Linguistics and Semiotics in Music ','gyRlly'}"ondMonelle
Contemporary Music Studies:Volume 5 This handbook for advanced
students explains the various applications to music of methods
derived from linguistics and semiotics. The book is aimed at
musicians familiar with the ordinary range of aesthetic and
theoretical ideas in music; no specialized knowledge of linguistic
or semiotic terminology is necessary. In the two introductory
chapters, semiotics is relatedth.::tradition of music aesthetics
and towell-known workslikeDeryck Cooke'sTheLanguage of Music,and
the methods of linguistics are explained in language intelligible
to musicians. There isno limitation toone school or
tradition;linguistic applicationsnot avowedly semiotic,and semiotic
theories not connected with linguistics, are all included. The book
givesdear and simple descriptionswithamplediagrams and music
examples of the 'neutral level' ,'semiotic analysis',
transformation and generation, structural semantics and narrative
grammar,intonation theory, the ideas of CS.
Peirce,andapplicationsinethnomusicology. Abouttheauthor
RaymondMonelle studied at Pembroke College,Oxford,where hegained an
MA in modem history in 1960.He then receivedaBMusattheRoyalCollege
of Music,London,iIi. 1966and aPhD at theUniversity of Edinburgh
in1979. He has ,mtten widely on Italian operaseria(hisresearch
thesis subject)and the semioticsand semantics of music.He
iswellknownforhismusic reviewsof opera and concerts throughout
Scotland in TheIndependent.He isalso a conductor and
composerandhaslecturedin Helsinki,Finlandand Tallinn,Estonia.He
iscurrentlyseniorlecturerinmusicat theUniversityofEdinburgh.
TitlesofrelatedinterestContemporaryMusicReview Editorin
Chief:NigelOsborne,University, of Edinburgh,UK. Volume1:Part
1,MusicalThoughtatlRCAAteditedbyTodMachover Part
2,Listening,editedby JoKondoetaL Volume2:Part
1,MusicandPsychology:AMutualRegard, editedbyStephenMcAdams Part
2,Ustening2,editedby JoKondoetal.Volume3:Music,MindaridStmcture,
editedbyEricOarke andSimon Emmerson
Volume4:MusicandtheCognitiveSciences, editedbyStephen
McAdamsand[reneDeliege Volume3:MusicandText,edited
byPaulDriverandRupertChristiansen Volume6:Part 1,UveElectronics.
editedbyPeterNelsonandStephenMontague
Part2,NewTonality,editedbyPaulMoravecandRobertBeaser Volume7:Part
1,GmtemppraryPercussion,Performers'Persptin-s,editedbyBobBecker
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Monelle,Raymond,1937LinguisticsandsemioticsinmusicIRaymondMonelle.
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Includesbibliographicalreferencesand index.
ISBN3-7186-5208-0(hard).-- ISBN3-7186-5209-9(soft)
1.Music--Semiotics.2.linguistics.1.Title.II.Series. ML3838.M691991
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reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means.
-:tronicormechanical,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orbyany
-mation storage or retrieval system,without permission inwnting
fromthe 'her.PrintedinGreatBritain. CONTENTS
Introduction"totheSeriesxi Prefacexiii Co,iyright.
ACknowledgementsxv - ~ ..1.Introduction:Music andMeaning
1.1.Thechangingviewsofmusicalmeaning1
1.2.Altemativeviewsofmeaning13 1.3.Semioticsasradicaltheory21
1.4.Linguisticsandsemiotics24 1.5.Theemergenceofmusicsemiotics27
2.Linguistic and Structuralist Theory,fromSaussuretoPiaget
2.1.Philologyandlinguistics32 2.2.Saussure32 2.3.ThePrague
school:Pertinenceandopposition35 2.4.Americanlinguistics39
2.5.Hjelmslev's'glossematics'43
2.6.Chomsky:Transformationandgeneration47
2.7.Thelinguisticemphasis52 2.8.Thecomingof structuralism53
3.Metalanguage,SegmentationandRepetition
3.1.Theproblemofmusicalsegmentation59
3.2.Syntagmaticrepetitionandsegmentation65 3.3.Duplicationinthe
musicof Debussy69 3.4.Segmentationbasedonlogic74
3.5.A'machine'fordiscoveringparadigms80
3.6.Theproblemsofsegmentation88 4.The Analysisof the Neutral Level
4.1.Theneutrallevel90 4.2.Paradigmatic analysis94 4.3.A
paradigmatic analysis of Debussy'sSyrinx100
4.4.Varese'sDensity21.5108
4.5.'FormativerepetitioninthemesbyDebussy1158.11.Thesemiotic square
264 4.6.Thesemioticsof analysis1208.12.Markednesstheory 2684.7 ..
