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The document discusses the history and evolution of the field of musicology, from its origins in 19th century Germany to the paradigm shift in the late 20th century with the emergence of new musicology. It also outlines some of the main subdisciplines of musicology like music theory, music similarity, and music and meaning.

The main topics covered include the history of musicology, Guido Adler's influential view of musicology in the late 19th century, how the field has changed with the emergence of new musicology since the 1980s, and an outline of the presentation including musicology, music theory, music similarity, and music and meaning.

The field of musicology has undergone a major paradigm shift since the 1980s with the emergence of new/critical/cultural musicology and the marginalization of the earlier 'positivist' approach to musicology. This represented a shift away from establishing objective musical facts and laws towards more interpretive and culturally situated approaches.

27-10-11

Musicology

ISMIR 2011 tutorial Musicology, part 1


Anja Volk & Frans Wiering
Department of Information and Computing Sciences,
Utrecht University

Motivation
n

musicology is a founding discipline


of MIR

musicology seems important for MIR


q
q
q

source of domain knowledge


provides ground thruth
potential power users of MIR technology

musicologists are confusing


q
q
q
q

prefer music notation over sound


go on forever about details
utterly lack methodological rigour
never give straightforward answers
2

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Try asking a musicologist


n
n
n
n
n
n
n

what is music?
what is the basic unit of music?
what is a genre?
how to distinguish good from bad music?
what are the rules for creating good music?
why are people moved by music?
does music have a meaning?

So what is musicology about?


n

anthropological excursion
q
q
q
q

explore habits, rituals and value systems


dangerous areas
hidden treasures
opportunities for interaction

your guides
q

Anja Volk
n

studied mathematics and musicology

Frans Wiering
n

studied biology, some mathematics and musicology

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Outline
n

musicology (Frans)
q
q

n
n
n

positivist and new musicology


musicology in action

music theory (Anja)


music similarity (Anja)
music and meaning (Frans)
q

final remarks (Anja and Frans)

What do we understand by musicology?


n

the academic study of music


q including music theory (unlike US)
q excluding musicianship (unlike UK)
q central European view
subdisciplines discussed later
good overview in Harper-Scott & Samson,
An introduction to music studies (2009)

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Musicology has a history


n

n
n

to understand musicologists you need to know the


history of musicology (a li3le)
musicology emerged in Germany and Austria in the
19th century
synthesis of
q

theory of music (since 500 BCE)

n
n

q
q

mathematical/speculative science
instruction in craftmanship

musical antiquarianism (since 18th century)


romantic aesthetics (since end of 18th century)

important changes in late 20th century

Musicology in 1885

G. Adler, Umfang, Methode und Ziel der Musikwissenschaft (1885), translated by E. Mugglestone (1981)
9

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Musicology in 2012

International Musicological Society Conference 2012, call for papers


10

What happened?
n

paradigm shift
q

emergence of new/critical/cultural
musicology since c. 1985
positivist musicology marginalised

strongly recommended reading


q

Nicholas Cook. Music: a very short


introduction (1998/2000)

11

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Guido Adlers view of musicology


n

Umfang, Methode und Ziel der


Musikwissenschaft (1885)
q

q
q

most influential musicological article


ever?
musicology as tonal science
(Tonwissenschaft)
establishes facts, derives laws
music as an art presupposes
reflection and therefore science

1855-1941

12

Umfang, Methode und Ziel


n

scope
q
q

method
q

music as an art form (Tonkunst)


study of musical art works
historical musicology: notation types, musical forms,
historical laws, musical instruments
systematic musicology: music theory, aesthetics,
pedagogy; (comparative) musicology
auxiliary disciplines

aim
q

discovery of truth and advancement of the beautiful


13

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How did this view arise?


n

musicology was literally constructed


around Beethovens 5th symphony
q
q

absolute, instrumental music


created independent of societal
context, for all times
work of genius but incomprehensible

urgently in need of explanation


q

E.T.A. Hoffmanns review of 1810


n
n

superiority of instrumental music


detailed description of the works structure

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22wEhOdfAfA

14

From Hoffmanns review


When music is spoken of as an independent art
the term can properly apply only to instrumental
music, which scorns all aid, all admixture of other
arts, and gives pure expression to its own peculiar
artistic nature.
Music reveals to man an unknown realm, a world
quite separate from the outer sensual world
surrounding him, a world in which he leaves
behind all feelings circumscribed by intellect in
order to embrace the inexpressible.
only the most penetrating study of the inner
structure of Beethoven's music can reveal its high
level of rational awareness, which is inseparable
from true genius...
translated by Martyn Clarke (in: Charlton, 1989)
15

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Original texts
Wenn von der Musik als einer selbstndigen
Kunst die Rede ist, sollte immer die InstrumentalMusik gemeint seyn, welche, jede Hlfe, jede
Beymischung einer andern Kunst verschmhend,
das eigenthmliche, nur in ihr zu erkennende
Wesen der Kunst rein ausspricht.
Die Musik schliesst dem Menschen ein
unbekanntes Reich auf; eine Welt, die nichts
gemein hat mit der usseren Sinnenwelt, die ihm
umgiebt, und in der er alle durch Begriffe
bestimmbaren Gefhle zurucklsst, um sich dem
Unaussprechlichen hinzugeben.
so entfaltet auch nur ein sehr tiefes Eingehen in
die innere Structur Beethovenscher Musik die
hohe Besonnenheit des Meisters, welche von
dem wahren Genie unzertrennlich ist

16

Tasks for musicology


n
n

generally, to take the new aesthetics of music


into account
to define music as an independent art
q

n
n

to explain how music reached this state of


perfection
to provide (instrumental) music with explanatory
discourse to reveal hidden logic
q

in particular, no longer dependent on language

as the word was eliminated from music, it began to


fill the space around music (Cook 2000, 37)

to do so in an objective, scientific way


q

later called positivist musicology

17

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Positivist musicology: some answers


n

what is music?
q
q
q

what is the basic unit of music?


q
q
q

tonal art (Adler)


tnend bewegte Form (Hanslick
1854)
art, autonomy, tones, structure
the work
timeless object (in 2 ways)
a text, rendered by the score

what is a genre?
q

a musical form, characterised by


ensemble composition, technical
features and architectural patterns
examples: symphony, string quartet,
sonata, fugue, song, opera, dance

19

How to distinguish good from bad music?

good
q
q
q
q
q

inspired
concentration
original
structure
transcendent beauty

typical example
q

German symphony,
Beethoven

bad
q
q
q
q
q

commissioned
facility
banal
empty virtuosity
expressing the outer world

typical example
q

Italian opera, Rossini

20

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Not created by a romantic genius

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6kBkYyeOto
21

More positivist answers


n

rules for creating good music


q
q
q
q

why are people moved by music?


q
q

internalise music theory (harmony, counterpoint)


observe forms
originality, specially of musical themes
create (thematic) unity
human capacity of aesthetic appreciation
aesthetic judgement itself considered subjective,
outside science

does music have a meaning?


q
q

resides in structure (formalism)


transcendent and sublime
22

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The work concept in musicology


n

central concept in positivist


musicology
q

positivist musicology is about


autonomous musical works
represented by scores
applied to all music (old, vocal,
traditional)
creation of canon of masterworks

Barlow & Morgenstern 1949

23

Perspectives on the work


n

historical musicology perspective


q
q

editing music becomes core activity of musicology


scholarly editing establishes true intentions of
composers

systematic musicology perspective


q

q
q
q
q

music analysis develops methods to demonstrate


masterwork status
thematic unity (e.g. Reti)
tonal structure (e.g. Schenker)
formal coherence through architectural patterns
example: sonata form
24

11

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Example pattern:
sonata form

exposition

development

recapitulation

key

theme 2
theme 1

theme1

theme 2

tension increases

time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonata_form

25

Sonata form, the bare essentials


n

binary form
q

exposition
n
n

establishes 2 keys (Tonic, followed by Dominant or Parallel)


presents theme(s); usually 2, with a different character

development and recapitulation


n

development

recapitulation

q
q

repetition of exposition materials in Tonic key

allows for endless variation of the basic pattern

most important form of classical period (1770-1810)


q

described only in 19th century: Reicha 1826, A.B. Marx 1848


n
n

modulation, themes changed and combined in various ways

emphasis on thematic process


DIndy (1909) describes masculine 1st and feminine 2nd theme (Cook 2000, 109)

lots of theory (and history) surrounding sonata form, e.g. Charles


Rosen, Sonata forms (1980)

26

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Positivist musicology in the 20th century


n

new developments
q
q
q
q

ideology
q
q
q

lots of new theory (Schoenberg, Schenker, Forte)


comparative musicology ethnomusicology
music sociology, psychology, cognition emerge
computational approaches

historical musicology at the centre


minor disciplines around it
positivist ideals best exemplified by Arthur Mendel, Evidence and explanation
(1962)

practice
q
q
q

musicology spreads over the entire Western world


gradual fragmentation of the discipline
pop music treated as a pathological phenomenon

27

Outcomes of positivist musicology


n
n

espcially after WW2, urgency was


felt to preserve musical heritage
large-scale collaborations
q

scolarly editions of major composers


n

Neue Bach-Ausgabe particularly


impressive (1950-2007), 114 vols.

encyclopedias
n
n

Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart


(1949-68, revised 1994-2007)
New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians (1980, revised 2001)
q

accessible to subscribers through


http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/

28

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Crisis
n

Joseph Kerman, Contemplating music: Challenges to musicology


(1985)
q
q

starting-point of wave of critical approaches, e.g.


