. That said, the way those notes are sounded is at least as
important,forwhilethesymphonyorchestraversionofyournational
anthemmaywellbeheardintermsofnationalprideanddignity,the
foreigndrunksaremorelikelytocomeacrossasdisrespectful,asperformingamusicalequivalenttoburningtheflag.Thatcardinaldiffer
encebetweenprideand ridicule isjustasmuchamatterofmusical
structure (volume, timbre, instrumentation, intonation, accentuation,
phrasing,etc.)asthenotes(pitchandrhythmprofile)tellinguswhich
nationspatriotismisbeingextolledordraggedthroughadungheap.
All such structuresand their connotationsare inotherwordsdeter
minedbydifferentuseofmusicsvariousparametersofexpressionas
wellas,ofcourse,byculturallyspecificconventionsofmusicalpercep
tionandinterpretation.
Now,assuming,atleastforthetimebeing,thatmusememeansamini
malunitofmusicalmeaning,itcouldbearguedthatthefirstnotesinthe
tuneoftheStarSpangledBannerandoftheMarseillaiseeachconstitutea
musemeifneitherofthemcan,asasequenceofnotesproducingapar
ticularprofileofrhythmandpitch,bebrokendownintosmallerunits
thatcarryanymeaning inthemselves.15But itwouldalsoimplythat
theOFFICIALSYMPHONYandRAUCOUSDRUNKSrenderingsofthosetwo
nationalanthemsmeanthesamething.Thatwouldbeabsurdbecause
15. Forexample,thefirstthreenotesofthetuneinthechorusofGranada(Lara,1932)areidenticaltothoseatthestartoftheMarseillaise(threesprightlynotes,allonthefifth).BothhaveastirringABOUTTOGETUPANDGO/ALLONS,ENFANTS!characterfollowedbyarisingmelodicline.Ifthisparticularsetofthreenotescanoccurwiththe
samesortofeffectinatleasttwodifferentpiecesofmusicconceivedwithinthesamegeneralmusicalidiom(TheMarseillaiseandGranada),andifitcannotbebrokendownintosmallermeaningfulunits,i.e.ifthelinkbetweenthemusicalstructureanditsinterpretantisconsistentandrepeatableinsidethesamebroadmusicalculturaltradition,thenitsclearlyqualifiableasaminimalunitofmusicalmeaning.
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 235
bothversionsofthetwonationalanthemsclearlycontainotherstruc
turalelementsthatsemioticallylinknottoFRANCEorTHEUSAbuttoin
terpretantswhichcanbereferredtointermslikePATRIOTICPRIDEand
NATIONALRIDICULErespectively,regardlessofwhichnationistheobjectof eulogyorderision.Moreover,both those typesof othermusical
signcanbebrokendown intosmallermeaningfulunits, forexample
whatthesymphonyorchestrasstringsectionplaysonitsown,orthe
soundofthedrunksconcertinawithouttheraspyforeignvocals.And
eventhosesmallerbutmusicallymeaningfulunitsmayintheirturnbe
reducibletoyetsmallermeaningfulentitiesuntilthepointwhereonly
onemeaningfulnoteisleft,likethesinglenotemusemestruckontubularbellat0:04inthetitlemusicforMontyPythonsFlyingCircus.16
Ifamusemecanconsistofas littleasonesinglenote,Seegersthree
note criterion forqualificationasamusemedoesntwork. Indeed,a
onenote museme can existbecause its semiotic charge relies more
(thoughnotexclusively)onhow itsconstructed verticallyby the
wayitsstruckonwhichinstrumentatwhichvolumeoverwhichchord
playedbywhichotherinstrument[s]inwhichregisterinwhichtonalidiomandsoonthanonitsimmediatehorizontalcontext(byitsre
lationtowhateverprecedesandfollowsit).17Thisclearlymeansthat
explanationsofmusicalsemiosisneedtoconsiderseveralindividually
meaningfullayersthatsoundsimultaneouslybutwhichdonotneces
sarilyoccupythesamedurationaseachother.Thesecompositelayers
of simultaneously soundingmusemesarecalledMUSEME STACKSand
constitutenowsoundformorSYNCRISIS(Chapter12).Theyreparticu
larlyusefulwhenforminghypothesesaboutwhichstructuralelements
inanAOmaybelinkedtowhichsortofinterpretants.
Returning to the initial melodic notes of your national anthem per
formed in two different ways, Table 71 (p.236) identifies the first
museme(1a)asthefirstpartofitsfirstmelodicline(e.g.theALLONS,
ENFANTSpartof ALLONS,ENFANTSDELAPATRIE in theMarseillaise,or
justtheOH,SAYbitofOH,SAY,CANYOUHEAR?atthestartofTheStar
SpangledBanner)inboththesymphonic(A)anddrunk(B)versions.18
16. SeeTLTT:413414forfurtherdiscussionofthatsinglenotemuseme.17. SeethenoteparametersofMIDIcodeinfootnote9,p.232.
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236 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
As suggestedabove, themostobvious interpretant formuseme1 in
bothversionsistheofficialidentityofthenationinquestion.Museme
2,ontheotherhand,isactuallyamusemestack(orsyncrisis)consisting
ofthreeconstituentmusemesforversionA(2a2c)andfiveforversionB(2a2e),someofwhichcanintheirturnalsobeunderstoodassubsid
iarymusemestacksbrokendownintoyetmoreconstituentmusematic
entities.Thatsortofmusematichierarchyisillustratedbymuseme2in
theBsectionofTable71andcanbeexplainedasfollows.
Table 7-1: National anthem musemes: symphony orchestra and foreign drunks
18. Museme1bwouldhavebeenthedelapatrieand[say,]canyouhear?partsofthefirstmelodiclineintheMarseillaiseandtheUSnationalanthemrespectively.TheSAYnoteinTheStarSpangledBanneriselidedandpartofbothmusemes1aand1b.Foranexplanationofelisioninmusemestrings,seeTagg(2000a:107).
museme museme
sign
designation feasible
interpretantsA.Symphonyorchestraandchorus
1a firstpartoffirstmelodicline mynationalidentity
2a professionalsymphonyorchestrainclassicalvein.
official,organised,classical,quality,polished,dignified,impressive,etc.
2b professionalchorus as2a+largecollective,synchronisedindividuals,commongoal
2c bigconcerthallwithlongreverbtime
largeofficialvenue,spaceforlotsofpeopleandabigsound
1+2TOTAL=THENATION,ITSVALUESANDINSTITUTIONSAREBIG,STRONG,HONOURABLE,ETC.IMAYBESMALLBUTIAMPROUDTOBEONEOFITS
CITIZENS.UNITEDWESTAND.IBELONG.TOGETHERWEAREJUSTGREAT.
B.Foreigndrunksinginginapub
1a firstpartoffirstmelodicline mynationalidentity
2a singleforeignvocalist notoneofus,alien,inappropriate;justoneperson
2b raspyvoice unpolished,crude,unsophisticated
2c(stack) [2c1]outoftuneguitar[2c2]simpleirregularstrum[2c3]simplifiedchords
unpolished,unofficial,careless,messy,disrespectful;popularportablesoundforpartiesorcampfires
2d concertina(diatonic) simple,portable,oldtime,proletarian
2e backgroundnoise:glasses,chatter,raucouslaughter
disrespectful,inappropriate
1+2TOTAL=EitherTHENATION,ITSCITIZENS,ITSVALUESANDINSTITUTIONS
AREBEINGVILELYRIDICULEDANDDEMEANED;orTHEBLOATEDPOMPANDARROGANCEOFTHOSERUNNINGMYCOUNTRYISBEINGRIGHTLYDEBUNKED.
