In this podcast, the hosts delve into the occult practice of music writing, analyzing how notation falls short when interpreting ambient tracks like Brian Eno's. They explore the power of good writing to reveal new facets of the ineffable world. Topics range from music analysis in popular culture to the limitations of music notation and the evolution of musical analysis techniques.
Adapting notation-based music analysis to pop music challenges traditional techniques.
The episode explores abstract meanings in music, contrasting personal experiences with academic interpretations.
Balancing subjective experiences with objective analyses highlights the complexities of musical interpretation.
Deep dives
Analyzing the Role of Notation in Music Analysis
The podcast episode delves into the importance of music notation in analyzing different music genres. Unlike traditional music analysis focusing on notated classical music, the episode explores how techniques of music analysis can be applied to pop music, which is primarily non-notated. Through a detailed discussion of an academic piece called 'The Routledge Companion to Popular Music Analysis,' the podcast highlights the challenges of adapting notational analytical techniques to genres like pop music that have evolved outside traditional notation systems.
Exploring Abstractions and Subjectivity in Analyzing Music
The episode discusses the abstract nature of music analysis and the challenges of separating meaning from presence in music cultures. It contrasts the primary, tacticle experience of music performance with the abstract meanings ascribed to music in academic contexts. By using the example of Beethoven's F minor sonata, the podcast explores how academic analysis often overlooks personal and subjective connections to music, focusing instead on extracting universally applicable meanings through notation-based analyses.
Addressing Notational Techniques and Abstract Analysis in Musicology
The conversation in the podcast sheds light on the divide between meaning cultures and presence cultures in music analysis. It emphasizes the role of notation in facilitating abstract analyses of music, enabling musicologists to extract objective meanings from musical compositions. By dissecting the process of music analysis through notation, the podcast challenges the notion of authorial authority in music and highlights the complexities of bridging personal experiences with academic, abstract interpretations of music.
Bonus: High School Experience and Non-Notated Music Traditions
A bonus aspect of the episode touches upon the distinction between music notation and non-notated music traditions. Drawing from personal experiences in high school bands and the evolution of popular music, the hosts discuss the cultural and historical contexts that shape the use of notation in musical analysis. The conversation reflects on the dichotomy between formal notation-based analyses and personal, non-notated musical expressions, showcasing the intricate balance between academic objectivity and subjective interpretations in musicology.
The Interplay Between Personal Experience and Objective Analysis in Music Interpretation
In the podcast episode, the discussion revolves around the interplay between personal experiences and objective analysis in interpreting music. Initially, an example is provided where a student describes music based on a personal argument with their mother, likening it to a rage fest. However, the episode highlights the importance of focusing on intersubjective elements within the music rather than personal anecdotes. As the student revises the passage to reflect objective musical elements, it signifies the transition from subjective experiences to independently existing components in the music score.
The Fusion of Meaning and Presence in Artistic Interpretation
Another key point highlighted in the podcast is the fusion of meaning and presence in artistic interpretation. The discussion delves into the significance of translating personal meanings into archetypal experiences to facilitate effective communication. The episode emphasizes the use of analogy and metaphor to convey subjective meanings that resonate with objective interpretations. By utilizing a wide range of literary styles and techniques, scholars can bridge the gap between individual interpretations and shared understandings, allowing for a deeper exploration of the complexities in art and music analysis.
Music writing has always been something of an occult practice, trying by some weird alchemy to use concepts to describe stuff that defies the basic categories of intellect. So long as we stick to classical music, we can pretend that nothing too odd is happening, since the classical tradition has been steeped in notation for centuries. But when a musicologist attempts to analyze, say, an ambient track by Brian Eno, things aren't so simple. Suddenly notation won't do, and there comes the need to make use of every tool in the poet's shed. This episode focuses on a recently published article by Phil on this question. In due course, the discussion turns to the power of good writing: its capacity not just to convey an author's subjective impressions, but to disclose new facets of the ineffable, baroque objective world.
