Communication
Humans have a natural need to symbolize
-represent experiences to comprehend and communicate them
Discursive symbols
-units with fixed associations
-words, numbers, signs that represent things in the physical world
-typical medium of study for rhetoricians; medium of debate
e.g. “woman” - instant associations (even where gender theory debates exist)
e.g. “rhetoric” - 3 definitions so far; a definite common element relating to persuasion
But not all experience can be discursively defined
-feelings and emotions
Nonsidcursive symbols
-units without fixed associations
-emotional matter that is felt as quality
-can elicit powerful associations which are persuasive
e.g. a shape (square, circle)
e.g. a chord
Music as Communication
Music communicates
-with or without lyrics
-discursively and non-discursively
-even non-discursive effects are often definite – e.g. music vs. mood
-music is (usually) designed with audience and effect in mind
Music is pervasive
-we are constantly exposed to music
-we are naturally pre-disposed to listening
-music naturally comes with a variety of experience and media (from shopping to movies)
-however rhetorical aspects of music are generally not the most salient
Illusion of Life
Music doesn't create feelings – rather, it represents them
-however it can still make us recall and experience feelings in a powerful way: virtual experience
-music sounds the way feelings feel
How is this accomplished?
Virtual Time
-Intensity and Release patterns
Virtual Experience
-Tragic and Comic lyrics
Incongruity/Congruity
Intensity and Release
Human life itself works through patterns of intensity and release:
-Intensity: shocks and instabilities; stress and action
-Release: resolutions and affirmations; downtime and contemplation
We are 'wired' to have certain common responses to intensity and release
-heart rate, breathing, pain, laughter, crying, sudden movements, comfort, melancholia/depression, focus, excitement, mental overload, etc. etc.
This is reflected in communication:
Paralinguistic Cues
-devices associated with language used to relate emotion
-mimic natural responses to intensity/release
-pitch, volume, rate, rhythm, emphasis in speaking
-font, layout, case in text
This is also reflected in music
-rhythm, harmony, volume – nearly universal responses
-appreciation of musical virtuosity
We can also have vastly different actual experiences of intensity and release
-occupation, socioeconomic class, cultural identity, lived experiences = different understandings
-e.g. a firefighter and an office worker can have similar levels of work-related stress, but it comes in very different forms
This is also reflected in music...
Culture and Music
Music, like all communication, develops within particular cultural conditions (remember terministic screens)
Intensity/release patterns through which emotions are symbolized/expressed vary between cultures
Certain emotional responses and symbols are culturally-specific
Music genres often develop conventions for symbolizing particular emotions (i.e. certain sounds/patterns come to mean very specific things)
Contemporary Western Music
Three main influences:
Classical Music
-modern development built on classical (greek/roman cultural influences) and religious influences; scientific understanding of sound
-music theory; diatonic system; music education
-developed many conventionalized patterns of expression and symbolism – continue to influence all types of Western music
-most instruments played in all types of Western music today originate from classical music
Folk Music(s)
-ballads, minstrel songs, drinking songs, etc.
-English, Irish, German, French, Italian folk genres
-not theoretically-organized, but still developed very characteristic sounds
-gave us many song structures (still used today) and lyric-writing traditions
Jazz/Blues
-traces back to African music; developed by African-Americans in the US
-improvisational traditions; standards
-different (but overlapping) sets of conventions for expressions from classical/folk music
-crucial to development of rock music (and its many derivatives)
Contemporary (popular) Western music is itself very diverse and took on many other influences
Continuing to develop and take on new norms of expression
Pop music around the world heavily influenced by Western tradition
Radically different norms of expressing intensity/release exist around the world and within Western popular music
Pop music tends to reflect the most 'natural' and socially-accepted/fashionable norms of intensity/release
-easily recognizable and understandable
-widely understood and enjoyed
-lends itself well to commercial use (both in terms of sales and in terms of applications like advertisement etc.)
Alternative/'extreme' forms of music tend to bend these norms
-release/intensity pattens often not immediately recognizable
-requires 'acculturation' or careful listening/analysis to reconstruct these norms
-the payoff is frequently greater impact – higher intensity, more satisfying release
Music Tastes
Arguably all music is rhetorical:
-being liked/enjoyed is a motivated transaction
-all music taps into emotional responses through intensity/release
-the degree to which many people identify with and are willing to defend their music tastes proves it is a site of struggle
-purely instrumental music can elicit strong emotional responses and gather loyal followings
-extreme music with little social or commercial appeal often gathers highly loyal followings
How does music persuade?