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 237
Thesingle foreignvocalist (museme2a)doesnotrepresent thesame
thingashisraspyvoice(2b)becausearaspyforeignvoice,araspyna
tivevoice,awelltrainednativevoiceandawelltrainedforeignvoice
allsounddifferentandembodyfourdifferentinterpretants.Nordoeithermuseme2aor2bmean thesame thingas theoutoftuneguitar
strummed irregularly with simplified chords (2c) which, in its turn
doesnothavethesameeffectonitsownastheconcertinawithoutthe
guitar(2d).Thetotaleffectoftheseconstituentmusemeswouldalsobe
slightlybut significantly different without thebackground noise of
museme2e.Moreover,museme2c (guitar) contains three subsidiary
structuralelements,eachofwhichcontributestoitsoverallmeaning:itisntproperlytuned(2c1);itsstrummedsimplyandirregularly(2c2);
andthechordsplayedonitaremuchmorerudimentarythaninanof
ficialversionofthesamepiece(2c3).Alterorremoveanyofthosethree
structuralelementsandboththeoverallstructureandprobableinter
pretantsofmuseme2cchangetoo.Finally,addmuseme1totheequa
tionandyouhavequiteacomplexmusemestackcapableofgenerating,
insideameresecondorso,thetworadicallydifferentsetsofinterpre
tants (PMFCs) shown at thebottomof each section inTable 71.To
quoteMendelssohnagain:
Thethoughtswhichareexpressedtomebyapieceofmusicarenot
tooindefinitetobeputintowords,butonthecontrarytoodefinite.19
Althoughthisdiscussionofthetermmusemewillhavehopefullypro
videdafewinsightsintohowmusicalsignsmaybeconstructed,iden
tifiedanddeconstructed,Ivegiventhetermnoconclusivedefinition,
simplybecauseIcant.Itwouldafterallbefoolhardytotryanddistil
thetheoreticalessenceofmusemewithoutprovidingmuchmoreexten
siveevidenceofhowtheconstruction(poesis)andreception(aesthe
sis) of individual musical structures are demonstrably and
systematicallylinkedtothingsotherthanthemselveswithinthesame
broad music culture. Initial steps in the investigation of those links
19. FelixMendelssohn(180947),quotedbyCooke(1959:6).IveintentionallymisquotedMendelssohnthistimebecausethewordswhichIlovehavebeenreplacedbyanellipsis().Thewordsappearcorrectlyonpage171.
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238 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
weresuggestedinChapter6Intersubjectivity.Still,wearenow,af
terdiscussingthetermsobject,structureandmuseme,inabetterposition
toexpandanalyticalmethodintotherealmofinterobjectivityasweseek
toidentifyandinterpretstructuralelementsthatcarrymusicalmean
ing,betheymusemes,musemestacksormusemestrings.
Interobjective
comparison
Fig. 7-2. The alogogenic black box: two escape routes
Ifproceduresestablishingsharedsimilarityofresponsetomusicbetween
severalhumansubjectsarecalled intersubjective(verticalarrowonthe
left inFigure72), then thoseestablishingsharedsimilarityofstructure
betweentwoormoremusicalobjectscanbecalledinterobjective.Interobjectiveprocedureis intertextual.Itfirstentailsfindingstructuralele
ments inothermusic that sound like structural elements in theAO.That
process of establishing musical intertextuality is called interobjective
comparison.Theothermusiccontainingstructuralresemblancetothe
AO iscalled interobjectivecomparisonmaterialorIOCMforshort.That
typeofSOUNDSLIKElinkisrepresentedinFigure72bythehorizontal
arrow(structuralsimilarity)betweentheAOandtheIOCM.
Now,itmayseemoddtosuggestthatreferringtoothermusiccanhelp
usescapefromtheblackboxofMUSICISMUSIC:itslikeadvocatingre
gression intomusicalabsolutismand to thenotion thatmusic refers
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 239
onlytoitself.Thatswhyitsessentialtounderstandthatinterobjective
comparisonisonlythefirstoftwostepsinaprocedurerelatingtheAO
tothePMFCsappearingbottomrightinFigure72.Interobjectivecom
parison simply exploits the nonantagonistic contradictionbetweenmusicsintra andextragenericcharacteristics,combiningthepotential
ofboth.Considering first the intragenericaspect, itsworth recalling
partofthesecondtenetinChapter2sdefinitionsection.
[M]usical structures often seem to be objectively related to either: [a]
their occurrence in similar guise in other music; or [b] their own context
within the piece of music in which they (already) occur.
AsshowninFigure72,interobjectivecomparisonexploitsthisintrage
neric side of the contradiction as afirst step (horizontal arrow AO
IOCM)inopeningupasecondstoreofparamusicalinformation(verti
calarrowbetweenIOCMandPMFCtotherightinthediagram).Afic
tionalexamplemayhelpconcretisethislineofthinking.
LetssayyourAO isashortextractof filmmusiccontainingsounds
reminiscentofalibrarymusicpiececalledMysteries
of
the
Lake.Sincethatpiecesounds, inpartorwhole, likeyourAO,youcanassumeit
sharessonicstructuraltraitsincommonwithyourAO.Ifthatisso,the
librarymusicpiecequalifiesaspotentialinterobjectivecomparisonmate
rialIOCMlinkedtotheAObythestructuralsimilarityarrowin
Figure72.Atthesametime,thelibrarymusicpiecessuggestivetitle,
MysteriesoftheLake,isanobvioushintataparamusicalfieldofconno
tation(PMFC)belongingtothatpieceofIOCM(step2,verticalarrow
onright inFigure72).Notingalso that librarymusiccompanystaffcharacterisethesamepieceasEERIEandICY(alsostep2),itspossibleto
summarise thepiecesPMFCsso farasMYSTERY,LAKE,EERIE, ICY.The
pointof thissimple twostepprocess is that if,as in this fictional in
stance,theconceptsMYSTERY,LAKE,EERIEand ICYare linked tomusic
sounding likesomething inyourAO, then itsconceivable that those
paramusicalconceptsmayalsoapplytotheAO,inshortthatyourex
tractoffilmmusicmaybelinkedtoaPMFCembodyingnotionsofMYSTERY,LAKE,EERIEandICY.Thatisatleastbynomeansunreasonableasa
hypothesis.Theonlytroubleisthatoneswallowdoesntmakeasum
mer,or,lesspoetically,thatonesinglepieceofIOCManditsconnota
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240 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
tionsdonotprovethattherelevantsoundsintheoriginalAOactually
connotewhateverMYSTERY,LAKE,EERIEandICYtogethercreatebyway
ofaPMFC.
Thereareseveralwaysofverifyingorfalsifyingindividualoccurrencesofparamusicalconnotationdeduced through interobjectivecompari
son.OnewayistousethesortofreceptiontestsdiscussedinChapter6
tocheckiftheVVAstheyproduce(theverticalarrowofintersubjectiv
ity in Figure 72) show any consistency with those deduced using
IOCM.Putsimply,dothetwosetsofPMFCatthebottomofthedia
grammatchup?If,forinstance,stayingwiththeMYSTERYLAKEexam
ple,receptiontestrespondentsassociatetonotjustMYSTERY,LAKE,EERIEandICYbutalsotothingslikeSWIRLINGMIST,DARKFORESTandMEDIEVAL
MYTH,allwellandgood;butifresponsesincludesignificantamounts
of, say, SUNSHINE, AIRPORTS, FASHION SHOWS, HAPPINESS and COWBOYS
youllneedtothinkagain.20Butthereareotherwaysoftestinginitial
hypothesesofparamusicalconnotation.
Themoreinstancesofinterobjectivesimilarityyoufind,thebetteryour
chanceswillbeoffindingPMFCsrelevanttoyourAOandofexaminingdegreesof consistencybetween thePMFCs toall thosedifferent
piecesofIOCM.Forexample,stillusingthefictionalMYSTERYLAKEAO,
themoreIOCMyoufindconnectedtoPMFCslikeMYSTERY,LAKE,EERIE,
ICY,SWIRLINGMIST,DARKFORESTandMEDIEVALMYTH,themoreplausible
yourinitialhypothesiswillbe.Ontheotherhand,perhapsLAKEonly
occursinconjunctionwithyourinitialpieceofIOCMandwithnoneof
theotherswhosePMFCsveermoretowards,say,MIST,MYTH,MEDIEVAL,
LORDOF
THE
RINGSorHARRY
POTTER.Ifso,youmighthavetotweakyour
initialhypothesis,thatisunlessyourrespondentsmention,oryoufind
IOCMlinkedto,particularmedievalmythelementslikeMERLIN,KING
ARTHURorEXCALIBUR,inwhichcaseLAKE(asintheladyofthelake)
would stillbe significant. Of course, in the unlikely event of other
IOCMbeingconnectedtoPMFCsverbalisableintermslikeSUNSHINE,
AIRPORTS,FASHIONSHOWS,HAPPINESSandCOWBOYS,youdeitherhaveto
abandontheinitialhypothesisortocheckhowmuchthoseHAPPYSUNSHINEAIRPORTpiecesofIOCMactuallyresembleyourAOinmusical
20. SeealsoReverseengineering1and2(p.249,p.251).
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 241
structural terms.21Youmightalsoneed toask if theHAPPYSUNSHINE
AIRPORTpiecesareconceivedinthesamebroadsetofmusicalidiomsas
thefilmmusiccuewhosemessageyouretryingtoexplaininwords.