q
q
q
q
q
q

defining moment in musicology


importance of subjectivity, criticism, value judgements
music and meaning
cultural and political context of music (ethnomusicology)
music and identity
popular music studies
music and power
gender and sexuality

positivist musicology discredited


q
q

shown to be the product of a repressive ideology


loaded with implicit value judgements

29

Ritual murder
n

remember Adler s aim:


q

Susan McClary s interpretation of


Beethoven s 9th symphony, 1st mvt.
q
q
q
q

discovery of thruth and advancement of the


beautiful

roughly 700-900
context of sonata form
development -> recapitulation
stereotyped discourse about themes, tonality

nearly always quoted out of context


q

a female composer searching for new ways of


structuring her compositions
The point of recapitulation in the first movement of the Ninth is one of the most
horrifying moments in music, as the carefully prepared cadence is frustrated,
damming up energy which finally explodes in the throttling murderous rage of a
rapist incapable of attaining release. (McClary 1987, revised in 1991)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SZ9QzGg95g

31

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Victim 1: music as autonomous art


n
n

specific to Western culture


related to capitalist economic model (after Cook 2000, 15)
production distribution consumption
composing performing listening/appraising
related to bourgeois subjectivity
q
q

q
q

autonomy not even true for most Western music


q
q

individual appreciation
different from public, shared expressivity of 17th-18th c. (vocal) music

primacy of text (early and religious music)


occasional and functional music

instead: study of musical behaviour, distinction of musics

33

Victim 2: the work concept


n

not a natural concept, but a historical phenomenon


q

q
q
q

adaptability of music, improvisation


score not a full specification
is music an object or a process? recipe or dish?

contextual determination of music (vs. authorial intention)


q
q

Lydia Goehr, The imaginary museum of musical works, 1992

creation and performance often not strongly separated

occasion, patronage, ideology, identity


the music itself becomes taboo concept

bad fit with late 20th-21th century music culture


q
q
q
q

weak separation of creator and performer in most popular genres


strong dependence on text (song replaces work)
glorification of performer
disinterested aesthetic contemplation marginalised

n
n

ubiquity of music, music as commodity


music as expression of identity or lifestyle

musical works (and musical data) no longer


focus of musicological attention

34

15

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New musicology
n

a.k.a. critical musicology,


cultural musicology
q

founded on postmodern
philosophical theories

now dominant musicological


approach
q
q

culture, context, gender,


identity
subjectivity: disposition to engage
in specific social and historical
practices (Kramer 2003)

35

Value system of new musicology


n

important

subjectivity
interesting, controversial ideas
q rhetorical persuasion
q maximise interpretation
q
q

less important

objectivity
q facts
q argumentation, plausibility
q incremental research, collaboration
q

36

16

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Example of critical musicology: mediation


n
n

based on Antoine Hennion (2003)


music is mediated through performance
q

mediation happens in many different ways


q

moment when all the musical potential


becomes irreversibly fixed
stage, record, internet

case: passage from rock to rap


q
q
q

rock stage idols lose credibility


rap happens where you hang out
function of recording changes
n
n

development in rap
q
q

rock: recreation of performance


rap: cheap medium of distribution

first, escape from the big stage and media


later, music seized back by industry

domestication of an art form


37

Possible postmodern answers (1)


n

what is music?
q

what is the basic unit of music?


q
q

there is no universal concept of music, only musics


depends on cultural context
defined by performance, listening

what is a genre?
q

social construction: type of music with an audience


(MIR-like!)

38

17

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Possible postmodern answers (2)


n

how to distinguish good from bad music?


q

what are the rules for creating good music?


q

authenticity, no such thing as hit song science

why are people moved by music?


q

by analysing the ideologies that shape the music

association, emotion, immersion

does music have a meaning?


q

yes; it emerges in the act of listening and depends on


the listeners context and background

39

Summing up
n

positivist musicology
+ lots of carefully collected data and facts
- questions of context and value evaded
- focus on Western classical music
paradigm shift was inevitable
q but it was very messy
new musicology
+ focus on all the worlds musics
+ context and value acknowledged
- weakly connected to data and facts
today, storm is more or less over
q but its time for a next step
q data-rich musicology?
40

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Musicology in action
n

case 1: Josquin
q

case 2: Alan Lomax


q
q

historical musicology: editing, works


development of ethnomusicology
activism, sociology

computational approaches

41

Who the hell


n
n

n
n

Josquin des Prez (c. 1450/55-1521)


international career in Low Countries, France and
Italy
author of c. 150-200 compositions
first single-author music print ever featured Josquin
q
q

reputation of his music survived long after his death,


especially in Germany
q

Misse Josquin
published by Ottaviano Petrucci, 27 September 1502

Josquin is the master of the notes, which must do as he


wishes, while other composers must follow what the
notes dictate (Martin Luther)
never entirely forgotten

best known for:


q
q

masses, motets, chansons


pervading imitation

source: http://maps.thefullwiki.org/Josquin_des_Prez

42

19

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Example: Missa de Beata Virgine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEoM08WR8Mg

44

Positivist musicology and Josquin


n
n

n
n

a genius, and strongly in need of a complete edition


first of several attempts: Werken van Josquin des Prs, ed. A. Smijers
and others (Amsterdam, 192169)
how to create a body of musical works out of the surviving evidence?
major challenges
q
q
q

methods developed by trial and error


q
q
q

dealing with the original notation


underspecification
chaos of sources
Smijers preferred printed sources (anachronistic reasons!)
methods from textual philology
rules based on music theory of 16th century

outcome: domesticated works


q

problemthe music could be domesticated in many different ways


n

Smijers began 2nd edition already before 1st was completed

46

20

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Roma, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Cappella Sistina 45

47

Dealing with the original notation

source transcription
q
q
q
q
q

voices score
modern notes, values reduced, ligatures resolved
clefs changed
bar lines added
incipits: indications of original notation

mechanical process or interpretation?


q
q

source optimised for performance practice


score optimised for work study

48

21

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Underspecification
n

added:
q
q

lots of text (italic)


editorial sharps and
flats (musica ficta)

additions may
misrepresent fluidity of
performance practice
danger of adaptation to
modern ears

50

Chaos of sources
n

Missa de Beata Virgine has symphonic proportions


q

69 known sources
q
q
q
q
q
q

5 movements, 30 minutes
27 more or less complete
13 contain 1-4 movements
10 contain section of movement
2 contain fragment
2 music treatises contain a section
15 lute intabulations of a section

no two sources have same text


q
q

very many variants


which variants represent composers intentions?
tablature: Diego Pisador, Libro de msica de vihuela, 1552

53

22

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Domestication
n

chaos of sources is translated into oeuvre of disciplined texts


q

q
q
q
q

compositions presented as musical creations, independent of


performance and function
variants seen as errors in transmission corrected
missing information is supplied
rational methodology followed
works are made available for study and performance

similar strategies in nearly all editorial projects of old and new


music

a process that requires lots of expertise, diligence and time


q
q
q

establishment of best possible text of work


musicologists care about details
computational methods should respect such care, otherwise they are not
acceptable

55

Creating discourse around Josquin


n

biography
q
q

determining the oeuvre?


q
q
q
q
q

many works also ascribed to others


weak/atypical compositions
anonymous works possibly by Josquin
danger of circular reasoning
number of undisputed works ever decreasing

researching the works


q

how many Josquins (Doppelmeister)?


training, employments, travels, rewards

large body of stylistic/analytical literature

portrait of Josquin(?)
by Leonardo da Vinci

outcome: Josquin canonized


Josquin research shaped (Renaissance) musicology
56

23

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Josquin and MIR


n
n

first composer to be subjected to large-scale


computational research
all (?) works encoded in 1960s-70s for Princeton
Josquin project, directed by Arthur Mendel
q
q

punchcards, Fast-Code
simple enough to learn in five to ten minutes
most encodings seem to have been lost

applications:
q
q
q
q

typesetting music
analytical studies (e.g. dissonance treatment)
creating thematic indexes for searching
ultimate philological method: stemmatic research
57

Computational stemmatics
n

stemmatics:
q

establish authorial text though


methodic comparison of errors and
variants
outcome: genealogical tree of
source relations

Thomas Hall (1975)


q

q
q
q
q

created software for variant


detection and comparing pairs of
sources
tested on Missa de Beata Virgine
most source relations obvious on
basis computer output
final stemma created manually
working on series of computer
programs
58

24

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New musicology and Josquin


n

how was Josquin shaped as a Beethovenian Genius


q

work concept problematic


q
q
q
q

Josquins texts fluid in many respects


closely tied to tradition and performance circumstances
therefore, stemmatics make little sense
are Josquins works best characterised as original expressions of genius?

new edition modes needed


q
q

Paula Higgins, The Apotheosis of Josquin des Prez and Other


Mythologies of Musical Genius (2005)

better acknowledgement of importance of variants


well suited for digital critical edition

Computerized Mensural Music Edition (Ted Dumitrescu)


q
q

project The Other Josquin


compositions of "doubtful authenticity" attributed to Josquin des Prez in
primary sources
http://www.cmme.org/
59

Contextualisation
n

how was music domesticated in the 15th-16th


century?
q

q
q

lasciviousness of music; negative influence on


morality
instrumental music particularly suspect
only safe to use under controlled circumstances
n
n

sacred texts
liturgical or devotional context (reflects harmony of creation)

emphasis on skill, not originality

how is music domesticated in MIR?


q

what savage aspects of music do we prefer to ignore?