Analysisof music ortheory of musk?1248.13.Theformalnature of
semantic analysis 272 5. 5.1.Chomsky'sgenerativegrammar127
9-1:'';Themusic of speech
2745.2.ThecontributionofBernstein1279.2.Asafiev'sMusicalFormasProcess
274TransformationandGeneration9.The Theory' of Intonation
5.3.Embedding andleft-branching1319.3.Intonationinpopularsong 279
''--9.4.Two Scottish singers5.4.Deep structure
andtransformationinjazz134 284 9.5.Kojakand Abba 285'5.5.Lerdahland
Jackendoff:generative analysis135 5.7.Generatingmusic
byrule1499.7.Theartof intonedmeaning 303 5.6.Thecomputer
analysisofchorales1469.6.The pianomusicof Liszt
2945.8.Generationoftunesbycomputer153 5.9.JohnBlackingon
musicalcompetenceISS'10.Deconstruction and Allegory 5.10.A glance
back at Chomsky15810.1.DeconstructionandDifferance 304
10.2.Deconstructivecriticism 308 6.Linguisticsand World
Music10.3.Someerrors 315 6.1.Studies basedon phonemics, phonology
andpure10.4.Deconstructionandmusictheory 316
320structuralism162v'10.5.Themyth of unity 6.2.Studiesbased on
generativetheory and
semantics17210.6.Theimplicationsofdeconstruction 321
6.3.Meaninginethnicmusics187 6.4.Theboundariesof semiotic
studies190 11.Epilogue 324 7.Icon, Index and Symbol 7.1.The
semiotictheory of CSPeirce193Bibliography 328
7.2.Thelimitationsoficonism200
7.3.Expressionasicon203Indexofpersons 343
7.4.WilsonCokeroniconandindex204 7.5.'Formaliconism'206 7.6.Musk
asindexicalsign209 7.7.Rheme,legisi.gnandsinsigninmusic214
8.SemanticsandNarrativeGrammar 8.1.Musicand semantics220
8.2.Thehistoricityof semanticaccounts220
8.3.GrammaranddesigninBeethoven221 8.4.Topic,rhetoricand
structurein Classicalmusic226 8.5.Structuralsemantics232
8.6.Lexemeand context inthe TristanPrelude236 8.7.Semicsystems242
8.8.Narrativegrammar244 8.9.Mythandmusic251
8.10.NarrativepatternsininstrUmentalmusic258 --------------- -- - -
- - - - - - . - ~ - - - - - - ~ ~ - ~--I 'i' 11\.jlI ( II ) \ ;'\.
I "~ IntroductiontotheSeries I',v ~ c," I !
Therapidexpansionanddiversificationofcontemporarymusic
isexploredinthisinternationalseriesof booksforcontemporary
musicians.Leadingexpertsandpractitionerspresent
compositiontodayinallaspects- itstechniques,aestheticsand
technology,anditsrelationshipswithotherdisciplinesand
currentsofthought - aswellasusingtheseriestocommunicate
actualmusicalmaterials.
TheseriesalsofeaturesmonographsonSignificant
twentieth-centurycomposersnotextensivelydocumentedinthe
existingliterature. NIGELOSBORNE \, I ( PREFACE
What-ismusicsemiotics?It
isaquestionsemiologistsareoftenasked,"andunfortunatelythereisnoquickanswer.If
youtryto explainthemanysidesofthisstudytothecasualenquirer,hehas
usuallyJost interest long beforeyougetthroughthehalf ofit.
"Norhastherebeenasinglebookyoucouldsendpeopleto;
thevariousapplicationstomusicoflinguisticandsemioticideas
haveresultedinanextensivespreadofanalyticalandtheoretical ;.- ....
studieswhicharecontainedinarticles,booksandconference papers
inmanylanguages.Althoughtherehavebeenworkswithnames
likeIntroductiontotheSemioticsofMusic(Stefani1976),Semiotics
ofMusic(Schneider1980)andOutlineofMusicalSemantics
(Karbusicky1986),therehassofarbeennosimple'layman'sguide'
tothewholesubject;most
scholarsarecommittedtotheirownparticularapproach,andassumeafamiliaritywithtechnicalandphilosophicallanguage.ThemostimportanttreatiseisNattiez's
FoundationsofaSemioticsofMusic;theindefinitearticleinthetitlerevealsthatthisisoneman'sview,andinanycase,certainnew
approacheshavebeenproposedsincethepublicationofthiswork in1975.