The collection of IOCM necessary for the sort of procedure just
sketchedcanseemlikeadauntingtask,especiallyifyouarentamusi
cologist or practising musician. There are three practical ways, ex
plained next, of overcoming this difficulty: ASK A MUSICIAN (with
caveat),DIGITALRECOMMENDERSandREVERSEENGINEERING.
CollectingIOCM
1.
Ask
a
musicianOneof thedistinctadvantagesof interobjectivecomparison is that it
treatsmusicasmusic.Puttingnottoofineapointonit,youcouldsay
thatituses(other)musicasasortofdirectmetalanguageformusic.The
onlytroubleisthat(verbal)languagetrumpsallothersignsystemsin
ourtraditionofknowledgeandthatIOCMcanonlybeusedasafirst
stepinthesemioticanalysisofmusic.Thatsaid,thedirectstructuralin
tertextualityofinterobjectivecomparisoncan,asweshallsee,produce
valid insightsaboutthemeaningofanAO.Musicians(instrumental
ists,composers,singers,studioengineers,etc.)areveryusefulwhenit
comestotrackingdownIOCMbecauseoftheiraudiomuscularmemory.
Onewayofconceptualisingmuscularmem
ory(withouttheaudio)istoimagineyoureat
acashmachineandtotapyourPINcodeon
thenearestflatsurface.Youprobablyhavea
spatialkinetictactilememoryofyour codereinforcedeachtimeyouwithdrawcashand
youwould,ifyourPINincludesothernum
bersthan4,5,6and0,beconfusedifnum
bers19werearrangedasshownontheleft(A)ofFigure73because
muscularmemoryofyourPINisbasedonlayoutB.Youmayevenre
memberthegesturalpatternofthephonenumbersyoumostoftencall
and Ibet, ifyourenotFrenchandyoure confrontedwithaFrench
21. Youmightalso,aswellshortlysee,havetocheckiftheHAPPYSUNNYAIRPORTpiecesofIOCMareconceivedinthesamebroadmusicalidiomasyourAO.
g. - . umer ca eypa s
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242 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
computerkeyboard,thatyoullcurseeverytimeyouneedtotypeA,M,
Q,WorZbecauseyourhandsandfingersareusedtomakingpatterns
onaQWERTY,notAZERTY,keyboard.Andwhatismoreannoyingthana
newDVDplayerorTVwhoseremotecontrolbuttonsareplaceddifferentlytothoseonyouroldremotesothatthesetupmenuappearswhen
yourfingerspresswherethemutebuttonusedtobeortheTVchanges
channelinsteadofturningdownthevolume?Inthesecasesyousimply
recallandunconsciouslyrepeathandandfingermovements thatare
reinforcedby therewards theyregularlyproducemoney from the
cashmachine,phonecontactwithyournearestanddearest,yourown
wordsonthecomputermonitor,TVadvertswithnosound,etc.Its very similar with musicians and their physical relation to the
soundstheyvelearnttoproduce.Toillustratethispointinteachingsit
uationsIoftenaskkeyboardplayersintheclasstogivemeanoctave
onthenearestavailableflatsurface.Regardlessofhandsize,theyinfal
liblypresentahandshapespanningjustover16cmbetweenthepoints
atwhichthumbandsmallfingertouchtheflatsurface.22Theaudioas
pectofmuscularmemoryisevenclearerinthecaseofcoverbandmusicianswho startworkona song theydontknowbyplayingalong
witharecordingoftheoriginalversion(directaudiogesturalmimick
ingoftherelevantparts).Anotherexampleofthephenomenoniswhen
musicianstryingtotranscribewhattheyhearusegesturalpatternspe
culiartotheirinstrumenttocheckthattheyrehearingthemusiccor
rectly.Even if they produce no audible sound, they hope that their
gestureswillcorrespondtowhattheyhearintheirhead.23
Airguitarprovidesanotherillustrationofaudiomuscularmemoryat
workinmusic.AstheVirtualAirGuitarprojectwebsiteputsit,you
dontreallyneedtoknowanythingaboutguitarsolos,exceptforhow
rockguitaristsperformonstage.Theprojectteam,likeconventional
airguitarists,haveobservedandmimickedparticulargesturalpatterns
22. Theoctavespanofmostpianokeyboardsis164165mm.
23. AsastudentattendingauraltrainingsessionsatCambridgeinthe1960sInoticedacellistslidingherhandupanddowntheneckofherimaginaryinstrumentandahornplayerpursinghislipsindifferentwaystofindtherightnotestoputdownonpaper.Asakeyboardplayer,IfoundmyselfdoodlingwithhandsandfingerstomaketheshapesandpatternsIthoughtmightproducethesoundsIwashearing.
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 243
inconjunctionwithparticularrockguitarsounds;buttheyhavethen
reversedtheprocesssothatparticulargesturestriggerparticularsorts
ofsoundwithouttheperformerhavingtoplayanyinstrumentatall.24
Theseexamplesofaudiomuscularmemory,nottomentiontheprac
ticeofspeechshadowinganditsimplicationsformusicmaking,25illus
tratethathearingmusicalstructuresisintimatelylinkedwithgesture
producingthosesoundsandthatthisconnectionalmostneverinvolves
verbalreasoningforittowork.Exploitingthisphenomenonmakesthe
collectionofIOCMmoredirectandmoreefficient.
LetssayyouveidentifiedasnippetofmusicinyourAOwhoseconno
tationsyouwanttoinvestigate.Allyouneeddoistoaskmusiciansiftheyveeverbeforeplayed(orsung,orcomposed,etc.26)anythinglike
thatsnippetand,ifso,inwhatotherpieceofmusicitoccurs.Themusi
ciansyouaskwillusuallybeabletorecallandcreateorimagineages
ture that produces something resembling the musical structure in
question.Iftheyareabletoisolateandidentifythatstructure,theymay
evenbeabletoimagineitinotherpiecesofmusic,perhapsabithigher
or lower,orabit fasterorslower,withadifferent beforeor after,maybeinadifferentkeyoronadifferentinstrument,or,ifsung,with
differentwords,etc.,etc.Inanycase,thatshowIworktofindmyown
IOCMandifImunabletocomeupwithanythingbecauseImunfamil
iarwithrepertoirerelevanttothesnippetorsoundinquestion,Illnot
hesitatetocontactthosewhoknowitbetterandtoasktheminstead.
Forexample,IveneverbeenabrassplayerandIneededtotestmygut
feelingthatthehornwhoopsinthethemeforthe1970sTVseriesKojak
wereheroic.ThatswhyIaskedafriendwhoplayedFrenchhorninthelocal symphonyorchestra to tellme if,and if sowhere,hedplayed
suchwhoopsbefore.HeimmediatelycameupwithlicksfromRichard
StrausssEinHeldenlebenandtheHaupttemadesMannesfromDonJuan,
aswellaswiththemainStarWarsthemeallhighlyheroic.27
24. Seeairguitar.tml.hut.fi/ formore.25. Speechshadowing:repeatingspeechimmediately(c.200ms)afterhearingit(aver
agedelaydurationofaspeechsyllable);seeWikipediaquotingMarslenWilson(1973)LinguisticstructureandspeechshadowingatveryshortlatenciesinNature,(5417):5223;seealsoWORKINGMEMORYandPHONOLOGICALLOOP(pp.272273).
26. Youcouldaddorconducted,orrecordedtothelistbecausebothconductorsandrecordingengineersuseparticulargesturestoproduceparticularmusicaleffects.
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244 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
Thegreatadvantageofinterobjectivecomparisonisthatitbypassesthe
frustratingexerciseoftryingtodescribemusicinwords.Itarrivesatits
approximateverbalhintsofmusicalmeaning(thePMFCslowerright
inFigure72,p.238)interobjectively,i.e.primarilythroughdemonstrablemusicalstructuralconnection.ThesecondsteplinkingtheIOCMto
itsverballydenotablePMFCs ismerelyamatterofregisteringprevi
ously established connectionsbetween particular musical structures
andparticularwords(e.g.titles,lyrics),orparticulartypesofpeople,
action,space,energy,location,mood,movementandsoon(PMFCson
rightinFigure72).Suchpatternsareofcourseculturallyspecificand
warrantanimportantcaveat.