60

25

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Ethnomusicology
n

started as comparative musicology


(Adler 1885)
q

soon becomes study of traditional


music
q

purpose: document primitive music as a


precursor of Western music

e.g. because this reflects national identity

much collecting of evidence


q
q

transcribe melodies in notation


first to work with musical audio (since c.
1900)
n

Bla Bartk, Zoltn Kodly recorded Hungarian


folksongs since 1908
62

Ethnomusicology
n

term ethnomusicology introduced by Jaap


Kunst (1950/1959)
q

ethnomusicology becomes study of music in


context (Merriam, The anthropology of music,
1964)
q
q

how does music interact with social practices?


ethnomusicological methods sometimes applied to
Western music

continuum between doing and listening musics


(Stobart 2009)
q

study of non-Western musics for their own sake

Western music an extreme case of listening music

example of doing music: jula jula (Bolivia)

63

26

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Jula jula

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MZpZXFA_SI&feature=related

64

Alan Lomax
n
n

USA, 1915-2002
10000s of field recordings of
traditional music since c. 1933
q
q
q

n
n

recorded and interviewed legendary musicians such as


Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Muddy Waters
engagement
q

Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana


blues as black music
Italy, Spain

the folklorists job was to link the people who were voiceless and
who had no way to tell their story, with the big mainstream if
musical culture

Alan Lomax Collection now in Library of Congress


http://www.loc.gov/folklife/lomax/

65

27

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Cover songdomestication

many Lomax recordings covered by well-known musicians


q
q

field recording from 1959:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns8bum4civI
Ry Cooder: Jesus on the mainline
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2FrFBceLuY

piece of doing music becomes listening music


67

Preserving traditions
n

idea of Global Jukebox


q database of musical diversity
q preservation and study
q http://www.culturalequity.org/
Cantometrics project
q since 1959
q global research to relate sonic features to sociological traits
through computational (statistical) analysis
q 37 style elements (scored 1-5)
q 400 cultures, 4000 songs
q attained only preliminary results
n

e.g. ensemble organisation and cohesiveness/individualisation of


society

A. Lomax, Cantometrics: an Approach to the Anthropology of


Music (Berkeley, 1977)
68

28

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Cantometrics code sheet

70

Computational ethnomusicology
n

many folk song encoding projects


q

not just Essen Folksong Collection

digitisation of recordings
q

e.g. Onder de groene linde (Dutch folk songs)


n

n
n

links to items in national collections


not very user-friendly

not too many IP issues here

well-established body of research into computational issues, e.g.


q
q
q

http://www.loc.gov/folklife/onlinecollections.html
includes numerous (but not all) recordings by John and Alan Lomax

Europeana (http://www.europeana.org)
n

http://www.liederenbank.nl/index.php?lan=en

Library of Congress collections

Tzanetakis et al. 2007: computational ethnomusicology


Kranenburg et al 2010: interdisciplinary collaboration
Juhsz & Sipos 2010: cultural transmission

importance of cultural context in ethnomusicology


q

MIR challenge?
71

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Conclusions case studies


n

Josquin
q
q
q

notation orientation
how a work is established in scholarly editing
importance attached to accuracy and details

ethnomusicology
q
q

audio and symbolic collections


doing and listening musics
n

q
q
q

is music a process or an object?

preserving traditions
social engagement
impact on contemporary culture
72

References
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n

n
n
n
n

G. Adler. 1885. Umfang, Methode und Ziel der Musikwissenschaft. Vierteljahrsschrift fr


Musikwissenschaft 1, 5-20.
H. Barlow & S. Morgenstern. 1949. A Dictionary of Musical Themes. Crown
D. Charlton, ed. 1989. E.T.A. Hoffmanns Musical Writings. Cambridge University Press, 1989
N. Cook. 1998/2000. Music: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
L. Goehr. 1992. The imaginary museum of musical works : an essay in the philosophy of music.
Clarendon Press.
J.P.E. Harper-Scott, J. Samson, ed. 2009. An introduction to music studies. Cambridge University Press
The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians. 2001. 2nd ed. Grove.
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/
T.Hall. 1975. Some computer aids for the preparation of critical editions of Renaissance music. Tijdschrift
van de Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis 25, 38-53
E. Hanslick. 1854. Vom Musikalisch-Schnen: Ein Beitrag zur Revision der sthetik der Tonkunst. Repr.
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2010. Eng. tr: On the Musically Beautiful: A Contribution Towards
the Revision of the Aesthics of Music. Hackett, 1986.
A. Hennion. 2003. Music and mediation. In: The cultural study of music: A critical introduction. Ed. M.
Clayton, T. Herbert and R. Middleton. Routledge
P. Higgins. 2005. The Apotheosis of Josquin des Prez and Other Mythologies of Musical Genius. Journal
of the American Musicological Society 57, 443-510
E.T.A. Hoffmann. 1810. [Review of Beethovens Fifth Symphony], Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung,
629ff. http://books.google.com/books?id=0t0qAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA629

Z. Juhsz, J. Sipos. 2010. A comparative analysis of Eurasian folksong corpora, using self
organising maps. Journal of Interdisciplinary Music Studies, 4/1, 1-16

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30

27-10-11

References
n
n
n

n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n

J. Kerman. 1985. Contemplating music. Harvard University Press.


L. Kramer. 2003. Musicology and meaning. The Musical Times 144 (1883), 6-12.
P. van Kranenburg, J. Garbers, A. Volk, F. Wiering, L.P. Grijp, R.C. Veltkamp. 2010. Collaboration
perspectives for folk song research and music information retrieval: The indispensable role of
computational musicology. Journal of Interdisciplinary Music Studies 4/1, 17-43
J. Kunst. 1959. Ethnomusicology : a study of its nature, its problems, methods and representative
personalities. 3rd ed. Nijhoff.
A. Lomax. 1977. Cantometrics: an Approach to the Anthropology of Music. Berkeley
S.K. McClary. 1991. Feminine endings: Music, gender, & sexuality. University of Minnesota Press, 2002
(1991).
A. Mendel. 1962. Evidence and explanation. In: IMS report of the 8th congress, New York 1961, ed. J.
LaRue. Brenreiter. Vol 2, 3-18.
A.P. Merriam. 1964. The anthropology of music. Northwestern U.P. 1964
E. Mugglestone. 1981. Guido Adler's 'The scope, method, and aim of musicology' (1885): An English
translation with an historico- analytical commentary. Yearbook for Traditional Music 13, 1-21.
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart : allgemeine Enzyklopdie der Musik. 1994-2008. 2nd. ed.
Brenreiter.
Nettl, B. 2006. The Study of Ethnomusicology: Thirty-one Issues and Concepts. 2nd ed. U. of Illinois
Press.
C. Rosen. 1980. Sonata forms. Norton, 1980.
H. Stobart. 2009. World musics. In: Harper-Scott, J.Samson, 2009. 97-118.
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74

31

Tutoriall Musicology
T
l
Part 2: Music Theory
ISMIR Tutorial 2011
Anja
j Volk & Frans Wiering,
g ICS, Utrecht University

Outline

What is Music Theory?

Examples

Theory of melody
Theor
melod (and comp
computational
tational model)
Theory of harmony (and computational model)
Theory of meter (and computational model)

Music Theory:
y Definition
Grove Music Online (Claude Palisca)

Theory is now understood as principally the study of the structure of


music.
music
y, rhythm,
y
, counterpoint,
p
, harmony
y and
This can be divided into melody,
form, but these elements are difficult to distinguish from each other and
to separate from their contexts.
At a more fundamental level theory includes considerations of tonal
systems, scales, tuning, intervals, consonance, dissonance,
durational proportions and the acoustics of pitch systems.

Music Theory:
y Definition
Joseph Kermans response: (1985)

Tuning, rhythmic configurations, consonance and dissonance,


chord formations no doubt all these fall under the capacious mantle
off Paliscas
P li
term structure.

When musicians use this term today


today, however
however, they generally mean the
structure of total works of art what makes compositions work,
what general principles and individual features assure the musics
continuity coherence,
continuity,
coherence organization or teleology.
teleology They mean
musical form, broadly construed to denote the shape or ordering of
trains of sounds in time.

Music Theory:
y Definition
Joseph Kermans response: (1985)

Theory and Analysis


It was only in the nineteenth century, then, that theory became wedded
to analysis: the process of subjecting musical masterpieces to
technical operations,
p
, descriptions,
p
, reductions,, and demonstrations
purporting to show how they work. Theory and Analysis became a
standard joint item in the conservatory curriculum.

http://www.cam.k12.il.us/ms/6th/gillettc/Reading
Maniacs.gif

Music Theory:
y Definition
Zbikowski: (2002)

What music theory is not:


for music theory is, within the rolling seas of humanistic studies, a
rather strange fish. Put bluntly, it is clear that much of what music
theory does
does, as a discipline,
discipline does not count as any sort of theory in
modern scholarship.

http://fr.toonpool.com/cartoons/THEO
RY%20INSURANCE%20LAB%20SC
IENTIST 23447
IENTIST_23447

Music Theory:
y Definition
Wiggins, Muellensiefen, Pearce: (2010)
What music theory is not:
it is important to acknowledge the difference between the meanings of the
word theory as applied in music theory and, on the other hand, in
scientific theory
instead:

Music theory is a collection of sets of rules which describe the culturally


determined practice of people who create music in a particular culture during a
particular
ti l period.
i d music
i th
theorists
i t readily
dil acknowledge
k
l d exceptions
ti
to
t their
th i
rules

Music Theory:
y Definition
Focused on One single piece of music:
Kerman: (1985)
g
characteristic failure is superficiality,
p
y, that of the
For it the musicologists
analysts is myopia. Their dogged concentration on internal relationships
within the single work of art is ultimately subversive as far as any reasonably
complete view of music is concerned.

Zbikowski: (2002)

http://www.thenewtasman.com/

music theory continues to focus on details of musical discourse with an


obsessiveness that is both maddening and quixotic to cultural and social
theorists

Music Theory:
y Definition
Zbikowski: (2002)

What music theory could be:


for theories are the cognitive tools that guide the way we reason about the
things we experience. Theories are the basic means by which we make our
p
coherent and g
guide further action.
experience

I want to argue,
argue that music theory,
theory in all its diverse forms
forms, reflects the same
basic processes that guide our understanding of the everyday world.
Theorizing about music is an activity specialized only in its domain, not in the
cognitive processes involved
involved.