Thepresentbookisintendedtosatisfytheenquirerwhois morethancasual-
infact;tointroducetheeducatedmusiciantothe
wholefieldofmusicsemiotics.linguisticandsemiotictermsare
explainedandcertaintypographichabitsofthelinguist- theplacing of
anexpressionor Sign-vehiclebetweenobliquelines,ortheuseof
'guillemets'toindicateitemsofcontent- areavoided.Naturally,
someareashavebeenstressedmorethanothers;the'omissionof
certainimportantstudiesdoesnotnecessarilyimplydisrespect.
Drawingtogetherthemanyaspectsofmusicalsemioticsislike
roundingupaflockofparticularlywaywardsheep;alas,somehave got
awayfromthepresent shepherd.
Thetemptationhasbeenresistedtobranchintorelatedsubjects;thesociologyandcognitivepsychologyofmusicarescarcely
touchedon,andtheextensivewritingoncomputersinmusichas
beennomorethanmentioned,Thus,outstandingfigureslikeIva ( ( { , , !
xiv Supicic,ChristopherLonguet-Higgins,JohnSlobodaand GdoLaske are
either ignored or givenmerelyaglance.
IwishtothanktheFacultyofMusicoftheUniversityof
Edinburghforgivingmeaterm'sleavetofinishthisproject.Two
distinguishedfriends,ProfessorNigelOsborneandProfessorEero
Tarasti,performedtheincomparableserviceofreadingtheoriginal
draftinitsentiretyandofferingvaluablesuggestions;mywarm
thankstothem.Imustthankalso,fortheirhelpand
encouragementinvariousways,DrCraigAyrey,DrPeterCooke, j
SteveDowers,ProfessorJonathanDunspy,BruceGittings, Catherine
Gray,DrRobertHatten,Dr SandorHervey,ProfessorDavidLidov, ,.j
\SteveMackenzie,ProfessorJean-JacquesNattiez,PeterNelson, \
RobertSamuels,.orPhilipTagg,andthelateProfessorJames
Thorne.ThefinalpreparationofcopywouldhavebeenimI'ossible
withoutthehelpofmydaughters,thededicatees,whoalsocompiledtheindex.
It goeswithout sayingthatthisbook'svirtuesarelargelydue
totheabovepersons.Itsfaultsareallmine;but sincethecensure of
aman'sselfisobliquepraise,asJohnsonsaid,Iwillkeepquiet about that.
, RaymondMonelle Edinburgh \. 'CopyrightAcknowledgements
Iamgratefultothefollowingpublishers,editorsandauthorsforpermissiontousecopyright
graphic materiaL
TheAmericanAnthropologicalAssociation,forfigures6.4,6.5,6.6and6.7;
theAmericanMusicologicalSociety,forfigures3.6,3.7and3.8;Basil
BlackwellPublishersLtdandtheEditor,MusicAnalysis,forfigures4.13,
4.14,4.15,4.16and4.17;BocuMusicLimited,forfigures9.12a,9.13aand
9.13g;ChristianBourgoisEditeur,forfigure4.22andthediagramsonpp.
170and193; Cambridge UniversityPress,
forfigures9.1,9.2,9.3,9.4,9.5,9.6
and9.7;ArmandColinEditeur,forfigure7.1;CPP /Belwin/lntemational
MusicPublications,forfigures7.3and9.11;ElsevierSciencePublishers
BV,theEditor,CognitionandProfessorJEFSundberg,forfigures5.23,I
5.24,5.25and5.26;EMIUnitedPartnership/InternationalMusic
Publications,forfigures9.lOband9.13f;Harper-CollinsPublishersLtd,for
figure7.2;HarvardUniversityPress,forfigures5.1,5.3and5.4;
HarvesterWheatsheaf(SimonandSchusterInternationalGroup)for
figure2.1;theEditor,InternationalReviewoftheAestheticsandSociology
ofMusic,forfigure8.37;theEditor,JournalofMusicTheory,forfigures
5.21,5.22,6.8,6.9,6.10,6.11,6.12,6.13,6.14 and 6.15;MCAMusic
Publishing,
andMusicSalesLimited,forfigure9.9a;MITPress,forfigures5.10,5.11,
5.12,5.13,5.14,5.15,5.16,5.17,5.18,5.19and5.20;ProfessorJean-Jacques
NattiezandtheUniversityofMontreal,forfigures3.3,3.4,4.18,4.19,4.20,
4.21andFlorianNoetzelVerlag,forthetableonp.171;Penguin
BooksLtd,forfigure2.4andthechartonp.82;theManagingEditor,
PerspectivesofNewMusic,forfigure6.3;FrancesPinter(Publishers),for
figure8.25;Princeton UniversityPress,forfigures8.5and
8.8;theSchoolofI
ScottishStudies,UniversityofEdinburgh,forfigures9.8band9.8c;
Editionsdu Seuil,forfigures3.1,3.11and3.12;DrPhilip Tagg,forfigures
9.9,9.10,9.11,9.12 and 9.13;ProfessorEero Tarasti,
forfigures8.31and 8.37;
theUniversityofTexasPress,Austin,forfigures5.6,5.7,5.9and5.29;
UnionGeneraled'Editions,forfigures4.2,4.3,4.4,4.5,4.6,4.7,4.8,4.9,
4.11and4.12;andWarner/ChappellMusic,ScandinaviaAB,forfigure 9.13b.