Caveat
Sincethenotionofmusicasauniversallanguageissodubious(pp.47
50),SOUNDSLIKEconnectionsofthesortjustdescribedshouldasarule
bemadeusingonlyIOCMthatispartofthesamebroadmusicculture
asthatoftheAO.Justas,say,themorpheme[wi]can,dependingon
variousculturalfactors,beunderstoodaswe,oui,wee,Wiiorweee!,the
samemelodicfigureorinstrumentalsoundortexturalsonorityisun
likelytohavethesameconnotativechargein,forinstance,bebopjazz,
rap, Italian opera and Balinese gamelan music.28 Therefore, if the
sound,whoseconnotationsyouguesstobe,say,weird,isfromare
centcomputergame,thentheEERIE,ICYMYSTERIESOFTHELAKElibrary
musicpiececouldwellberelevant;butiftheAOisapieceoftraditional
courtmusicfromCambodiaitwouldalmostcertainlynot.29
27. ThankstoMalcolmPage(Tagg,2000a:186200).Heldenleben=HerosLife;HaupttemadesMannes=mainmaletheme.
28. Formoreonthisissue,seeTagg(2000a:112114).SeealsounderCodalincompetenceinthisbook(pp.179182),especiallyaboutdissonanceinfilmmusicandBulgarianharvestsongs.Eventhesimplepronounwecanonitsowncarryarangeofmeanings,forexample:[1]wellarriveonTuesday(normal);[2]inChapter6wesaw(authorsimaginedcollusionwithreaders);[3]howarewethismorning?(medicalstaffpatronisingapatient);[4]wearenotamused(QueenVictoriasroyalwe),etc.
Asfor[wi]:[1]ouiisFrenchforyes;[2]weeisScottishEnglishforsmall;[3]theverb
toweeisoftenusedinEnglishmothereseinsteadofpissorpee(urinate);[4]WiiisNintendosgamingconsole;[5]weee!isachildlikeinterjectionofgiddydelight.
29. Try,forexample,RoeungTippSangvar(SamAngSam,1999).
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 245
Thesortofcultural incompatibilityjustalluded tocanoccurwhena
musicianyouveaskedtoprovideIOCM,havingfirstmanagedtore
producethemusicalstructurewhoseconnotativechargeyoureinves
tigating,thenplacesthatstructureinamusicalcontextirrelevanttothe
broadmusicculturetowhichyourAOanditslistenersbelong.Forex
ample,Irememberhearingsomethingresemblingthehooklineofan
AbbasonginanorchestralworkbyBartk.Althoughthehandshape
andmovementrequiredtoproduce(poesis)boththeAbbaandtheBar
tksnippetsarequitesimilartheyjustdontsoundthesame.Thisaes
thesicimpression(notsoundingthesame)isduepartlytodifferences
betweenthetonal,orchestralandrhythmiccontextsoftheAO(Abba)
andthepotentialIOCM(Bartk),partlytothefactthatAbbaandBar
tkaudiences tendmoreoften thannot to inhabitdifferentsociocul
turalspaces.AlthoughthismeantIhadtodiscardtheBartkreference
inmydiscussionoftheAbbahookline,itdidseemrighttouseIOCM
fromtheclassicalandRomanticperiodsintheeuroclassicaltradition,
aswellastwentiethcenturypopularsongfromEurope,NorthAmerica
and Latin Americabecause: [1] the AO itselfbelonged to the same
broadmusical culture as those repertoires; [2] thosemusical idioms
werenotunfamiliartoAbbalistenersinSwedeninthemid1970s.30
ThisissueoflocatingIOCMinrelevantmusicalcontextsis,aswellsee
later,amatterofprecisionaboutparametersofmusicalexpression
thesametuneplayedfirstoncathedralorgan,thenonkazoowillnot
soundthesameanddoesnotproducethesameeffect,sotospeak.This
meansthatthesamestructurewithadifferentbeforeandafter,ina
differentmetre,withdifferentinstrumentation,etc.,etc.cannotbeex
30. ImreferringtothetritonemotifinAbbasFernando(1975;Tagg,2000b: 50,ff.)andthetritonefigureinthelastmovementofBartksConcertoforOrchestra(1943).AmongthepiecesofIOCMculturallyrelevanttotheAbbamotifwereSwedishRhapsody(Alfvn,1903),Osolemio(Capua,1898),anariafromBachsMatthewPassion
(1727),Youve
Lost
That
Lovin
Feelin(RighteousBrothers,1964),andQuizs
QuizsQuizs(Farrs,1947).AllthosepiecesarefromabroadrangeofrepertoiresfamiliarenoughtoAbbalistenersinthelatetwentiethcentury.Ishouldaddthatmanyindividuals,includingmyself,inhabitboththeAbbaandBartkspheresbutthatweareinthisrespectmorelikelytheexceptionthantherule.
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246 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
pected to sound the same, letaloneproduce the same effect.As the
AbbaBartk incident suggests,apoeticallydeterminedmusicalele
mentinonepiece, isolatedandrepeatedwithslightvariations inthe
hopesofdiscovering IOCM, isbydefinitiondecontextualised: it as
sumesthequasiautonomousstatusofpoeticstructureinadormant
stateandnothingelse.31Thatisclearlyunsatisfactoryiftheaimofsem
ioticmusicanalysisis,howevertautologicalitmaysound,toexplain
musicalsemiosisbecause that in its turndemands theexistenceofa
musematiclinkbetweensign(thesonicallyconcreteencodedpartofthe
process)andmusicalorparamusicalinterpretant(whateverisdecoded
from the sign).This implies thatameaningfulmusical structureamuseme,amusemestackormusemestringshouldideallybedeno
tableinaesthesicaswellaspoeticterms.Thetroubleis,aswesawin
Chapter3,32 thatstructuraldescriptorsare, inWesterninstitutionsof
musicallearning,overwhelminglypoetic,aesthesicdescriptorsmuch
rarerandmorevernacular.Itsforthisreasonessential,especiallyifus
ingmusicianstotrackdownIOCM,tobeawareofthepoeticrisksin
volvedintheprocess,eventhoughinstancesofmusicallyorculturallyincompatiblereferencesarethankfullyrare.Butthereothersolutionsto
theproblemsofidentifyingmusicalsignsinyourAOandofcollecting
piecesofIOCMthatcontainsuchsigns.
Recommender systems
DigitalmusicrecommendersystemslikeiTunes,Last.fmandPandora
havebeenunderdevelopmentsince2000andcanbeausefulstartingpointwhenhuntingforIOCM,aslongastheirlimitationsareunder
stood.Thesesystemsarecurrentlydesignedtomakemoneyinvarious
waysbyusingmusicyoualreadylistentoasabasisforsuggestingsim
ilarmusictheymightbeabletosellyou.iTunes,forexample,takesrat
ings from your playlists and compares those with ratings givenby
otheriTunesusers.Byidentifyingandcrossreferencingyourtastesin
31. Forexplanationanddiscussionofpoeticandaesthesic,seeChapter3underStructuraldenotation(pp.115120),
32. Seediscussionofminormajorninechordv.spychord(p.116)andofVanEycksArnolfinimarriageportrait(p.117).
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 247
thisway,iTunestriestopredictwhatelseyoumightliketohearorbuy.
Last.fmworksinasimilarway.However,insteadofusingratings,the
softwareinstalledbyLast.fmonyourcomputerlogseverypieceofmu
sicyou listentoandbuildsupadetailedprofileofyourpreferences.
YoursonglogdataissenttoLast.fmscentraldatabaseandcrossrefer
encedwithlogdatafromotheruserslisteningtosimilarsortsofmusic.
Itsonthatbasisthatthesystemtellsyouwhatelseyoumightenjoy.