Music Theory:
y Definition
Agawu: (2009)

What music analysis could be:


An analysts fondest hope is that something he or she says sends the
reader/listener back to a particular composition or to a particular moment
g are useless abstractions if they
y do not
within it. Our theoretical scaffoldings
achieve something like this;
Therefore, I retain some hope in the possibility that the analytical fantasies
Therefore
gathered here will inspire some readers to reach for the works again; to see
if their previous hearings have been altered, enhanced, or challenged in any
way

Music Theory:
y Whyy care?
Grachten,
G
ht
Arcos
A
& Mantaras:
M t
Melody Retrieval using the Implication/Realization Model

Winner of 2005 MIREX competition on melodic similarity

Based on Eugene Narmours


Narmour s Implication-Realization-Model
Implication Realization Model

Music Theory:
y Whyy care?
G ht
Grachten,
A
Arcos
& Mantaras:
M t
M l d Retrieval
Melody
R ti
l using
i the
th Implication/Realization
I li ti /R li ti Model
M d l

Music Theory:
y Whyy care?
G ht
Grachten,
A
Arcos
& Mantaras:
M t
M l d Retrieval
Melody
R ti
l using
i the
th Implication/Realization
I li ti /R li ti Model
M d l
Edit-Distance on I-R-analyses

Outline

What is Music Theory?

Examples

Theory of melody
Theor
melod (and comp
computational
tational model)
Theory of harmony (and computational model)
Theory of meter (and computational model)

Melody:
y I-R-Model
I li ti
Implication:
2 di
dimensions:
i
iinterval
t
l size
i and
d di
direction
ti
I

I = Implication
I li ti
R = Realization

Melody:
y I-R-Model
I li ti
Implication:
2 di
dimensions:
i
iinterval
t
l size
i and
d di
direction
ti
I

I = Implication
I li ti
R = Realization

Melody:
y I-R-Model
E
Expectations:
t ti
influenced
i fl
db
by G
Gestalt
t lt principles
i i l off proximity,
i it similarity
i il it and
d good
d continuation
ti
ti
small melodic intervals imply a process P:
realized
li d iinterval
t
l iis iin th
the same direction
di ti and
d iis off similar
i il size
i

large melodic intervals imply a reversal R:


realized interval is in a different direction and is smaller in size

Melody:
y I-R-Model
Definitions
Intervall size:
small interval: size <=P4 (perfect fourth)
large interval: size >= P5 (perfect fifth)
Tritone: ambiguous,
ambiguous depends on context

Intervallic difference:
equal: =
similar: diff <=M3
<=M3,m3
m3 (major
(major, minor third)
different: diff >M3,m3

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
I li ti
Implication:
2 di
dimensions:
i
iinterval
t
l size
i and
d di
direction
ti
I

completely realized

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
I li ti
Implication:
2 di
dimensions:
i
iinterval
t
l size
i and
d di
direction
ti
I

completely realized

partially realized

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
I li ti
Implication:
2 di
dimensions:
i
iinterval
t
l size
i and
d di
direction
ti
I

completely realized

partially realized

denied

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
D i ti
Derivatives
off Process
P

completely realized

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
D i ti
Derivatives
off Process
P

Derivatives of Reversal

completely realized

Intervallic Process

Registral Process

Intervallic Reversal

Registral Reversal

partially realized:
prospective

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
D i ti
Derivatives
off Process
P

Derivatives of Reversal

completely realized

Intervallic Process

Registral Process

Intervallic Reversal

partially realized:
prospective

Registral Reversal

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
D i ti
Derivatives
off Process
P

Intervallic Process

Derivatives of Reversal

Registral Process

Intervallic Reversal

Registral Reversal

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
D i ti
Derivatives
off Process
P

Derivatives of Reversal

completely denied

Intervallic Process

Registral Process

Intervallic Reversal

Registral Reversal

Retrospective
x (x): the same directional characteristics, differ from their counterpart in the size of their
antecedent interval

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp
D i ti
Derivatives
off Process
P

Derivatives of Reversal

completely denied

Intervallic Process

Registral Process

Intervallic Reversal

Registral Reversal

Retrospective
x (x): the same directional characteristics, differ from their counterpart in the size of their
antecedent interval

I-R-Model: Melodic Archetypes


yp

Matthew S. Royal, Music Theory Online, Vol. 1, No. 6, 1995

I-R-Model: Closure
With respect to the main concerns of musicology and music theory, I-Rs most important
contribution is not expectation but closure; closure, for example, is the concept that
allows I-R to generate the reductive analyses so important in music-theoretical discourse
(A. Cramer: Beyond Expectation in the Analysis of Melody, ICMPC 2004)

I-R-Model:
The Analysis and Cognition of Basic Melodic Structures
Eugene Narmour, 1990
University Chicago Press
http://www.writeawriting.com/academicwriting/how-to-write-book-review/

Review of The Analysis and Cognition of Basic Melodic


Structures and The Analysis and Cognition of Melodic
Complexity by Eugene Narmour
Matthew S. Royal, Music Theory Online, Vol. 1, No. 6, 1995
http://free-clipart-of.com/FreeBookClipart.html

M. Pearce, G. Wiggins: Expectation in Melody: The Influence of Context and Learning Music
Perception Vol 23
Perception,
23, 2006
2006, pp 377-405
377 405

Outline

What is Music Theory?

Examples

Theory of melody
Theor
melod (and comp
computational
tational model)
Theory of harmony (and computational model)
Theory of meter (and computational model)

Fred Lerdahl: Tonal Pitch Space


p

Tonal organization
Distances between chords

What is tonality?
y

System for interpreting pitches or chords through their relationship to


a reference pitch, dubbed the tonic (Huron, 2006, p. 143)

Tonal distances: Circle of Fifths

Tonal distances: Circle of Fifths

David Heinichen: Musicalischer Circul (1728)

Tonal distances: Circle of Fifths

Major
j

Minor

David Heinichen: Musicalischer Circul (1728)

Tonal distances: Circle of Fifths

David Kellner: Circul (1737)

Tonal distances: Circle of Fifths

Major
j

Minor

David Kellner: Circul (1737)

Circle of Fifths: modern approach


pp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EadPQxdmBlA

Chordal space
p

Gottfried Weber

Tonal distances: Tonnetz

Leonhard Euler: Tentamen novae theoriae musicae (1739)

Tonal distances: Tonnetz

Oettingen: Harmoniesystem in dualer Entwickelung (1866)

Tonal distances: Tonnetz

Riemann: Musiklexikon (1900)

Tonal distances: Tonnetz

Major
j chord

Minor chord

Riemann: Musiklexikon (1900)

Tonnetz: Modern approach


pp

Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Paulus


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZ5h_0DTj4

Tonal distances

Carol Krumhansl:
Cognitive Foundations of Musical Pitch, 1990

Lerdahl: Tonal Pitch Space


p

Basic space of tonic chord in C-Major

Distance between chords ((within region)


g )

Distance between
Di
b
chords
h d (short
( h version):
i )
Number of distinct pitch classes + Number of diatonic fifth intervals between root

Distance between chords ((within region)


g )
C major

D minor

d(x,y) = k+j = 6+2 = 8

Example: distance C-major and D minor chord in C-major

Distance between chords ((across regions)


g
)

Principle
p of the shortest p
path

Wagner: Parsifal bars 45-55


(Thomas Noll: Review of Tonal Pitch Space, ZGMTH, 2005)

Problem:
t many
too
paths of same
length

Noll & Garbers (2004) Harmonic Path Analysis

Principle
p of the shortest p
path

Wagner: Parsifal bars 45-55


(Thomas Noll: review TPS, 2008)

Lerdahl

Cohn

Tonal Pitch Space:


p
Critique
q
Emmanuel Bigand and Richard Parncutt:
Perceiving musical tension in long chord sequences
P h l i lR
Psychological
Research
h (1999) 62
62: 23
237-254
2 4

By reacting to these local structures, tension ratings fit quite well with a
hierarchic model
model, even though the participants were relatively insensitive to
the global structure of the pieces

TPS: Application
pp
in MIR
Bas de Haas,
Haas Remco C
C. Veltkamp
Veltkamp, Frans Wiering:
Tonal Pitch Step Distance: A Similarity Measure For Chord Progressions
ISMIR proceedings 2008

Tonal Pitch Step


p Distance ((TPSD))

Graph shows distance to the tonic

Shift the graphs minimizing the area between them

Size-of-area
Size
of area / length-of-shortest-song
length of shortest song = distance

Successfully applied to 388 sequences of chord labels that describe the


chords of 242 jjazz standards found in the Real Book

Outline

What is Music Theory?

Examples

Theory of melody
Theor
melod (and comp
computational
tational model)
Theory of harmony (and computational model)
Theory of meter (and computational model)

Yeston/Krebs/Lerdahl
/
/
& JJackendoff

I define the meter of a work as the union of all layers


y
of motion ((i.e.,,
series of regularly recurring pulses) active within it.
Harald Krebs

Rhythm:
y
Meter
Accent Pattern

Yeston/Krebs/Lerdahl
/
/
& JJackendoff

Harald Krebs
Harald Krebs:
Krebs Beethovens Eroica
Harald

I define the meter of a work as the union of all layers of motion


((i.e., series of regularly
g
y recurring
gp
pulses)) active within it.
Harald Krebs

Yeston/Krebs/Lerdahl
/
/
& JJackendoff

Harald
Harald Krebs
Krebs

I define the meter of a work as the union of all layers of motion


((i.e., series of regularly
g
y recurring
gp
pulses)) active within it.
Harald Krebs

Inner Metric Analysis


y
Metric Weight
g

I define the meter of a work as the union of all layers of motion


(i
(i.e.,
series
i off regularly
l l recurring
i pulses)
l
) active
ti within
ithi it.
it
Harald Krebs
Anja Volk, Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2008

Inner Metric Analysis


y
Metric Weight
g

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de

Anja Volk, Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2008

Inner Metric Analysis


y
Metric Weight
g

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de

Anja Volk, Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2008

Inner Metric Analysis


y
Metric Weight
g

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de

Anja Volk, Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2008

Inner Metric Analysis


y
Metric Weight
g

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de

Anja Volk, Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2008

Inner Metric Analysis


y
Metric Weight
g

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de

Anja Volk, Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2008

Inner Metric Analysis


y
Metric Weight
g

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de

Anja Volk, Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, 2008

Inner Metric Analysis


y

Ragtime

left hand

right hand
Anja Volk, The Study of Syncopation using Inner Metric Analysis: Linking Theoretical and
Experimental Analysis of Metre in Music, In: Journal of New Music Research, 2008

Harald Krebs

Weight profile

Weight profile without local meters of period 2

Weight profile without local meters of period 3

Anja Volk, The Study of Syncopation using Inner Metric Analysis: Linking Theoretical and
Experimental Analysis of Metre in Music, In: Journal of New Music Research, 2008

Similarity based on IMA


Elaine Chew, Anja Volk (Fleischer) and Chia-Ying Lee

Dance Music Classification using


g Inner Metric Analysis
y
A Computational Approach and Case Study Using 101 Latin American Dances and National Anthems

allll iin 4/4!