Rathermorethanhalfofthemusicexamplesweretype-setby
WordsandMusic,9MalvernVillas,DurhamDHI2JP.Iamgratefulto them. { ( (
1 INTRODUCTION: MUSIC AND MEANING ( ~ " "'.( (
1.1.Thechangingviewsof musicalmeaning(
Q,t:r.-communication'.LuisPrietoentitleshisfirsttwochapters(inworkorstyleispresented:afanfare,horncallorshepherd'spipe.
Thereisseldomaquestionofdenotativemeaningalone,however,
PertinenceetPratique)'Semiologiedelacommunication'and {R..M.,i
astherecanbeinlanguage.Karbusickyobservesthatthesoundof
'Semiologiede laconnotation'(Prieto1975).Ifthereisindeedan
--.:.,'.. thecuckoo,whichpresumablydenotesthebird,canalsosignify,
di visionbetweenthetwoapproaches,thendearlythesemioticsof...w...c.t
11h.(e!'Inanothercontextitcansymbolisethewholeof
communicationismoresuitedtomusic;butEcostressesthatthe
nature(inMahler'sFirstSymphony,forexample);again,itcan
twoviewsareinterdependent,andthatallprocessesof
projectaninnerspiritualasinBeethoven's'Pastoral'
communication'wouldseemtobepermittedbyanunderlying
Symphony(thecomposerwrote,'More. anexpressionoffeeling system of
significations'(Eco1979,8).JA 1COJ h:JA)
thanaportrayal')(Karbusicky1986,61).Inthe'Coucouaufonddu Iakobson
pointsout that speech events involve sixfactors.An
bois'fromSaint-Saens'sCarnavaldesAnimauxthecuckoo
addresserspeakstoanaddressee,usingsomemediumofcontact,
becomesthevoiceofmockerv.Thereisnothinginmusic,then,to
audiblespeech,directorbytelephone,visualsigns,writingor
resemblethelinguisticexpression'cuckoo'which,asitstands,has
printing,gestures,orwhatever.Heconveysamessage,whichis
framedinsomecode orotherlanguage,probably,
ifthemediumisdenotativemeaningonly. (
likemusic,containsexpressionsentirel v
oraLThewholeeventhasacontext,ahumanorintellectualworld
dependentoncontextfortheirmeaning;expressionswhichhave
inwhichtheparticipantsexistandtowhichthemessagemayrefer (
inodenotativemeaDlng1Dtheordtrrafysense.RomanJakobson
6XV5U'6iD-(this account from Jakobson 1960). jI .
calledtheseshifters.Personalpronounsarethemostobviousf\J C i)G"t
contextexample;clearlythemeaning
ofaccordingtothe(messageMusicalexpressionscanbesaidtohavethiskindofmeaning.Thec/.J..-
tJ11n-:.il(minortriadonE,inSmetana'sVltava,isthetonicchord,aprimary.
addresser -------------- addressee I.
Ilcontact2elementinanexpressionof
simplemajesty,tingedwithsadness.InAli rIJ.(
thechordsofBrunnhilde'sawakeninginSiegfried,itisfollowedby\.MA.
5'code achordof Cmajorandformsaserene,glowingcadence.Thesame .