Unlike iTunesandLast.fm,thePandorasystemdetermines itsrecom
mendationsonthebasisofmusicalstructuraltraitsinthemusicyoulis
tento,aslongasthemusichasalreadybeenanalysedbyamemberof
Pandorasteamofmusicianscrutineers.33SincethePandorasystemre
lieson interobjectivecomparison(onsimilaritiesofmusicalstructure
observedbymusicians)ratherthanonmetamusicalinformation(rat
ings,playlistlogs,etc.),itshardlysurprisingthatitcurrentlyreceives
so many positive online reviews as a reliable SOUNDS LIKE recom
mender system.However,whatever the relativemeritsof these sys
tems,itshouldberememberedthattheirfunctionisnottoidentifyand
compareindividualitemsofmusicalstructurewithinapieceofmusicbuttoidentifythecharacteristicsofanentirepiecewithaviewtosell
ingyoumorepiecesofmusicexhibiting similarcharacteristics.That
said,thesesystems,particularlyPandora,oughttobeabletoprovide
youwithenoughtitlesofenoughmusicinrelevantstylesthatyoucan
thentestforstructuralsimilaritiesusingyourownears.34
33. Theanalysisofonesong/piece/tracktakesbetween20and30minutesandinvolveslocatingwhichofbetween150and500structuraltraitsapplytothepieceandtowhatextent(onascaleof05)(seehelp.pandora.com/ [2010-10-16]).Thisanalysissystemseems,judgingfrominformationavailableonline(e.g.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Music_Genome_ Project_attributes [2010-10-16]),tobequiteexhaustiveforrock,pop,jazz,rap,CountryandotherEnglishlanguagetypesofpopularmusic,lesssoforothers.PandorawillprobablybecomelessUSAnglocentricandothermusic
structurebasedsystemswilldoubtlessprovidemoresophisticatedtoolsofanalysisinthenearfuture:seeMacDormanetal.(2007),Meyers(2007),Williamson(2007).34. Pandoraisforreasonsofcopyrightlegislationcurrently(October2010)onlyavaila
bletoUSresidents.NoraretunerecognitionappslikeShazamcurrentlyconnectedtoanypublicSOUNDSLIKEtypeofIOCMdatabase(seeendoffootnote33).
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248 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
Themorethemerrier
Before continuing with other possible procedures of interobjective
comparison,itsworthemphasisingthefollowingfourpoints.
1. ThemoreinformantsyouasktoprovideIOCM,themorepiecesofrelevantIOCMyouarelikelytofind.
2. ThemorepiecesofrelevantIOCMyoufind,thegreateryourchanceswillbeoffindingPMFCsrelevanttoyourAO.
3. ThemoreyourIOCMstructurallyresemblesyourAO,themorereliableyourargumentationwillbeaboutconnectionsbetweentheAOandthePMFCslinkedtotheIOCM.
4. ThegreaterconsistencythereisbetweenPMFCslinkedtoyourIOCM,theclearerwillbeyourpresentationofmusicalmeaning.
Thesefourpointsareonlyguidelines.Youjustcantexpecteverymusic
analysistoinvolveastatisticallyreliablesampleofinformants,noran
exhaustivebankofaccurateIOCMforeveryrelevantmusicalstructure,
noranunequivocalsetofPMFCsforeverypieceofIOCMrelatingto
everymusicalstructureinyourAO.Butthereareafewsimplesteps
thatcanbetakentoimproveanalyticalreliability:oneisexplainedin
the next paragraph, two more under Reverseengineering
1 and 2
(pp.249253)andanotherinthesectiononCommutation(p.253,ff.).
Ifareceptiontestispartofyouranalysis(Chapter6),youcanalways
askyourrespondentstoprovidenotonlythesortofconnotationsal
ludedtointheinstructionsonpage207:youcanalsoaskthemtojot
downthenameofanyothermusic,artist,composer,styleorgenrethe
testpiece reminds themof.Thatextra informationmay increase the
sizeofyourIOCMand,consequently,thenumberofPMFCsassociatedwith it.Asmentioned earlier,a crosscheckbetween the two setsof
PMFCatthebottomofFigure72(p.238)canhelpverifyorfalsifyyour
hypothesesaboutthemusicalmeaningofyourtestpiece(AO).
YoucanalsoswitchthedirectionofthearrowsinFigure72.Thatgives
two more useful ways of testing hypotheses about the meaning of
soundsinyourAO.Bothproceduresconstituteasortofreverseengi
neeringbywhichyoutheoreticallyreconstructsoundsinyourAOonthebasisofPMFCsyouthinkmayberelatedtoit.Thefirstofthesetwo
procedureseven letsyoucollect IOCM relevant toyourAOwithout
havingtoaskamusician.
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Reverseengineering1: from IOCMto AO
IfyourehavingtroublecollectingIOCMforanAOyouthinkcommu
nicatesa certainmoodorgives rise tocertainconnotations,youcan
startwiththatmoodorwiththoseconnotationsashypothesesandtry
findingpiecesofothermusicwithtitles,lyrics,onscreenaction,moods
andsoon,thatcorrespondtoyourhypotheses.Forexample,ifyourAO
isapopsongwhoselyricsrecurrentlyincludethewordsteenandangel,
you can startby entering those words in the YouTube searchbox.
AmongcountlessversionsoftheactualsongTeenAngelandinnumera
bleepisodesofthehomonymousTVseries,youllalsofindrecordings
ofsongslikeTeenagerin
Love,
Angel
Baby,
Tell
Laura
ILove
Her,and
Devil
OrAngel, some of which may well contain passages sounding like
somethinginyourAOwithallitsTEENSandANGELS.Ifthatsearchfails
toturnupanythingofrelevance,youcanalwaysuseasearchengine
likeGoogletolookforsongslyricscontainingteenorangel.Ifyoufind
any(youwill!35),youcangotoiTunesorYouTubeandsearchbyname
fortherelevantsongsyoufoundinGoogle.Ifthesongsyoufindeither
waysoundmusicallylikeyourAO,youcancountthemasIOCM.YoucanofcoursealsousethesortsofsearchjustexplainedifyourAO
remindsyouofmusicbyanotherartistorcomposer.Listeningtoshort
extractsfromtheirmusicwillsoontellyouhowviableanySOUNDSLIKE
hunchmightbe.Youcanthencheckifanyofthemusicyoursearches
produceislinkedtoparticularlyrics,moods,situationsoraudiences.If
aparticularextractfromthemusicofanotherartistorcomposerbears
structuralresemblancetosomethinginyourAO(rememberingtheculturalcaveat,ofcourse),thenthoseparticularlyrics,moods,situations
oraudiencesbecomePMFCsofpotentialrelevancetothediscussionof
meaninginyourAO.
Hunting for IOCMdoesnotnecessarily entailonlinework.You can
alsoscouryourownoryourfriendsmusiccollections.Inmyownanal
ysisworkIoftenformulatehypothesesaboutmusicalmeaningaskey
wordswhichIthenshamelesslyusetolookforlikelytitlesofCDandLPtracksoffilmmusicandpopsongs,or,ifappropriate,ofclassical
35. Asearchfor|song lyrics teen teenager angel|produced1,200,000hits[100902].
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250 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
Lieder,ofBaroquearias,Romanticprogrammemusicandsoon.Ialso
searchforthesamekeywordsinthefilenameandtitlemetadataofme
diafilesonmycomputer.Ifthosesearchesproduceresults(theyusu
allydo)Ithencheck,eitheraurallyorinthescore(ifIhaveit),whethertheresanythinginanyofthepiecesImanagetolocatethatsoundslike
anythinginmyAO.Ifthereis,Inotethelocationoftherelevantmusi
calstructurewithineachof thosepieces,alongwith thenameof the
pieceand,ifany,thepiecespublishingdetails.Ithenaddthepieceto
mybankofIOCM.
ButwhatifyourehavingdifficultiesfindingIOCMforanAOwithno
obviousverbal,visualordramaticconnectionsofitsown?Perhapsitdoesntevenhaveadescriptivetitle.Noproblem,aslongasyouhavea
viablehypothesisaboutitsPMFCs.
LetssaythatourfictitiousMYSTERYLAKEAOhasnotitle,thatitsjust
listedasanumberedcueonalimitededitionCDforfilmmusicbuffs.