Merengue
Rumba

Tango

BossaNova
March/Anthem
Picture from www.mondolatino.it

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de


Picture from www.accomodationbsas.co.ar
Pict re from www.armygermany.com
Picture
arm german com

Picture from www.danceuniverse.co.kr

Classification
Complete Book of the Worlds Dance Rhythm
Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de

http://andrewjpeterswrites.com/
?tag=stephanie-spinner

Similarity based on IMA


Elaine Chew, Anja Volk (Fleischer) and Chia-Ying Lee

Dance Music Classification using


g Inner Metric Analysis
y
A Computational Approach and Case Study Using 101 Latin American Dances and National Anthems

Merengue
Rumba

Tango

BossaNova
March/Anthem
Picture from www.mondolatino.it

Picture from www.ritzenhoff.de


Picture from www.accomodationbsas.co.ar

Picture from www.danceuniverse.co.kr

80 % correct

Pict re from www.armygermany.com


Picture
arm german com

Summary: Why care about Music Theory?

?
http://www.info.music.indiana.edu/

http://www.globalnerdy.com

Might provide surprising insights into music

Lots of analyzed music

Even though formalization is often not the strength of music theory


rich source of interesting musical examples

Theories often not large-scale tested, but example-based

Possible contribution of MIR: data-rich approach

Interdisciplinary discourse

http://www.info.music.indiana.edu/

http://www.globalnerdy.com

http://withfriendship.com/user/Athiv/mathematician.php

About intertwining of musicology and computing:


Achievements
Failures
Challenges
Perspectives
of mathematical and
computational approaches to music
research
Alan Marsden
Guerino Mazzola
Geraint Wiggins
Guest Editors:
Anja Volk and Aline Honingh

Panel discussion MCM 2011, IRCAM, Paris: Bridging


g g the Gap
p

References 1

Kofi Agawu, Music as Discourse, Oxford University Press, 2009.


Emmanuel Bigand & Richard Parncutt, Perceiving musical tension in long chord sequences,
Psychological Research,
Research 62
62, 237-254
237-254, 1999.
1999
Elaine Chew, Anja Volk (Fleischer), and Chia-Ying Lee, Dance Music Classification Using Inner
Metric Analysis: a computational approach and case study using 101 Latin American Dances and
National Anthems. in The Next Wave in Computing, Optimization and Decision Technologies:
Proceedings of the 9th INFORMS Computer Society Conference.
Conference Bruce Golden,
Golden S.
S Raghavan,
Raghavan
Edward Wasil (eds.) Kluwer, 2005.
Leonhard Euler: Tentamen novae theoriae musicae,1739.
Grove Music Online: Subject entry Music Theory (author: Claude Palisca).
Maarten Grachten, J. Ll. Arcos, R. Lpez de Mntaras ,Melody Retrieval using the
Implication/Realization Model, ISMIR, 2005.
Bas de Haas, Remco C. Veltkamp, Frans Wiering, Tonal Pitch Step Distance: A Similarity
Measure For Chord Progressions, ISMIR 2008.
David Huron: Sweet anticipation Music and the Psychology of Expectation, MIT Press, 2006.
Joseph Kerman, Musicology, 1985.
Haral Krebs: Fantasy Pieces: Metrical Dissonance in the Music of Robert Schumann, Oxford
Universityy Press,, 1999.
Carol Krumhansl: Cognitive Foundations of Musical Pitch, 1990
Fred Lerdahl: Tonal Pitch Space, Oxford University Press, 2005.

References 2

Eugene Narmour, The Analysis and Cognition of Basic Melodic Structures, University Chicago
Press, 1990.
Thomas Noll, Review of Tonal Pitch Space (Zwischen theoretischer Strenge und Milde:
Anmerkungen zu Fred Lerdahls Tonal Pitch Space), ZGMTH, http://www.gmth.de/zeitschrift.aspx,
2005.
Thomas Noll & Joerg Garbers, Harmonic Path Analysis, Perspectives in Mathematical and
Computational Music Theory, (eds. G. Mazzola et al), epOs-music: Osnabrck, 399431, 2004.
Matthew S. Royal, Review of The Analysis and Cognition of Basic Melodic Structures and The
Analysis and Cognition of Melodic Complexity by Eugene Narmour, Music Theory Online, Vol. 1,
No. 6, 1995
Arthur von Oettingen, Harmoniesystem in dualer Entwickelung,1866 .
Hugo Riemann, Musiklexikon, 1900.
Anja Volk (2008), Persistence and Change: Local and Global Components of Metre Induction
using Inner Metric Analysis, In: Journal of Mathematics and Computation in Music, Vol. 2:2, p. 99115.
Anja Volk (2008), The Study of Syncopation using Inner Metric Analysis: Linking Theoretical and
Experimental Analysis of Metre in Music, In: Journal of New Music Research, Vol. 37:4, p. 259273.
Maury Yeston: The Stratification of Musical Rhythm, Yale University Press,1976.
Geraint Wiggins, Daniel Muellensiefen, Marcus Pierce, On the non-existence of music: Why music
theory is a figment of the imagination, Musicae Scientiae, Discussion Forum 5, 231 -255, 2010
Lawrence Zbikowski, Conceptualizing Music: Cognitive Structure, Theory, and Analysis (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Tutoriall Musicology
T
l
Part 3: Music Similarity
ISMIR 2011
Anja
j Volk & Frans Wiering,
g ICS, Utrecht University

Music Similarityy
ISMIR 2000:
y Crawford, and Larson: Lecture, Recital, Discussion, and Survey
y session
Byrd,
on music similarity

ISMIR 2009:
Downie, Byrd, Crawford: The similarity problem remains a huge challenge, not
least because of the difficulty of establishing ground-truth in this subjective area

Musicology:
gy Similarityy
Oxford Music Online: subject entry: similarity

no result

Music similarity no research subject per se


(other than: tonality, rhythm, sonata form )

Musicology:
gy Similarityy
Yet: many topics inherently linked to music similarity

musical style, early Schubert vs. late Schubert


typical harmonic chord progression
sonata form (first and section thematic section, study of
derivatives)
study of prototypical patterns

no explicit model
http://weirdo-from-nowhere.blogspot.com

Musicology:
gy Similarityy
Most prominent examples of similarity studies

Tune family
Motivic-thematic relationships in Classical Western music

Musicology:
gy Similarityy
Most prominent examples of similarity studies

Tune family
Motivic-thematic relationships in Classical Western music

Similarity:
y Tune familyy

Bayard 1950: tune family consists of folk songs that are supposed to have a
common origin in history

Variations introduced through oral transmission

TUNE FAMILY

Similarity:
y Tune familyy

Similarity:
y Tune familyy

Bayard 1950: tune family consists of folk songs that are supposed to have a
common origin in history

Variations introduced through oral transmission

Wiora ((1941):
) list of changes
g

Changes in contour

Changes in tonality

Changes in rhythm

Inserting and deleting of parts

Changes of form

Changes in expression

Demolition of the melody

Bronson 1950:
id weights
i ht ffor some ffeatures
t
for
f a
provides
corpus of British-American folksongs

Similarity:
y Tune familyy

Cowdery 1984: not one single anchestor in history, tune families can blend
to each other, pool of motifs

Experiment:
p
Tune familyy

Klusen, Moog, Piel: Experimente zur mndlichen Tradition von Melodien, 1978

Experiment
p
Tune familyy
Song
variant

Text
changes

Rhythm
changes

Pitch
changes

14

77

13

65

178

18

23

104

90

117

219

all

135

214

578

percentage

14,6%

23,1%

62,3%

rhythm is bound to text!

Klusen, Moog, Piel: Experimente zur mndlichen Tradition von Melodien, 1978

Study:
y Tune familyy
Annotation study:

360 songs out of 6000 songs of Dutch folksongs


numerical ratings regarding contribution of similarity of single features
Features: melodic contour
contour, rhythm
rhythm, mode
mode, lyrics
lyrics, motifs
provided by musicological experts
most important feature: recurring melodic motifs

Cowderyy 1984
A. Volk, P. van Kranenburg, J. Garbers, F. Wiering, R.C. Veltkamp, L.P. Grijp, A manual
annotation method for melodic similarity and the study of melody feature sets, ISMIR, 2008

Musicology:
gy Similarityy
Most prominent examples of similarity studies

Tune family (ethnomusicology)


Motivic-thematic relationships in Classical Western music

Similarity:
y Motivic-thematic relations

similarity relationships give the listener the feeling that he understands


what he is listening to without having to study the compositional rules on
which the music was based (Leonard B. Meyer)

e.g. Schoenberg,
S h
b
W
Webern,
b
R ti
Reti

Similarity:
y Motivic-thematic relations

M l & Wachsmann
Melen
W h
(2001) Koniare
(2001),
K i
ett al.
l (2001):
(2001)

McAdams et al (2004):

infants (6 to 10 months, 10- to 11-years-old) form categories of musical motifs


(Schubert, Diabelli)

experts and novices build categories within a contemporary piece

Ziv & Eitan (2007):

listeners build categories of motifs in Beethoven piece

Open issue: What musical features do listeners attend to?


Discussion of surface vs. deep features

Music cognition
g

Melodic similarity

Melodic Similarityy

(Sloboda & Parker, Immediate recall of melodies, 1985)

Melodic Similarityy
Results
The most fundamental feature that is preserved in this melody is the metrical
gg
that metre is a primary
y structural frame for melodic
structure ... This suggests
comprehension and recall.
Within the metrical phrase structure
structure, subjects do not reproduce the exact rhythms
of the original. Rather, they substitute metrical equivalents in about half of the
cases.
There is evidence that harmonic structure may be coded even when exact
melodic structure is lost.