Thesemioticsofsignificationexaminesthemessageandthechord,indifferentsimultaneouscontexts,couldbepartofthe
context,expectingtofindthewholemeaningtherein.Butinfact,
dominantninthin0ortheadded sixthinC.
therealsignificanceofanactofcommunicationmayliechieflyin l
Thereis,ofcourse,plentyofmusicwith
(oneoftheotherfactors.Forthisreason,certaincommunicativemeaning(emotionalorillustrative);whichlack..J.C
(
seemtolackdenotativemeaningalso(the'Fortyeventsseemtohaveverylittle'meaning'intheordinarysense,
andothers,thoughmeaningful,havemeaningswhicharedifficult
andFuuesofBachareottendtedasInexamIe).?et
(todescribeorisolate.Poetryandmusic,apparently,comeintothe
musICneverseemsmeaDlngess.ISsuggeststhatdenotatior: -;> .""\"yt
,JJI)latter group. - .18 LinguisticsandSemioticsinMusicIntroduction
19
Inmostactsofcommunication,oneofthesixfactorsiswhichnowordwasspokenbutstructuralaffinitieswere
primary.Thefunctionofthewholecommunicationmaythenbedemonstratedwithbitsof
specially-composedmaterial,mightseem described.If
theaddresserispredominant-
ifthespeakermerelytousemusicinametalingualmanner,ifitwerenotfortheir
wishestoexpresshimself,regardlessofthemeans,or
oftheeffectdepez:.denceonawholetraditionofverbalcommentary.The
onalistener- thenthecommunicationiswotiv..:If
hisintentionordenotativefunction,ashasbeenalreadystressed,is
isdirectlytoaffectthebehaviour of
theaddressee(asinacommandalmostalwaysproblematic.Ecorefersto'trumpetsignalsinthe
oranofficialnoticelike'Keepoffthegrass')thefunctionis.cona,
"army'ashavingdenotativevalu.e'(Eco1976,11)butthese the
stressisoncontext,thenthemessagewillseemtohavea .-'
si,gnalsare2imarilv conatjyeasalready sllggeste
musicalsigneme!X.t-notbecauseofitsimpotencein
referringtorealobjects,but becausemeaningisitselffundamentally
empty;thesignpointsbeyonditself,onlytorevealavoid.Thisis
Sharplyretlectedwhenmusic,anartofsound,representssilence, sleepand
death,whichareitsopposites. Themusicianhas
thegreatadvantageofknowinghowtopaint ."\ \things one
cannothear;thegreatestwonder ofthisartwhichcanonlybe
arbitrarS1sthatacuiresinificanceonlvwithinastructureIj
t'6?iz:metaphysicaloronto
oglcaimplications.'Musicaltheory'isalongS-"'.:v..
(festablisheddiscipline;itistherepOSitoryoftechnicallanguage,Du.
standardforms,techniquesofanalysiswhichliesbehindevery/'-.I'\..
descriptionofmusicinwords.Thesemioticsof musicismerelyaill
S'.f.-.;J \). alternativetheQ!y,
.J:'I'hichattemptstoreplacetheviews' of
A.,(.,'r:.'1J'
establisbed-traditionwithsvstemsandapproacheswhicharer:!;ore""I"If:
radicallyscienti..ti.s.andlogical,morecomprehensive,moe
",v.- Theneedforsucha radicaltheorymaynotbeapparenttothed
ordinarymusician.However,theethnomusicologist,workingasa9
memberoftheanthropologicalteam,foundthathismethodsand
technicallanguagewereunscientificandquiteunequaltocoping
withunfamiliarmusicalstyles.Hiscolleagues,especiallythe
linguists,hadworkedoutpowerfulgeneraltheorieswhich
ofstrangelanguagesandcultu.Ees;but
musicologywasunreformed,stillthemedievaland
RenaissancespeculationandtotheideasofRameau.
Ethnomusicologyisananomalyinthetwentiethcentury;wehave
ignoredthephilosophicalandscientificdiscoveriesofthelasthundred
(1'\?''"'t',M' dSIntroduction 22
LzngUlStlCSanemlOICSInUSIC'Vt;.fJi' I23
years,andwecontinuetousedescriptivemethodswhich,iftheywere( NiQ
artisticexperience,.whenapplied(totheartsofAfrica9r is\
knownabout,wouldfillawell-trainedlinguistoranthropologistwithV"OVmerely
tf,ui/J1.c.Ab1 \ horror (NormaMcLeod, quoted in Nattiez
1975,89-90>.J....... (_.jJI.fi .fMsC" I(NTfI Mw
Traditionalcriticaltheory,expressed ornota 1t...