AslongasIhaveahypothesisaboutitsmood(itstheMYSTERIOUSLAKE)
Imnotlost.Infact,havinggoogledthesearchstring|+"library music"
+mystery lake|Iwasable,inacoupleofminutesandgoingnofurtherthanthefirstfewofthe16,500hitssupposedlyansweringtomysearch
string, tohear sampledemos from three librarymusicpieces corre
spondingwellwithsonicparticularitiesintheAO.36TheIOCMIwas
able to locate so quickly consisted of two atmospheric synthesiser
trackscalledSecrets andUnseen,andasymphonicpieceentitledAp
proachingUnknown.This thirdpiecewasdescribedby librarymusic
staffas CAUTIOUS, INTENSE, SURREALMOVING,OMINOUS, EMOTIONAL,SOARINGATMOSPHERIC,HAUNTINGMYSTERIOUS,SUSPENSEFUL,APPRE
HENSIVEEERIE,[giving]asenseoftheUNKNOWN,APPROACHINGTROU
36. Thesearchstring|+"library music" +mystery lake|meansthattheexactwordpairlibrarymusicandthesinglewordmysterymustbothappearinthesearchresultsandthatthosealsoincludingthewordlakeshouldbepresentedbeforethosethatdont.SecretsandUnseenarebyStephanSechi,fromthealbumDronesVol.2MysteriousintheRoyaltyFreeMusicLibrary(RadicalA.Publishing)royaltyfreemusiclibrary.com/cds/view/id/106
.Approaching
UnknownisintheMYSTERYsectionontheStockMusicsiteandisbySteveE.Williamsstockmusicsite.com/stockmusic/summary/play.cfm/sound_iid.367165 [both sites 2010-08-26].IshouldmaybehavedelvedfurtherintheGooglelistingandinvestigated,say,musicforDisneysMysteryLake(Prod.8201049)orforSuperMarioatthemysteriouslake.Ididnot!
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BLE,MYSTERY[andcontaining]hypnoticflute,celeste,pianoandharp
ostinato.NoactualLAKE,admittedly,but I still thought thedescrip
tionssoundedaboutright,asindeeddidtheactualdemorecordingan
sweringtothosedescriptions.
Thepointofthesebriefsortiesintocyberspaceistoshowhowsimpleit
canbetofindandhearmusicwhose lyrics,titleordescriptionstally
withyourhypothesisaboutwhatparticularstructuraltraitsinyourAO
maybeconnoting. Ifsomething in themusicof thepiece[s]youdis
coverthroughthissortofreverseengineeringsoundslikesomethingin
yourAO,allwellandgood:yourhypothesisissubstantiated,atleastin
part.Ifnot,yourhypothesismightbefaulty,oryourIOCMmightbeconceivedinadifferentmusicalidiomtothatofyourAO.
Whetheryouveaskedamusician,useddigitalrecommendersystems
orappliedthesortofreverseengineeringjustdescribedtohuntdown
piecesofIOCMandtheirPMFCsforyouranalysis,yourfindingscan
be crosscheckedwith results from the reception testyoumayhave
conducted (seeChapter6).Theycanalsobecrosscheckedusingan
othersortofreverseengineering.
Reverseengineering2: recomposition
Another control mechanism for checking the validity of the PMFCs
youvecollectedintersubjectivelyorinterobjectively,orthatyouresim
plyputting forwardasahypothesis, is toprovidemusicianswitha
summaryofyourPMFCsandaskthethemtocomeupwithideasfor
musictheythinkwouldfitthosefieldsofconnotation.Ofcourse,the
musiciansshouldnotknowtheidentityofyourAO.Thereversearrowin this recomposition procedure goes from either of the two PMFC
boxesinFigure72(p.238)uptotheAObecauseyoureaskingmusi
cianstoreconstructtheAOonthebasisofitssupposedconnotations.
The obvious point here is that if your musicians suggest structural
traitssimilartothoseoftheAO,yourPMFCswillhavegreatervalidity
thaniftheirsuggestionsdontsoundlikeit.Thereis,however,onema
jorproblemwiththisprocedure.Ifyourmusicianscantverbalisetheirsuggestionsintermsyouunderstand,ifyoureunabletodecipherjar
gonlikeasawtoothclusterat110dBwithmaximumdistortionat3k
(ouch!),andifyoucantpersuadethemtoplayorrecordtheirsugges
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252 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
tions,thenthistypeofreverseengineeringwontwork.However,ifyou
dontstumbleon thissortofproblem, composingback towards the
AOfromasetofPMFCscanbeaveryusefulandconvincingtoolof
semioticanalysis.
Forexample,duringapostgraduatemusicologyseminarinGteborg
(Sweden)intheearly1980s,apsychologistfromLundtoldparticipants
whatapatienthadsaidwhenlisteningtoaparticularpieceofmusic
underhypnosis.Theinstructionstothepatienthadbeentosaywhat
themusicmadehim/hersee, like inadaydream.Theseminarknew
neithertheidentityofnoranythingelseaboutthepieceofmusicthat
evoked the hypnotised patients associations which were recountedroughlyasfollowsbythevisitingpsychologist.
Alone,outinthecountrysideonagentlyslopingfieldormeadownear
sometreesatthetopoftherisewheretherewasaviewofalakeandthe
forestontheotherside.
Using this statement as a starting point, seminar participants were
askedtomakearoughsketchofthesortofmusictheythoughtmight
haveevokedsuchassociations.Theseminarscollectivesketchsuggestion,which took about thirty minutes toproduce, consistedofvery
quiethighnotessustainedintheviolinsandaveryquietlownotesus
tained in the cellos andbasses.These two ongoing, extremely calm
pitchpolaritieswereinconsonantrelationtoeachother.Aratherunde
cided, quietbut slightly uneasy melodic figure appeared now and
againinthemiddlebetweenthetwopitchpolarities.Asolowoodwind
instrument (eitherflute,oboeorclarinet)playedsmoothly, ina folkvein,awistfulbutnotunpleasanttunethatwanderedquietly,slowly
andabitaimlesslyovertherestofthebarelyaudiblestaticsounds.
Theseminarsquicksketchprovedtocorrespondonmanycountswith
theoriginalmusicalstimulusthe lastpostsectionatc.4:20 inthe
slowmovement fromVaughanWilliamsPastoralSymphony (1922).
Thisbriefexperimentsuggeststhatpeoplewithsomemusicaltraining
areable toconceivegeneralitiesofmusical structure linked togivenparamusicalspheresofassociation,notmerelytoperceivethem.The
recomposition exercise also suggested that the seminar participants
andthepatientfromLundmadeverysimilarconnections,albeitinop
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posite directions,between specific musical structures and a specific
paramusical fieldof connotation.Thepatients connotations and the
seminarparticipantsmusicalideasreinforcedeachother.
Whichever methods of IOCM collection and PMFC verification you
use,onethingiscertain:themorepreciselyyouindicatewhichmusical
structuralelement[s]intheAOsoundlikewhichstructuralelement[s]
intheIOCMthemoreconvincingyouranalysiswillbe.Besides,amu
sicalstructurecantbetreatedasasign(museme)ifitisntalsoidenti
fied as a structure. This structural imperative is usually enough to
makenonmusosnervous,unnecessarilyso,asIllexplainunderStruc
turaldesignation (p.256,ff.).First, though, Illpresent the lastof theprocedures(Commutation)allowingyoutocheckthevalidityofcon
clusionsyoumayhavedrawnaboutwhichstructuralelementsinyour
AOrelatetowhichPMFCs.
Commutation
Inlinguistics,commutationmeanssubstitutingoneelementamongsev
eralinagroupwithsomethingelsetocheckifthemeaningofthewholegroupofelementschanges.Forexample,replacingtheUsound/Y/in
southernUKEnglish [lYk] (luck)with the oo sound /U/ in [lUk] (look)
changesthemeaningoftheword,butmakingthesamechangefrom
[bYs]to[bUs]doesntbecause[bs](southern)and[bUs](northernUK
English)areacceptedregionalvariantsofthesamewordmeaningthe
same thing: bus.37 Commutation isuseful in the analysisofmusical
meaning fordeterminingwhich structural elements are semioticallymoreorlessoperativethanothers.
