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Tagg: Music’s Meanings 229 7.  Interobjectivity  Intro IN CHAPTER 6 we started trying to unpack the  black  box of musical meaning (Figure 71). Ethnographic observation,  reception tests and a taxonomy of VVAs led to the establishment of shared subjectivity of response, as evidence of ‘other things than  just music’ that demonstrate the existence of semantic fields linked to musical structure in an analysis object (AO). Those ‘other things’ are called  paramusical  fields of  connotation  , or PMFCs for short. The links are not extra but  paramusical  because they exist alongside or in connection with the music, as an intrinsic part of musical semiosis in a real cultural context, not as external appendages to the music. 1  The VVAs in Chapter 6 —all verbalised in terms of movement, location, mood, feeling and people, all those library music titles and descriptions etc.— are intrinsically paramusical. They are essential to the establishment of PMFCs, i.e. of particular semantic fields connected to particular sets of musical sound in particular cultural contexts. Now, the PMFCs in Chapter 6 derived mainly from intersubjective observations of response in relation to particular structural configurations in particular pieces of music. This chapter focuses on an interobjective approach to musical semiosis (Figure 72, p.238). Interobjectivity clearly has something to do with relationships  between objects. It presupposes that objects consist of structural elements, and that one object can  be more or less like another depending on the ele1.  παρά (  para) =  beside, alongside, issuing from, etc; extra (Latin) = outside. Fig. 7-1. ‘Black box’:  escape route 1    N    M    0    7      I    O    b    j    S   p   e   c    i   m   e   n  .    f   m  .    2    0    1    2      1    2   

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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.

    http://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdf
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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

    http://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdf
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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,

    http://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdf
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    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.

    http://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdf
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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).

    http://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdf
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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).

    http://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdfhttp://../NonMusoAll.pdf
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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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