Termslikeprovedtobeobservingtheart of a givenculture;itispart of
that culture misleadingwhenappliedtoethnicmusic.Inresponsetothis
itself:,'NaturallYttheideology of asociety
isembodiedinitsart,andsomeinvestigatorsproposedan'ethnotheory',based
-t+,..."v..(,.1\, . equall y'in itscriticism.1'he realstructures
ofartisticandculturallif,e\Iithenativeinformant'stheorofhisowncultue,Butthis,likearenotrevealedbvheuristic
models,whichjust. reflectthesortof
theestablishedtheoryotesternmusic,wouldbenomorethanpreconceptions
whichwe aretaught-tobringto aesthetic study.
featureofthecultureunderreview;'themetamusicaland," ethnotheoretic
,discourseof __ourinformantsisonlyoneof.theIf realstructures a
retobe d' Iscovered andh"I" telr IntemadetemunatlOns do:u:nents
allowustounderstandmus,lcalrevealed',it must
berecognizedthatstructures are distinctfrommodels,in
:,act.theory15not bas,edon.construction: 10gICa,Istatus
andpurpose:As customarily conceived, a model 1t1SsClentlf1cand
general.-1U'v\Pt.W(\.. .....J-11
aheuflStlcdeVIcetoSImplifyrealitybyexpressingitintermsofa
.r.:Fp!tmlted,vanables ...ortodealwithanunknownprocessby
QNevertheless,thereisam uti d ystreamof
oppositiontopure.;,."tnbutmg to,t to"" koo wnto ope,,,eolsewh,,.
(Clu,ks""n" 1974,I'"
theorywhichflowsthroughthestudyofthehumanities,especially:\I, ,I
inGreatBritain.Itisfeltthatallcriticism,allanalysisand(]....",:.,
Clearlvt. realstructuresofartandsocIetvcanneverbe,\
descriptionoftheartsmustbesensitivetotheuniquequalitiesof"\- .
evealed?ytraditIonalmeanst becausetraditioniscommittedtothe..j.(
eachwork,andthattheoryisacombinationof self-indulgent hot airt
ff!eservatl.on of st:uctures.canonly.be based on and
clandestinepropaganda.0
tlveandmductlvelogle,onempmcalobservationandexhaustiveiL.... -'( ,
) ,I.. Wemust:nake . thebreak". thatmarksthe )
WhatInowwanttoshowisthattheextensionof[thescientific)transl.tlOnfromhvedIdeologytogenumetheoretIcal
t.l! modeltothe interpretation and ju?gement of literature,music
and the arts,(Norns 1989,306)..../-.J:- Il
vV'\t!:l@r!:l;H'IO,Westerncriticism,withtheirovertonesofevaluativedecreeand
normativeprescription.Withineveryheuristicsthereliesatheory;
I)/':. p'coc!aimpurelvandsimplvwhatis(Husserl,Les quoted
inSebag,1964,11). RecherchesLogiques,
anunwillingnesstodiscussitmustbemetwithsomesuspicion.
TheoutstandingfeatureofWesterncriticaltheoryhasbeenanAlthoughnormativesciencewashistorically
first,exclusivenessorelitism,theveryspiritwhichhasfilledour
curriculawiththe study of onefractionofthemusic of onefraction
theoreticalformislogicallyprimary;youcannotsay
shouldbebrave'without atheoryofthe'goodsoldier', 'asOldier/) \ of
_theworld'scultures.This'sensitivity'tothe'immediacy'of "\. 24 25 f
, LinguisticsandSemioticsinMusic
l' . . Introduction
AsciencethatstudiesthelifeofsignswithinsocietyisAllthecharacteristicmovementsofthetwentiethcentury
conceivable;itwouldbepartofsocialpsychologyandconsequentlyof
havedissociatedthemselvesfromthenormative.Fre1:!9'sanalytli;.al
general psychology;I shall callitsemiology(Saussure 1974,16).
psycholomakesnodi'".mg,except
toIstmu'hJ.th}cfromtheDurkheimdescribes
elementaryformsinthestructureofsociety;hedoesnotsaywhat
makesagoodorbadsociety.Saussureshowsthatusagemustbe'
studiedinseekingou ttheworkingsofalanguage;
ofcorrectorincorrectlanguage,excepttodiscusssimple
misunderstandingslikethechild'sinventionof'viendre'for
..:",'venir'(Saussure1974,168).
InpolitiCSandculturalstudies,LucienSebagfindsthat
MarxismandStructuralismrepresenttheauthentictheoretical
sciences,'thefirstbeingunderstoodasacomprehensivetheoryof
thesocialphenomenon,thesecondasthepropermethodof
bringingtolighttheintelligibilityof allthingshuman'(Sebag1964,
13-14).AllstudY,whetherintheexactsciencesorinhumanstudies, .
ontheory.Thereisnoinformationwithout
TherehasbeensomecontroversyabouttheprimacyoflinguistiCS.