Returningoncemoretotheofficialanddrunkversionsofyourna
tionalanthem,itsclearfromthediscussionoftheirmusemesandfea
sible interpretants (Table 71, p. 229) that some structural elements
makeformoreradicaldifferencesofattitudetowardsyournationand
itsflagthandoothers.Forexample,replacingtheraucousforeignvoice
withkazooorexchangingtheconcertinaforaukelelewouldprobablynotmakeasmuchdifferencetothedrunkversionaswouldreplacing
37. NorthernEnglishluck[lUk]andlook[lu:k]soundlikelookandLuketoLondoners.
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254 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
theraucousforeignsingerwithanequallyforeignclassicalbaritoneor
theconcertinaplayerwithaproficientpianistonawelltunedconcert
grand.Similarly, itwouldchange thecharacteroftheofficialversion
quitenoticeablyifevenonememberofthechoirororchestrawereto
performtheirpartoutoftimeortune,whileconsiderablylessdiffer
enceofattitude towardyournationand its flagwouldresult froma
completechangeofpersonnelfromprofessionalsymphonyorchestra
toaproficientandwellrehearsedmilitaryband.
This sort of commutation is also called hypothetical substitution and
moreoftenthannotitstaysattheWHATIF?stage.Butthesubstitutioncansometimesmakeyouthinkofothermusicthatsoundssimilarto
thenewvariantyoujustimaginedorcreated.ThatnewIOCMmayor
maynotbesimilartothatofyourAO.IfthenewIOCMisdifferentandif
thePMFCslinkedtoitdontalignwiththoseofyouranalysisobject,then
thestructuralelementsubjectedtocommutationinyourAOcanbecon
sideredoperativeinproducingthePMFCsyoufoundtobelinkedwith
yourAObecausechangingthatstructuralelementtosomethingelseledtodifferentmusic(thenewIOCM)andtodifferentPMFCs.Conversely,if
yourcommutationleadstothesamesortofIOCMandPMFCsasthoseof
yourAOyoullknowthattheelementyoureplacedwithsomethingelse
wasnotsoimportantinproducingthePMFCsinquestion.Anepisode
fromananalysisclassclearlyillustratesthisprinciple.
Atapopmusicanalysissessiondevoted to finding IOCM fora1990s
electrodancetrackIwassureIwashearingachordshuttleresembling
thatunderthehooklinesofwellknownpoptuneslikeMySweetLord,
HesSoFineandOhHappyDay.38ButwhenIstartedplayingalongwith
thetrackIdiscovereditwaspitchedinanunusualkeyandthatIhadto
forcemyhandsand fingers intounfamiliar shapes.Luckilymy stu
dentsdidntnoticehowmucheffortIhadtoputintomakingitsound
likeoneofthemostfamiliarchordshuttlesinthepoprepertoire.The
38. MySweetLord(Harrison,1971),HesSoFine(Chiffons,1963),OhHappyDay(EdwinHawkinsSingers,1969).Formoreonthehappytechnotrack,see Source(1997).Chordshuttlemeanschangingrepeatedlytoandfrobetweentwochords.
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pointisthatIdhadtodosomethingthatwaspoetically,frommypoint
ofviewasakeyboardplayer,quitedifferent:itwashardtomakethe
musicsoundlike thesamething.TheconclusionmystudentsandI
drew from thatepisodewas that significant changes from themusi
cianspoeticstandpointdontnecessarily lead tochangesofmusical
messagebecausethefactthatIdhadtostruggleatthepianomadenot
ablindbitofsemioticdifference.Furtherdiscussionensuedand,asked
whatstructuralfeatureswouldhavemadeadifferencetothemusical
message,thestudentsmentioneddifferentrhythmicandaccentualpat
terning,adistinctlyslowerorfastertempo,playingthechordsatano
ticeably different pitch, or on an detuned piano or some otherinstrument. We all agreed that making simple changes to rhythm,
tempo,articulationand instrumentationdefinitelymadeadifference
whiletransposingthemusicupordownasemitonemadevirtuallyno
differenceatall.Bytheendofthelessonwehadlearntthatwhatmusi
ciansproduceusuallydoesmakeadifferencetothemessagebutthat
thedegreeofsemioticdifferenceatthereceivingenddoesntnecessar
ilycorrespondtothedegreeofstructuraldifferenceperceivedbymusiciansatthetransmittingend.
Thelastexampleofcommutationprocedurecomesfromthefictitious
MYSTERYLAKEpiece.Letssayweveidentifiedsoundsinitthatwethink
maysomehowconnotewater,thatnoneoftheIOCMwefoundhasany
thingaqueousamongitsPMFCs,andthattheIOCMcontainsnoneofthe
structuralelementsweveidentifiedaspotentiallywateryintheAO.WecanfirstimaginetheAOwithoutthesoundswethinkmaybewatery
(i.e.takethemoutandreplacethemwithnothing).IfourAOwiththat
omissionsoundsmore likeallthe IOCMwhosePMFCsdidnot include
water,thenourhypothesisaboutthewaterysoundsintheAOmayhave
somemileage.Butitslesslikelytobeaquestionofwhetherthestruc
turalelementisitselfincludedoromittedasawholebecauseitswater
iness coulddependon anynumberor combinationof factorsonvolume/intensity,register,timbre,articulation,phrasing,tempo,metre,
periodicity, tonalvocabulary,acoustic staging,etc. In fact its in con
junctionwiththoseparametersofmusicalexpressionthatcommutationis
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256 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
mostusefulbecausewecantest,atleasthypothetically,howdifferent
themusicwouldsoundifthevaluesofany(combinationof)thosepa
rametersweretobechanged.Inshort,youhavetoaskWHATIFstruc
tural element x is played faster, slower, higher, lower, smoother,
choppier, using different notes, in waltz time, with a bossa nova
groove,by stringsorbrass,with lotsof reverbordry,with the tune
moreupfrontorfurtherback,withoutthebassline,etc.,etc.?
Structuraldesignation
Thestructural imperative in interobjectivecomparison,Iwroteafew
pagesago, isusually enough tomakenonmusosquitenervous. In
deed,how,youmaywellask,cansomeonewithlittleornoformalmu
sicaltraining,someonewhocanttelladiminishedseventhfromahole
inthewall,beexpectedtoaccuratelyidentifymusicalstructures,espe
ciallygiventhepredilectioninconventionalmusicstudiesforpoetic
descriptorsofstructure?39Well,thatobjectionmayoncehavehadsome
validitybutithasinmyview,atleastsincethemid1990s,becomemore
ofanexcusefornotconfrontingmusicas
soundinthestudyofmusic.In
factIthinkthereistodayverylittleapartfromepistemicslothandin
stitutionalinertiathatpreventsnonmusosfromaccuratelyidentifying
musicalstructures.Istatethatopinioncategoricallybecausethereare
atleasttwocomplementarywaysofconfrontingtheissueofstructural
designation,neitherofwhichinvolvesanymusoskillorjargon:time
codeplacementandparamusicalsynchronicity.
Unequivocaltimecodeplacement
CD tracks,filmsonDVD,audiofiles,videofiles,etc.all includetime
codeaspartofthedigitalrecording.Thattimecodeiseitherdisplayed
ordisplayableonstandaloneCDandDVDplayers;itsalsopresentin
mediaplaybacksoftwareforcomputers,tabletsandsmartphones.As
long as the piece is digitally recorded or rerecorded, the real time
elapsedsincethestartofthepieceyoureanalysingiscontinuallyupdatedandshownasitisplayed.Thismeansthatyoucanhitthepause
39. SeeunderStructuraldenotation,p.115,ff,
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 257
buttonwhenyouhearanymusicaleventofinterestandnotethetiming
atthatpoint.Standaloneplayers(CD,DVD,MiniDisc)andnormalplay
backsoftwareoncomputersandsmartphonesletyoupinpointevents
tothenearestsecond,standardaudiovisualrecordingandeditingap
plicationstothenearestfractionofasecond.40Currently(2012)thebest
solutionistomakesureyouhaveyourAOasasoundfileonthecom
puterandtoopenitusingaudioeditingsoftware.Thatwayyoucansee
pointsofrelativequietandloudness,changesinsoundwaveshape,etc.
thatmakeiteasiertofindyourwayaroundthepiece,asshowninthe
toppartofFigure74onpage258.