Sloboda & Parker, Immediate recall of melodies, 1985

Melodic Similarityy
Results
The most fundamental feature that is preserved in this melody is the metrical
gg
that metre is a primary
y structural frame for melodic
structure ... This suggests
comprehension and recall.

Even in the absence of text, time structure is the most stable element of melody!

Sloboda & Parker, Immediate recall of melodies, 1985

Melodic Similarityy

Please identify a song in as few notes as possible!

I have no idea!
Sounds familiar, but I am not sure enough
I am pretty sure that it is ______
I am sure that it is ________

Schulkind, Posner, Rubin: Musical Features That Facilitate Melody Identification, 2003

Melodic Similarityy

Tonal Functions

Pitch Height

Features

3 levels

Phrase placement
p
Local patterns

Size, direction

Duration
Meter

Number of semitones with respect to anchor

Contour
Interval

Perceived distance to the key (tonic)

Alternation, run, pair

Serial Positions

early vs. late in the melody

Schulkind, Posner, Rubin: Musical Features That Facilitate Melody Identification, 2003

Melodic Similarityy

Tonal Functions

Pitch Height

Features

3 levels

Phrase placement
p
Local patterns

Size, direction

Duration
Meter

Number of semitones with respect to anchor

Contour
Interval

Perceived distance to the key (tonic)

Alternation, run, pair

Serial Positions

early vs. late in the melody

Schulkind, Posner, Rubin: Musical Features That Facilitate Melody Identification, 2003

Melodic Similarityy

Tonal Functions

Pitch Height

Features

3 levels

Phrase placement
p
Local patterns

Size, direction

Duration
Meter

Number of semitones with respect to anchor

Contour
Interval

Perceived distance to the key (tonic)

Alternation, run, pair

Serial Positions

early vs. late in the melody

Schulkind, Posner, Rubin: Musical Features That Facilitate Melody Identification, 2003

Melodic Similarityy

Tonal Functions

Pitch Height

Number of semitones with respect to anchor

Contour
Interval

Perceived distance to the key (tonic)

Size, direction

Duration
Meter

3 levels

Phrase placement
Local patterns

Serial Position

Surprising: temporal factors


contribute more than pitch factors!

Alternation, run, pair


early vs. late in the melody

Schulkind, Posner, Rubin: Musical Features That Facilitate Melody Identification, 2003

Melodic Similarityy
Results

The placement of a note within a musical phrase was the most


consistent predictor ... Identification performance was highest at
phrase boundaries

Notes that completed consecutive alternations between rising and


falling pitch contours were a significant predictor in half of the
regression models

The last two musical variables that entered the best-fit models
were both temporal in nature
nature. ... Identification was most likely to
occur at long notes and metrically accented locations.

Schulkind, Posner, Rubin: Musical Features That Facilitate Melody Identification, 2003

Melodic Similarityy
How effectively can the statistical properties of
melodies account for listeners
listeners similarity judgments?

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
How effectively can the statistical properties of
melodies account for listeners
listeners similarity judgments?

Melodies from five distinct folk music styles :


North Sami yoiks,
Fi i h Spiritual
Finnish
S i it l folk
f lk h
hymns,
Irish hornpipes,
German folksongs
G k folksongs.
Greek
f lk
Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
How effectively can the statistical properties of
melodies account for listeners
listeners similarity judgments?

rate the similarity of pairs of melodies on a scale from 1 to


corresponded to very similar and 9 to very dissimilar.

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Similarity measures: statistical properties

distribution of the tones,


distribution of the intervals
intervals,
distribution of the tone durations,
distribution of two-tone transitions,
distribution of the interval transitions
transitions,
distribution of the duration transitions

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Similarity measures: statistical properties

distribution of the tones,


distribution of the intervals
intervals,
distribution of the tone durations,
distribution of two-tone transitions,
distribution of the interval transitions
transitions,
distribution of the duration transitions

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Similarity measures: statistical properties

distribution of the tones,


distribution of the intervals
intervals,
distribution of the tone durations,
distribution of two-tone transitions,
distribution of the interval transitions
transitions,
distribution of the duration transitions

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Similarity measures: statistical properties

distribution of the tones,


distribution of the intervals
intervals,
distribution of the tone durations,
distribution of two-tone transitions,
distribution of the interval transitions
transitions,
distribution of the duration transitions

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Similarity measures: Descriptive variables

Tonal Stability

Qualities of successive intervals

Rhythm

correlation between
tone profile of the
melody and the C-major
probe-tone profile)

mean proximity of tones,


registral return
return,
registral direction,
closure,
intervallic difference,
consonance

syncopation,
rhythmic variability
variability,
rhythmic activity,
total number of tones

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Similarity measures: Statistical Properties

The similarity measures were regressed upon the similarity ratings of the listeners
for all pairs of melodies.

Only moderate success! R2 = .39

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Similarity measures: Descriptive Variables

6 descriptive variables could explain 62% of the variance in similarity ratings:


melodic predictability,
mean pitch,
tonal stability,
consonance,
number of tones,
closure

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
Conclusion
the descriptive variables were somewhat better predictors of melodic
similarity than were frequency-based variables, but further research is
warranted before their individual roles in similarity formation can be
assessed
... most important, it is safe to assume that the events in a melody are
not equally salient. The prediction rate might have been higher if the
salience of individual events had considered aspects such as melodic,
harmonic or contour accents.

Eerola,, Jrvinen,, Louhivuori,, & Toiviainen: Statistical Features and Perceived Similarityy of Folk Melodies,, 2001

Melodic Similarityy
More experiments on similarity:

18 algorithmic similarity measures tested in listening experiments


2 main dimensions that differentiate the tested 18 algorithmic measures: the
incorporation of rhythmic information and the reflection of local (motivic) vs.
global similarit
similarity.
Listeners have a balanced judgement with respect to local vs. global similarity,
but influence of rhythm depends on the experimental context

Mll i f & F
Mllensiefen
Frieler:
i l M
Modelling
d lli experts
t notions
ti
off melodic
l di similarity,
i il it 2007

Melodic Similarityy
More experiments on similarity:

The similarity judgement of experts seems to be a flexible concept that adapts


to the specific experimental task or context of melodies. At the same time it
seems to be a stable notion that can be very well agreed upon among experts
in a given situation.

Mll i f & F
Mllensiefen
Frieler:
i l M
Modelling
d lli experts
t notions
ti
off melodic
l di similarity,
i il it 2007

Musicae Scientiae

Special issue Similarity 2007


Special
p
issue Similarity
y 2009

Conclusion

Similarity is a complex notion for music


cognition research
Depending on the context similarity can be
described using very different features
Similarity is not yet sufficiently understood

Outlook: Project
j MUSIVA
Information
Retrieval

Musicology

Variation principle

MUSIVA

Cognitive Science

Modelling MUsical SImilarity over time through the VAriation principle

MUSIVA: Variation Principle


p

Relating musical patterns

listeners experience similarity

classical, folk and popular music

MUSIVA: Variation Principle


p

MUSIVA: Computational model realizing variation


Interaction local and global features

Interaction between local and gglobal features

General melodic line: global feature

Interaction between local and gglobal features

Global feature helps to discover salient local elements

MUSIVA: 2011-2016
Information
Retrieval

Musicology

MUSIVA
Marcelo Rodrguez-Lpez

Anja Volk
Principal Investigator

PhD student
Cognitive Science

N.N.
Bas de Haas

Frans Wiering

P td
Postdoc

Part-time member

programmer

http://www.cs.uu.nl/research/projects/vidi-volk/

References 1

S. Bayard, Prologeman to a study of the principal melodic families of british-american folk song. Journal of
American Folklore, 63(247), 1-44, 1950.
BH B
B.H.
Bronson, S
Some observations
b
ti
about
b t melodic
l di variation
i ti iin british-american
b iti h
i
f lk tunes.
folk
t
J
Journal
l off the
th American
A
i
Musicological Society, 3, 120-134, 1950.
J.R. Cowdery, A fresh look at the concept of tune family. Ethnomusicology, 28(3), 347-350,1984.
S. Downie, D. Byrd, T. Crawford: Ten years of ISMIR: Reflections on challenges and opportunities, ISMIR, 2009.
Eerola Jrvinen,
Eerola,
Jrvinen Louhivuori,
Louhivuori & Toiviainen,
Toiviainen Statistical Features and Perceived Similarity of Folk Melodies
Melodies, Music
Perception, Vol 18 (3), 2001.
Klusen, E., Moog, H. & Piel, W., Experimente zur mndlichen Tradition von Melodien, Jahrbuch zur
Volksliedforschung, Vol 23, 1978.
Krebs, H., Fantasy Pieces. Oxford University Press,1999.
D. Koniari, S. Predazzer, Categorization and schematization processes used in music perception by 10- to 11-year
old children, Music Perception, 18(3), 2001.
Krumhansl, C. and Kessler, E.J., Tracing the dynamic changes in perceived tonal organization in a spatial
representation of musical keys, Psychological Review 89, 1982.
Lerdahl,, F. & Jackendoff,, R.,, A g
generative theory
y of tonal music. Cambridge:
g MIT Press,, 1983.
McAdams et al, Perception of musical similarity among contemporary thematic materials in two instrumentations,
Music Perception, Vol 22(2), 2004.
L.B. Meyer
M. Melen & J. Wachsmann (2001), Categorization of musical motifs in infancy, Music Perception, Vol 18 (3), 2001.
M i
Musicae
S i i
Scientiae,
Di
Discussion
i F
Forum 4a,
4 200
2007 (Special
(S
i l IIssue on M
Music
i similarity)
i il i )
Musicae Scientiae, Discussion Forum 4b, 2009 (Special Issue on Music similarity)
Mllensiefen, D. & Frieler, K., Modelling experts notions of melodic similarity, Musicae Scientiae, Discussion
Forum 4a, 2007

References 2

Peretz, I., The nature of music from a biological perspective, Cognition, Vol 100, 2006
Phillips-Silver, J. & Trainor, L., Feeling the Beat: Movement Influences Infant Rhythm Perception, Science, Vol 308
(3) 2005
(3),
2005.
Povel, D. & Essens, P., Perception of Temporal Patterns, Music Perception, Vol 2 (4), 1985.
Schulkind, M., Posner, R. & Rubin, D., Musical Features That Facilitate Melody Identification, Music Perception,
Vol 21 (2), 2003.
Sloboda J. & Parker, D., Immediate recall of melodies, Musical Structure and Cognition, 1985.
A. Schoenberg, Fundamentals of musical composition, 1967.
R. Reti, The thematic process in music, New York: Macmillan, 1951.
Yeston, M. The Stratification of Musical Rhythm. Yale University Press, New Haven and London.1976
A. Volk, P. van Kranenburg, J. Garbers, F. Wiering, R.C. Veltkamp, L.P. Grijp, A manual annotation method for
melodic similarity and the study of melody feature sets, ISMIR, 2008
A.Webern, The path to the new music, London: Theodor Presser, 1963
W.Wiora, Systematik der musikalischen Erscheinungen des Umsingens, Jahrbuch fuer Volksliedforschung, 7,
1941.
N Ziv & Z.
N.
Z Eitan,
Eitan Themes as prototypes: Similarity judgments and categorization tasks in musical contexts
contexts.
Musicae Scientiae, Discussion Forum 4 A, 2007.