Linguisticsmayhavebeenthefirsttochangefr9maspeculativescientific'study,butlanguageisdearlyjustoneofmany
systemsof..
signs;semioticsislogicallypriortolinguistics.Saussurehimself saw
).j\r,({'Iinguistics'as'onlyapartotthegeneralscienceofsemiology',andto
JeanMolinodeplorestheerrorofbelieving'thatlanguage-1\
constitutesthemodelforallsymbolicphenomena'(Molino1975,C 45).
However,inanotherplaceSaussuresuggestedthat
'linguisticsbecomethemasterpslternforallbranchesof
semiologyalthoughlanguageisonlyoneparticularsemiological
system'(Saussure1974,68).RolandBarthesagreeswiththis,finding
languageembeddedineverything. ,
observation,andobservationisbasedontheory;itcannotyieldItisfarfromcertainthatinthesociallifeoftodaytherearetobe
theorysinceitisdependentontheoryforitsverymethodsofp.,..' I
foundanyextensivesystemsofsignsoutsidehumanlanguage.Semiology (,
working.Withouttheorythereisnophysicalrealityto has so farconcerned
itself with codes of nomorethan slight interest, suchas' :::t
Vl 3 '" -.
Q. ;:)' VI :i' s: J;:: VI ;:)' , " o "'-J 16 i 108 109
Linguistics SemioticsinMusic
Inthetableitself(Figure4.12),symbolsareomittedif thefeatureis
unchangedfromthelastsegment. Toclarifythis,threesegmentsare
expoundedatlength. Segment 1 (. Segment 2. Segment 3
C1Rhvthmicmotif, EElementofchromaticism K1 /B(F2)Part of
aprogression in wholetones(descending) beginningon6 Ml
Descendingsemitone,risingtone .... C1(Asbefore,understood)
E(Asbefore) Kl /B(F2)(As before) M1(Asbefore)
N2"1"TranspositionofSegment1 tothelower second 63Rhythmic
.(11otif,inplaceofCl E(Asbefore,understood) F2Descending G1Conjunct
Kl /6(F2) (Asbefore) 4.4.Vare-se'sDensity 21.5 v I \IJ-J.JJ 4.4..
1.Inspiteoftheresemblanceofthese to:fvW
phonology,Nattiez,aswehaveseen,repud1atesanyCrIterIon
i),ClrJ;d.il).)"'ifA '1 heAnalysisoftheNeutralLevel 4.4.. 2.:he,
situati.onis differenti.nNa.ttiez'slengthyanalysis! i ofVarese
sDensity21.5,wh1chwaswnttenm1975andissuedina1/
Frencheditionofonly300copies.Itbecamemorewidelyavailable(
..,anEnglishtranslationwaspublishedinMusicAnalysis} (Nattlez 1982).
.Heretheneu.trallevelisratherrestrictedinscope.Nattiez..;:;
considersanalysesonallthreelevels,poietic,neutralandaesthesic./
Headmitstheneedforintuitivedec'ionsontheneutrallevel,uti
sinceanalysis'istheresult0humanactivitv(andthereforehasownpoietics)'.Someaspectsofneutral
havea'poietic'/' presumption';thattheyim12lv orstrateo-iesoftheL. I
,_Ultimatelytheneutrallevelisony atheoreticalit
it'isthereonlytofacilitatethecomprehensionofmusical.u(,f.I1...
mUSH':arpertinence 1Sbypas5ea. proceeds'frombelowto. a.ove',
is,byobservingfirstthe
"__\}j'"-'landbl!lldio.g...u.p..l.r.ru:ILth.em.....thelongersegments
'\1-.'r-fand_sectior:s.Hisaccountissyntagmatic,goingseriallyfrom
to.end.anda.llowingtoemerge(ratherthan ,compLhngahst otparadLgms
and applymg 1ttothewhole score). Rests.andbreathingsmake but ."