ThetoplineofFigure74isascreencaptureofthewholeoftheoriginal
1962versionoftheJamesBondThemeasdisplayedbytheaudiorecord
ingandeditingsoftwareIuse.41Usingthelinetoolinanimageedit
ingapplication,Ivemarkedupthestartingpointsofthetunessections
asIhearthem.Icanlabelthemwithvernaculartermsliketwangyguitar
tuneandspychordbecauseIcandesignatethesoundImreferringtoby
indicatingtheexactpoint,tothenearestsecond,inthetunestimecode
wherethatsoundfirstoccurs,forexamplethetwangyguitarat0:07(for
theentranceof007himself), thedangerstabsat1:33and thefinalspy
chordat1:40.42Thosestructuraldesignationsareallaccurateandune
quivocal.Noreaderwithaccess to thesamerecordingcanbe inany
doubtaboutthesoundsImreferringto.43
40. Resolutionisinmillisecondsforaudiosoftware,inframespersecondforvideo.41. SteinbergWaveLabStudio.Forsoftwarecredits,seeinsidefrontcover.Thescreen
dumpisconvertedtogreyscaleandmadelessblacktosaveonprintingcosts.Itsalsoreducedsoitfitsonthepage.Ifyoudontownorcantaffordaudioeditingsoftware,dontworry:themusicdepartmentatyourschool,college,universityorlocallibrarymaywellhaveasitelicenseforthatsortofapplication.
42. Imnotsuggestingthatthetiming0:07isintentionalfortheentranceof007!FormoreaboutthefamousSPY,CRIME,DANGERorDETECTIVECHORD,seep.116,ff.
43. ThedurationoftheJamesBondThemeatYouTube/iTunesis1:48,not1:45asinFigure
74(myversion).ThisdiscrepancyisduetothefactthattheaudiofileonwhichmyversionisbasedisananaloguetodigitaltransferofanLPtrackandthatItrimmeditsinitialandfinalsilencesto0.6 and1 respectively,whereastheiTunesfilestartswith1.3 andendswithalmost3 ofsilence.ThismeansthattimingsinFigure74are0.7 (1)earlierthanintheiTunesfile.
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258 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
Fig.
7-4.
ScreencaptureofJamesBondTheme(No
rman,
1962)inaudioeditingsoftwaredisplay
Screencaptureoffourp
ointsfromV
LCdisplayofsameMP3asabove
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Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity 259
ThefoursmallscreenshotsinFigure74showdisplaysatfourpoints
inthesameMP3fileoftheJamesBondTheme,thistimeusingafreelyand
widelyavailablemediaplayer.44Pleasenotethatthetotaldurationof
thepieceis1:45andthatthescreenshotshavebeentakenat(a)0:07,when,appropriately,the007tuneisfirstheard;(b)0:33,whentheintro
returns,notlongbeforethebrassfirstenterswithitsangulardanger
tuneat0:40;(c)1:17,apointunmarkedinthetoplineofFigure74;(d)
1:39forthefamousfinalspychord.Thetiming1:17(c)marksthestart
ofthelastreturnoftheintro,exceptthatitsupanddownpatternonly
occursoncebeforethetwangyguitarkicksinforthelasttime.45
Simplemediaplaybacksoftwareisusuallyenoughforsimpleanalysistasksbutithasseveraldrawbacks.[1]Thepausebuttoncanbeslowto
reactandyoumayfindyourselfnotingtimingsthatareasecondtoo
late.[2]Timeresolutionisntperfectanditcanbedifficulttostartplay
ingthemusicfromexactpointsinsidetherecording.[3]Youcannotex
tract individualminifilesor construct loopsofparticular soundsor
passagesyouneedtolistentorepeatedly,orwhichyouneedtodrawto
theattentionof thoseprovidingyouwithPMFCsor IOCMwithoutthemhearingwhatcomesjustbeforeorafter.[4]Youcannotdisplay
enoughofyourAOonscreenatonetimetouseasvisualbasisfora
graphicscoreorfordiscussionofoverallformandnarrativeprocess.46
BycreatinganoverviewofyourAOwithprecisetimingsofimportant
eventsanditsdivisionintosections(seetopoffigure74,p.258,andthe
tableofmusematicoccurrenceforAbbasFernando,p.387),youcanalso
startreferring tomusicalstructuresrelatively, forexample thedanger
loopsjustbeforethefinalchord,orthelastfivenotesofthetwangyguitartune
justbeforeitrepeats.Itis,however,bestwhenindoubttoprovideanac
curatetimingsoastoavoidanyconfusionaboutwhichsoundyoure
referringto.
44. VLCMediaPlayer,seesoftwarecreditsinsidefrontcover.45. ItsunmarkedinthetoplineofFigure74toavoidcluttering,asistheeventat1:13,
thepointatwhichdramaticbrassstabsfirstpunctuatethemusicsotherwiseunstoppableflow.Observationslikethisareimportantbecausehalvingthedurationofpassagespresentingdifferentmaterialoneaftertheotherdoublestherateofchangeandcancreateanimpressionofstressandurgency.
46. Feedbacksessionsandgraphicscore,seeChapter14(pp.562564,568572).
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260 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity
Paramusicalsynchronicity
Paramusical synchronicity sounds much fancier than what it actually
means,butitsalsomuchshorterthanitsexplanationwhich,however
brief,runsas follows. If,unlike thesolelyaudioversionof theJames
BondTheme,yourAO features lyrics,moving images, stageactionor
dance, its musical structures can alsobe designatedby referring to
paramusicaleventsoccurringsimultaneouslywithorincloseproxim
itytothosestructures.Threefictitiousexampleswillsufficetoillustrate
thissimpletechnique:[1]thesingerscontentedgrowlonthelastoh,baby!
inverse1(at0:31inapopsong);[2]thedistantscreechingsoundjustbefore
shepours
poison
into
his
whiskey(at1:02:15inafeaturefilmonDVD);[3]
thedrumpatternthatsynchroniseswiththequickzoominontotheleadvo
calists lips(at2:20inamusicvideo).Itsusuallyadvisabletosupple
ment this typeof structural indicationwith timecodedesignation to
ensurethatwhoeverreadsyouranalysiscanfindtherelevantmusical
structure in the recordingwithoutwasting timewaiting for themo
menttoarrive.
Summary
of
main
points
[1]Structuralelementsinmusiccanbeconsideredaseither:[i]dormant
structuresregardlessofsemioticpotential;[ii]structuralelementsthat
canbeshowntocarrysomesortofmeaningmusematicstructures.
[2]Amusemeisaminimalunitofmusicalmeaningbutitsoftenmore
usefultoconsidermeaningfulmusicalunitsintermsofmusemestacks,
musemestrings,orassyncrisis(Chapter12).[3]InadditiontotheintersubjectiveproceduresdescribedinChapter6,
a musical analysis object (AO: an identifiable and usually nameable
pieceofmusic)canbesubjectedtointerobjectiveinvestigation.
[4]Interobjectivecomparisonmaterial(IOCM)ismusicotherthantheAO
thatsoundslike(bearsstructuralresemblanceto)theAO.
[5]ThecollectionofIOCMisthefirstoftwostepsintheprocedureofin
terobjectivecomparison.ThesecondstepinvolvesrelatingtheIOCMto
itsownparamusicalfieldsofconnotation(PMFCs).
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[6]PMFCsrelatedtotheIOCMcanbepositedasPMFCsrelatingtotheAO.
[7]IOCMcanbecollectedbyexploitingtheaudiomuscularmemoryof
musicians.Thismethodisdirectandreliablesinceitisintrinsicallymu
sical,avoidingthemediationofwordsandusingothermusicasasort
ofinitialmetalanguageforthemusicunderanalysis.
[8]IOCMcanalsobegatheredbysearchingformusicwhosetitle,lyrics,
accompanying images, connotations, includinghypotheses youmay
haveyourself,arerelevanttotheAO.Onlinesearchesusuallyresultin
quickaccesstorelevantpiecesofIOCM(Reverseengineering1).
[9]Conclusionsaboutmusicalmeaningdrawnfrominterobjectiveprocedurescan,ifapplicable,becrosscheckedforviabilitywithreception
testresults(seeChapter6).Theycanalsobeverified/falsifiedusingthe
techniquesofrecomposition (Reverseengineering2)andcommuta
tion(hypotheticalsubstitution).
[10]Accuratestructuraldesignationisessentialininterobjectiveanaly
sis.Digitaltimecodeplacementandparamusicalsynchronicityaretwo
simplewaysinwhichanyonecanunequivocallydenotemusicalstructureswithouthavingtouseanymusojargon.
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262 Tagg:Musics Meanings 7. Interobjectivity