Music persuades by creating an illusion of life
-mimics patterns of real life
-animates/represents experiences from an artist's perspective
-virtual experience (lyrics)
-virtual time (music)
Virtual Time
Actual Time
-linear succession of moments that we live through
Virtual Time
-offers listeners to suspend actual time and instead become immersed in a representation of time created by the song
-functions through intensity/release patterns: rhythm, harmony, melody, phrasing, instrumentation
Analysis of virtual time:
-does the music represent primarily intensity or release?
-sections: what are the patterns of intensity and release? Which predominates?
-narrative: do the intensity/release patterns develop? Do they accompany a story?
-drama: are the patterns of intensity resolved through release? Is there unresolved tension left in the piece?
|
| Intensity | Release |
| 1. Rhythmic structure | Fast/driving tempo | Slow tempo Consistent meter Predictable |
| 2. Harmonic structure | Dissonant/harsh | Consonant/mellow |
| 3. Melodic structure | Ascending | Descending |
| 4. Phrasing | Staccato (separated) | Legato (connected) |
| 5. Instrumentation | Many | Few |
Virtual Experience
Like virtual time, an alternative to day-to-day experience through an artist's perspective
Represented mainly through lyrics
Comic vs. Tragic World Views
Comic lyrics
-self-preservation; beating the odds; active roles and resistance
-associated with intensity patterns
Tragic lyrics
-self-consummation; dealing with moral sacrifice; coping with fate; passive roles and thought
-associated with release patterns
Poetic illusion
-looking back into virtual past, cannot be altered
-reflection
-associated with release patterns, tragic views
Dramatic illusion
-looking forward into virtual future, which offers uncertain destiny
-suspense
-associated with intensity patterns, comic views
Tragic/Comic World Views
Friedrich Nietzsche
German philosopher, 1844-1900
Radical, skeptical thinker - praised individualism and creativity, attacked collective culture, politics, religion as interfering with human freedom
"God is dead, for it is we who killed him"
Comedy:
-associated with stable values of dominant society
-reassures that the world is fine as it is and our knowledge of it is accurate
-hostile to difference – erases oppositional views; denies alienation
-reconciliation – in the end, we are rewarded for our good deeds and punished for our sins, and life goes on
Tragedy:
-'vacuum' created by the true uncertainty of the human condition
-creates instability – no guarantees of truth or positive resolutions
-however the world allows endless creativity and alternative thought, which should be embraced
-in the end, we always pay a price for trying to assert ourselves in the world
Marxism
Comic views and intensity
-support for dominant agendas or
-used for resistance – alternative future and assertion by the dominated
Tragic views and release
-alienation – encourages the dominated classes to accept their conditions
-alienation – exposes the alienating nature of the dominant system
Feminism
Intensity/Release and Comedy/Tragedy vs. gender stereotypes
-there is a traditional view that men prefer intensity/comic views and women – release/tragic views
-is this an unfair stereotype?
-is this an aspect of unique feminine culture/perspective?
Congruity/Incongruity
Do lyrics and music support or contradict each other?
-intensity + comic lyrics + dramatic illusion = congruent
-release + tragic lyrics + poetic illusion = congruent
-intensity + tragic lyrics = incongruent
-release + comic lyrics = incongruent
Incongruity often inverts lyrical messages – e.g. happy lyrics with disturbing music; happy music with disturbing lyrics; difficult themes with upbeat music, etc.
Consider not only the technical aspects of congruence
-is the particular approach taken by the song rhetorically effective?
-is the rhetorical aim of the song appropriate for the strategy used?
-is the song supporting or attacking existing views?
-e.g. is the resulting song too intense to produce happy associations?
-e.g. is the resulting song too depressing to encourage action/change of views?
-e.g. is the resulting song too controversial to be effective?
Strategic ambiguity
-avoiding specifics in making claims (e.g. not saying whether something is good or bad)
-but using congruity with music to guide the audience to the same conclusion
Rhetorical ascription
Using familiar imagery and sounds to draw audience attention to topics and perspectives they may not originally identify with
Lyrical ascription
-examples and stories that the audience can easily relate to
Musical inscription
-using sounds that particular audience can easily relate to
e.g. human trafficking ads
e.g. coke ads
Remember – music does not cause feelings!
It simply communicates and evokes particular messages.
Taken-for-granted beliefs vs. resisting messages
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