"henIS1Snottecasethed1fferentmus1calparametersmay
\alterna.tivesegmentati.?ns.areoftenpresentedby c-N
mthespmtof'exhaustive'analysis,buttheanalystalways
tavourseitheroneoranotheraccQrdingtomusicalintuition.For
t:?xample,inthefirst5barsarepetition
otashortfigure,makeiteasytosegmentthepassage intothree (the
threepartsareshownbyRomannumeralsinFigure4.13),Ina 1
"rheAnalysisoftheNeutralLevellinguisticsandSemioticsinMusic1 1 1
110
However,whenthepassageatbars9-11isdiscussed,thefurthersubdivision,thefirstthreenotesofeachsegmentare
rhythmicparadigmispreferredtothemelodic.Initiallyitseemsobviouslyequivalent(units1,3and5).Aproblemariseswiththe
ldearthat.thispassagemerelyrepeatsthenotesC- Dflat,theDflat
remainingthreefragments;fromtherhythmicpointofviewthey
finallybecomingDnatural.allcontainthreenotesinalong-short-Iongarrangement(2,4and6\
\,inFigure4.13;in6thelasttwo -notesare,infact,equal;this
irregularity isdiscussed by Nattiez). Figure 4.13 {ll1 "=="
fP":l'-==I:::::-'. ...,.......::::::/=-[4} r--.l'-, II[31:? 5 ...,A
[6J
1lIJ-,h.,-0' --=::::::= --..- ..... ==-- 1=-1' ',. -. ',......."
(az)/.' , ril g':t 0== jjJ":2.:... :'t, if--=== -:! (al) ...,
?subillJ 3, (al) JJ < (c) rr .--J (al) ,
ThissegmentationisolatesthelongGafterunit 2;Vareseseemsto
supportthisbywritingalongslur overthewholeof units1: and2, stopping
at the second Csharp._
ThenoteG,however,hasaspecialdistributionalpositionin
thesethreeunits;it 1.salwa}!sthelastnote,Thereisanother
distributional regularity;the finalGisalwayspreceded bya Csharp.
Therhythmic paradigmmust inthiscaseberejected. -c::::: 111
Thisisapassageof'permutation',however; analxsis
doesnQ.lgi:llf..O-lr.ue...ac.CQ..I.UllQfourreception
ofthemJJ.S.ic.Thereis
anothersegmentationbasedonrhythm.Theinitialapprehension
ofthemelodicshapewasa'deception'_Nattiezhasalready Figure 4.14 (2]
) .. }IOo':1'-=::I=(4]r---J [6],: J 'j=- I'
established,inapassagenotrepeatedhere,thattherearethree rhythmic
equivalenceclassesinthispiece,. !Initialshorta1short-long
;{J J""' ,\;,.v.l a2 a3 b short-short-Iong(thetwo
initialshortsequal) short-short-long-short
constantaugmentation;each notelongerthanthe previous IIlni
tiallongc d long-short long-short-Iong
IIIRegularrhythmeallnotesequal ( LinguisticsandSemioticsinMusic112
ThesegmentationinFigure4.15wouldplaceeveryfragmentin
rhythmicclassIexceptthefourthwhichissub-classc,long-short,
rhythmicclassII.Tokeepthesegmentswithinasinglerhythmic
class,thefollowingsegmentationmust beadopted. Figure4.16 .....,1 i
(az)
, x [l1J. d !J *." F:?s':iI 1 -,(al) [12}3 i (b) tf (13}t
Caz) Suchobliqueprofiles'alliecetor'becausetheyY(
makepossibletheintroduction ofnewnotes,registersandmateriaWA
4.4.5.InhisclosingpagesNattiezdescribespoieticandaesthesic
approachestoDensity.EveryanalysiS,evenontheneutrallevel,
makespoietlsgresumptions.Theterm'deception',appliedtothis 1 /'it .
IcJl, , ,:v- .tr'\i"'-"'.1{ett(.l tt};.,\7"" ,\.,V\, eVC.If [".v..t
__ LinguisticsandSemioticsinMusic V.114
TheAnalysisaftheNeutralLevel 115 . r)(_
""5Schenkerian'foreground','middleground'and'background'isob-
Ct";v'-.., "',,::;VIOUS.II 12..tC\.. t'M.!','
However,whereSchenkeriscontentwithintuitionsu these.l-, f-G''.
trytoproceedfromintuitiontosystematicrigou.r.
Chomskyantheorythecriterionisgr.amlZ1.aticali4'.Inmusic,l.Jt.,
grammaticalityishardertodefine,andambiguityis '
faithful,however,totheirintentiontorecordtheexperienceofa
listener,andtheyshowhow metricalstructurecanbededucedfrom
theauralshapeofmusic...Asforgrouping,theyareabletoshow
simpleintuitionsofahierarchY,ofsmallerandlargergroups
arefoundedonsystematic rules.Co - 1"1.11 . 5.5.7.It
isintheareaofreductionthatthesewritersexpoundmostnovelandcontroversialpa;toftheirsystem.Asalreadyex-
'hplained,theyproposetwokinds,calledtime-spanreductionandlit