27-10-11

Music and Meaning

ISMIR 2011 tutorial Musicology, part 4


Anja Volk & Frans Wiering
Department of Information and Computing Sciences,
Utrecht University

Contents
n
n
n
n

motivation and illustration


types of musical meaning
theories of musical meaning
connecting empirical and musicological
approaches
concluding remarks about entire tutorial

27-10-11

Motivation
n

music is meaningful
q
q
q

most important reason for engaging with music


central concept in new musicology
underlies MIR research
n
n
n

music makes life more valuable


q

motivation of the researchers


emotion and music
music industry is driven by meaningfulness of music

like for example sports, entertainment,


arts, friendship, religion

our brains are optimised for attaching


meaning to anything
3

Meaning in new musicology


n

musical meaning used to be taboo subject


q
q

positivist musicology: objective study of musical materials


meaning and emotion considered subjective, private and
irrational

addressed in new musicology


q

Kermans criticism (1985) centred around questions of


value and meaning
n

ultimate motivation for research

with notable precursors


n
n

hermeneutic interpretations (Kretschmar 1887-1890)


Leonard Meyer (1956)

27-10-11

Generation of meaning
n

Lawrence Kramer, Musicology and


meaning (2003)
q
q

new musicology = cultural musicology


aim: understanding musical subjectivity in
history
subjectivity: disposition to engage in specific
social and historical practices
new musicology is first and foremost about
musical meaning

meaning is
q
q

a product of action rather than structure


emergent, resulting from a negotiation
process involving musical text and context
musical structure has potential meaning

Musical meaning an intractable problem?


Is meaning entirely mediated by culture, or are there identifyable
universals? Is meaning communicable from one person to
another, given the vagaries of subjective response? For music to
communicate, must it also be beautiful? Does music convey
anything at all beyond its play of sounds? What, indeed, does
meaning mean? What methodological tools are appropriate? Is
music like a language, a natural object, an article of faith? Or is
meaning more like a subjective confession, an idiosyncratic
recognition of meaningful patterns? Is there any common ground
at all on which to lay a foundation for a theory of meaning?
(Pearsall & Almn 2006, 1)
6

27-10-11

Desperate housewives, season 7 trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxvMgCpgiYM
n
n

play without / with sound


what is it the music adds?
7

Desperate housewives
n
n
n

what is it the music adds?


story line depends on music
meaning through allusion
q
q
q

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly


hook in particular
theres a new girl in town, and shes dangerous

question remains: what makes this an


effective piece in the first place?
8

27-10-11

Closer (2004)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlyqGmPXgBI
n
n

movie trailer; scene at 042 is same as in analysis, but with different music
music suitable for romantic drama
10

Closer (2004)
n

two couples
q
q

Dan (Jude Law) and Alice (Natalie Portman)


Anna (Julia Roberts) and Larry (Clive Owen)

play ultimate game of partner swap


Dan

Alice

Anna

Larry

scene: first encounter between Dan and Anna


q

what is the role of the music here?

full plot: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376541/synopsis

11

27-10-11

Photo shoot

relevant scene is 9561457


12

Photo shootthe music


n

n
n

the music is played during the photo shoot


q Anna and Dan hear the music
q switched off at the end
music creates two layers of meaning
does the music follow the action, or the action the music?
q near-perfect synchronisation of musical and erotic gesture
q acting follows dynamics of the music
q or is it set in motion by it?
q Davies contour theory
what is being played?
q Mozart, Cos fan tutte
q part of the farewell scene
13

27-10-11

Cos fan tutte, Soave sia il vento

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ixCRu9FwHg

14

Farewell scene
n

whats going on here?


q
q
q

two couples
two men have joined the army
fiancees stay behind, supported by elderly friend
Ferrando

Dorabella

Fiordiligi

Guglielmo

why?
q

love as a high-risk game


15

27-10-11

Back to Closer
n

two layers of musical meaning


q
q

Mozarts music is effective under different


circumstances
q

expression of passionate love


specific information about the plot through reference to
opera
not just emotion

farewell (opera) and encounter (movie)

musical structure allows for range of meanings


q

meaning as an emergent property ( Cook, Kramer)


16

150th anniversary of Italian unification

n
n

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaXE0v0bJoE&feature=related
why this sad music?
17

27-10-11

Expressing what cannot be said


n

from Verdi, Nabucco


q
q

context of creation an early reception (1842-1870)


q
q

q
q

VERDI = Vittorio Emmanuele Re dItalia


powerful political meaning
but see http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/verdi-and-milan
for a myth-busting view (Roger Parker)

other examples
q

Italy oppressed by foreign powers


censure, no freedom of speech

longing for independence and unity expressed through this


opera, this scene
q

Babylonian captivity
Va pensiero: longing for return to Israel

USSR, Reformation

censorship shows reality of musical meaning


18

Expressing what cannot be said


n

from Verdi, Nabucco


q
q

context of creation an early reception (1842-1870)


q
q

Italy oppressed by foreign powers


censure, no freedom of speech

longing for independence and unity expressed


through this opera, this scene
other examples
q

Babylonian captivity
Va pensiero: longing for return to Israel

USSR, Reformation

censorship shows reality of musical meaning


19

27-10-11

Important types of musical meaning


n
n

expression, emotion
multimedia
q advertising
q film
q video games (cf. Joris de Man, ISMIR 2010)
n

ambience, game state, interaction

social meaning
q ritual (cf. jula jula)
q bonding (nursery songs)
q identity (hiphop, rap, metal)
q power / oppression / torture
n
n

music of the Sistine Chapel (Rome), San Marco (Venice)


Panamese dicatator Noriega driven out of Vatican Embassy, allegedly by
means of hard rock music

20

Patels taxonomy of musical meaning


1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

structural interconnection of
musical elements
expression of emotion
experience of emotion
motion
tone painting
musical topics
social associations
imagery and narrative
association with life experience
creating and transforming the
self
musical structure and cultural
concepts

n
n

about meanings attached to


instrumental music
note that 2 are about emotion,
and 9 about other meanings
rather weak on social meanings
positivist musicology best
represented by (1)
ethnomusicology by (7) and (11)
also recommended: Cross &
Tolbert (2008)

Patel 2008, ch. 6

21

10

27-10-11

Music and semantics


n
n

some authors deny the existence of musical meaning


formal theories of semantics
q

aspects of semantics are


n
n
n

q
q
q

n
n

referenceability to denote
senseterms can be related
capability of making true and false propositions

music does not have these properties


so music cannot have semantics (or express meaning)
see Cross & Tolbert 2008; Wiggins 1998

semiotic theories of meaning are better suited to music


relationship musiclanguage is important (but skipped)
q

q
q

music as language particularly strong in 17th-18th century theory (see


e.g. Cook & Dibben 2010)
intermediate forms. e.g. silbo (whistling language)
widely studied from biological perspective (e.g. Fitch 2006)

22

Theories of musical meaning

23

11

27-10-11

Philosophical approach to meaning


n
n

Stephen Davies. Emotions expressed and


aroused by music (2010)
puzzles in the expressiveness of instrumental music
how can music express emotions? such expression
properly belongs to sentient beings.
mirroring responses to musics expressiveness
negative responses. why do people enjoy sad music?

1.
2.
3.

assumptions
q
q

listener familiar with the repertoire


a catalog of musical features is not the answer
n

how do they work?

musical emotions felt are the same as felt elsewhere


n

listeners are not mistaken in experiencing sadness in music


24

Cognitive theory of emotion


n
n

emotions help us survive


emotions involve
q
q
q
q
q
q

sensation
physiological change
are object oriented
categorisation of objects
attitudes
behaviours

25

12

27-10-11

Philosophical approach to meaning


n

Stephen Davies. Emotions expressed and


aroused by music (2010)
puzzles in the expressiveness of instrumental
music
how can music express emotions? such
expression properly belongs to sentient beings.
mirroring responses to musics expressiveness
negative responses. why do people enjoy sad
music?

1.

2.
3.

26

1. How can music express emotions?


n
n

problem: music is not a sentient being, so it cannot


have an emotion
various explanations rejected
q

through conventional signs


n

n
n
n

cannot induce sensation (dinner bellno taste)

represents emotion of a human being


composer, artist
not necessarily experiencing emotion in creation/performance
persona imagined in music (various problems)

arousal theory
n
n
n

properties induce sensations


grass induces sensation of greenness
not enough consistency in perception

27

13

27-10-11

Contour theory
n

behaviours, comportments, physiognomies are


experienced as expressive
q The car and the puppet are happy looking
and the dog and the weeping willow are sadlooking. These attributions apply to the
appearances the depicted items present, not
to occurent emotions.
music presents emotional characteristics, not
emotions
q property of music itself
q unfolding in time, dynamic pattern
q such patterning is manipulated in
compositions
cf. David Hurons raccoon experiment at ISIMIR
2011

28

2. Mirroring responses
n

response to expression often mirrors that


expression
q
q

e.g. sad music experience of sadness


lacks usual beliefs (e.g. unfortunate event
happened)

sadness is a feeling, not an emotion


q
q
q

no emotional object
appropriate reaction to appearance of sadness
emotional contagion
Schubert, Das Wirtshaus (Winterreise)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw8NmTWKkeE

30

14

27-10-11

3. Negative responses
n

negative expression is echoed in feeling


q

rejected explanations
q
q

then why not evade such feelings


compensated by other properties (e.g. beauty)
better understanding of emotions

Davies explanation
q
q

negative often integral to the whole


common experience in our life stories
n

training, education, career

negative feelings present no special problem as they are


part of the reward

31

How to proceed from here?


n
n

emotion resides in high-level patterns


same probably true for other forms of musical
meaning
some theories of musical meaning involving
high-level patterns and structures
q
q
q

Meyer: expectation
Brower: embodiment
Cook: potential meaning

many studies about role of mid-level features


q

e.g. Gabrielsson & Lindstrm 2010


32

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How to proceed from here?


n
n

emotion resides in high-level patterns


same is probably true for other forms of
musical meaning
some theories of musical meaning involving
high-level patterns and structures
q
q
q

Meyer: expectation
Brower: embodiment
Cook: potential meaning

33

Leonard Meyer
n

first important musicologist to address meaning


systematically
q
q

distinction of designative and embodied meaning


focus is on embodied meaning: meaning within the
work
tied secondarily to designative meaning

Emotion and meaning in music (1956)


q

meaning of an event lies in the


consequence to which it points
failure of habitual response
emotion and/or meaning
34

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Theory of musical expectation


n

music displays patterns of antecedent-consequent


structures
q
q
q

meaning arises out of these patterns


q

e.g. melodic phrases


chord progressions: I-V I
strategies: consequent is delayed, consequent is
unexpected; antecedent is ambiguous
composing involves manipulating these processes
antecedent gets meaning when consequent is unexpected

Meaning in music and information theory (1957)


q
q

relates meaning to Markoff models and entropy


important distinction
n

probabilistic models focus on consequent of message


35

Meyers contribution
n
n

many leads for computational methods


possible weaknesses
q

theory extended by Narmour 1990, Huron


2006
q

preference for novelty: how does this work in


music you know?
is expectation sufficient for explaining richness of
emotional responses to music?

see part 2: theory

neuroscientific evidence in support of Meyer


36

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Embodiment
n
n

Candace Brower: A cognitive theory of musical


meaning (2000)
central ideas
q
q
q

embodied cognition of music


q

all thinking is pattern matching (Howard Margolis)


most thinking is metaphorical: patterns are mapped
between domains (Mark Johnson)
most basic patterns derive from immediate experience of
our bodies
embodied has different
meaning in Meyer 1956!

musical pattern matching


through cognitive schemas
37

Image schemas
n
n

schemas: categories of patterns


embodied image schemas are e.g.:
q
q
q

shape our understanding of music


q
q

container; balance;
center-periphery; source-path-goal
combinations of those
tonality
nested container/center-periphery
Schenker analysis
source-path-goal

patterns work at many levels


q

create narrative structures


n

e.g. sonata form as a journey

related work: Zbikowski 2002


40

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Potential meaning
n

Nicholas Cook, Theorizing musical meaning (2001)


q

musical meaning is emergent


q
q
q

meaning is created in the act of performance


musical structure has potential meaning
limits the range of possible meanings

meta-analysis of McClary
q

musical meaning in new musicology is important but


untheorized
how might music support, or not support the meanings
ascribed to it?

extreme meaning, supported by potential meaning

potential meaning in Closer example


q

multiple meanings can be ascribed to Mozarts music


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SZ9QzGg95g (700-900)

42

Theories of meaningconclusion
n

many kinds of musical meaning


q
q

musicology has a lot to say about meaning


q
q
q

emotion important but not the only type


more emotions than just happy and sad
mostly case-based
few generic approaches
deep philosophical issues, mainly classical instrumental music

meaning probably not in music itself


q

potential meaning in structure


n

model for perception provided by Brower audio MIR

shaped by context
n

models models provded by Davies, Meyer symbolic MIR

actualised in performance
addressed by Cook, Kramer web mining for MIR

meaning can contribute to understanding relevance


q
q

beyond similarity
towards better computational models

43

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Connecting empirical and


musicological approaches

45

Contrasting musicology and MIR


n
n

n
n
n
n
n
n

data-poor approach
philosophical, maximum
interpretation
culture of disagreement
diversity of repertoire
social context important
much good data
lots of theory, insights
many unanswered
questions

n
n

n
n
n
n
n
n

data-rich approach
empirical, maximum
strength of evidence
culture of collaboration
homogeneous repertoire
metadata important
data-hungry
lack of domain knowledge
lots of computational
methods

areas exist where we can help each other


46

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Relating musicology and MIR


n

placing music in context is hallmark of new musicology


q

issues of meaning and value occur in both disciplines


q
q

proposal for integrated approach in Wiering 2009


added value of connecting meaning-centred and structurecentred approaches (Cross 2007)

opportunities for new empiricism proposed by Huron


(1999)
q

study of context strongly suggests data-rich approaches

postmodernism and empiricism two sides of the same (sceptical)


coin

widely believed in musicology that it is time for something


new to happen

47

Concluding the tutorial

49

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Things we wanted to attain today


n

give some experience of the culture of


musicology
q

show range of musicological topics


q

ethnomusicology, source study, analysis, philosophy

point out key publications


q

language, practices, values, taboos

introductions, classics, state-of-the-art

generally, communicate the idea that there is


something worthwhile to explore out there
50

Musicologists: the user manual


n

musicology is tribal. Musicologists often belong to a subdiscipline


and tend to be hostile to other tribes
q

learn to speak their language

invest in trust
q

its an ethical thingso pragmatic arguments do not work

interest in context, performance, culture, media, internet and popular


musics
do not assume they mean the same things with these words as you
q

dont use the M-word: the music itself

they want it all: 99% success rate is just not good enough
q

find out where they stand

not much interest in objective analysis, large-scale data processing

only if you show respect for their values they will share their insights

remember, you dont bring the truth, you just belong to a tribe with a
different value system

51

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Computer scientists: the user manual


n
n
n

computer scientists are not programmers


if they do music they are passionate about it
you can do a lot with stuff theyve created that is
not 100% correct
q

just skip the math stuff in their papers


q

they love to show you how this can be done


most of them do the same thing

they think its easier to model the entire universe


than it is to understand a particular item
52

References 1
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n

n
n

B. Almn and E. Pearsall. 2006. Approaches to meaning in music. Indiana U. Press


C. Brower. 2000. A cognitive theory of musical meaning. Journal of Music Theory 44/2, 323-379
N. Cook. 2001. Theorizing musical meaning. Music Theory Spectrum 23, 170-95.
N. Cook & N. Dibben. 2010. Emotion in culture and history: perspectives from musicology. In:
Juslin & Sloboda 2010, 45-72
I. Cross. 2007. Music, science, and culture. Proceedings of the British Academy 147, 147-165
I. Cross & E. Tolbert. 2008. Music and Meaning. In: Hallam et al. 2009
S. Davies. 2010. Emotions expressed and aroused by music: philosophical perspectives. In:
Juslin & Sloboda 2010, 15-44
W.T. Fitch. 2006. The biology and evolution of music: a comparative perspective. Cognition, 100
(1), 173-215.
A. Gabrielsson & E. Lindstrm (2010) The role of structure in the musical expression of emotions.
In: Juslin & Sloboda 2010, 367-400
S. Hallam, I. Cross and M. Thaut, eds. 2009. Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, Oxford U.
Press
E. Hanslick. 1854. Vom Musikalisch-Schnen: Ein Beitrag zur Revision der sthetik der Tonkunst.
Repr. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2010. Eng. tr: On the Musically Beautiful: A
Contribution Towards the Revision of the Aesthics of Music. Hackett, 1986.
D. Huron. 1999. The New Empiricism: Systematic musicology in a postmodern age.
http://music-cog.ohio-state.edu/Music220/Bloch.lectures/3.Methodology.html
D. Huron. 2006. Sweet anticipation Music and the psychology of expectation, MIT Press

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References 2
n
n
n
n
n

n
n
n

P.N. Juslin & J.A. Sloboda (eds.). 2010 Handbook of music and emotion. Oxford U. Press
L. Kramer. 2003. Musicology and meaning. The Musical Times 144 (1883), 6-12
H. Kretschmar. 1902. Anregungen zur Frderung der musikalischen Hermeneutik. Leipzig
L.B. Meyer. 1956. Emotion and meaning in music. Chicago U. Press
L.B. Meyer. 1957. Meaning in music and information theory. Journal of Aesthetics and Art
Criticism 15/4, 412-424
E. Narmour. 1990. The analysis and cognition of basic melodic structures. Chicago U. Press
A. Patel. 2008. Music, language, and the brain. Oxford U. Press
P. Vuust & M. Kringelbach. 2010. The Pleasure of Making Sense of Music. Interdisciplinary
Science Reviews 35/2, 166-182
F. Wiering. 2009. Meaningful music retrieval. In: A. Anglade & J. Hockman (eds.), 1st Workshop
on the Future of Music Information Retrieval, ISMIR 2009, 1-3
http://www.columbia.edu/~tb2332/fmir/Papers/Wiering-fmir.pdf
G.A. Wiggins. 1998. Music, syntax, and the meaning of meaning. Proceedings of the First
Symposium on Music and Computers, 18-23
L. Zbikowski. 2002. Conceptualizing music: Cognitive structure, theory, and analysis. Oxford U.
Press

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