Analysing Popular Music - Theory, Method and Practice
Analysing Popular Music - Theory, Method and Practice
Analysing Popular Music - Theory, Method and Practice
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Analysingpopularmusic:theory,method
and practice
by PHILIP TAGG
37
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38 PhilipTagg
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Analysingpopularmusic 39
These developments can be summarised as follows: (1) a vast in-
crease in the share music takes in the money and time budgets of
citizensin the industrialisedworld; (2) shiftsin class structureleading
to the advent of socioculturallydefinable groups, such as young
people in student or unemploymentlimbo between childhood and
adulthood, and their need for collective identity;(3) technological
advances leading to the developmentof recordingtechniquescapable
(forthefirsttimein history)ofaccuratelystoringand allowingformass
distribution of non-written musics; (4) transistorisation,micro-
electronicsand all thatsuch advances mean to the mass dissemination
of music; (5) the developmentof new musical functionsin the audio-
visual media (forexample, films,TV, video, advertising);(6) the 'non-
communication'crisisin modernWesternartmusicand the stagnation
of officialmusic in historicalmoulds; (7) the development of a loud,
permanent,mechanical lo-fisoundscape (see Schafer1974, 1977) and
its 'reflection'(see Riethmiiller1976) in electrifiedmusic with regular
pulse (see Bradley1980); (8) thegeneralacceptanceofcertainEuro-and
Afro-Americangenresas constitutinga linguafrancaofmusicalexpres-
sion in a large numberofcontextswithinindustrialisedsociety;(9) the
gradual, historicallyinevitablereplacementof intellectualsschooled
solelyin the artmusic traditionby othersexposed to thesame tradition
but at the same time brought up on Presley, the Beatles and the
Stones.
To those ofus who duringthefiftiesand sixtiesplayed bothScarlatti
and soul, did palaeography and Palestrina crosswords as well as
workingin steelworks,and who walked across quads on our way to
the 'Palais' or the pop club, the serious studyofpopular music is not a
matter of intellectuals turning hip or of mods and rockers going
academic. It is a question of (a) gettingtogethertwo equally important
parts of experience, the intellectualand emotional, inside our own
heads and (b) being able as music teachers to face pupils whose
musical outlook has been crippled by those who present 'serious
music' as ifit could never be 'fun' and 'fun music' as thoughit could
never have any serious implications.
Thus the need forthe serious study of popular music is obvious,
while the case for making it a laughing matter,although under-
standable (itcan be hilariousat times),is basicallyreactionaryand will
be dispensed withforthe restofthisarticle.This is because the aim of
what followsis to presenta musicologicalmodel fortacklingproblems
of popular music contentanalysis. It is hoped that this mightbe of
some use to music teachers,musicians and otherslooking fora con-
tributiontowards the understanding of 'why and how does who
communicatewhat to whom and with what effect'.
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40 PhilipTagg
Musicologyand popularmusicresearch
Studying matter.
popularmusicis an interdisciplinary Musicology still
lags behindotherdisciplinesin the field,especiallysociology.The
musicologistis thusat a simultaneousdisadvantageand advantage.
The advantageis thathe can drawon sociologicalresearchto givehis
analysisproperperspective. Indeed,itshouldbe statedat theoutset
thatno analysisof musicaldiscoursecan be consideredcomplete
withoutconsideration ofsocial,psychological,
visual,gestural,ritual,
economic
technical,historical, aspectsrelevantto the
and linguistic
genre,function,style,(re-)performance situationand listeningatti-
tudeconnected withthe sound eventbeingstudied.Thedisadvantage
'contentanalysis'in thefieldofpopularmusicis
is thatmusicological
still underdevelopedarea and somethingof a missinglink(see
an
Schuler 1978).
Musicalanalysisandthecommunication process
Letus assumemusictobe thatformofinterhuman communication in
whichindividually experienceable affective states and processesare
conceivedand transmitted as humanlyorganisednon-verbalsound
structures to thosecapableofdecodingtheirmessagein theformof
adequate affectiveand associativeresponse(see Tagg 1981B). Let us
also assumethatmusic,as can be seen in itsmodesof'performance'
and reception,mostfrequently requiresby itsverynaturea groupof
individualstocommunicate eitheramongthemselves orwithanother
group; thus most music (and dance) has an collective
intrinsically
character notsharedby thevisualand verbalarts.Thisshouldmean
thatmusicis capableoftransmitting theaffective attitudes
identities,
and behaviouralpatternsofsociallydefinablegroups,a phenomenon
observedin studiesofsubcultures and used byNorthAmericanradio
to determineadvertising markets(see Karshner1971).
Now, althoughwe have considerableinsightintosocioeconomic,
subculturaland psycho-social mechanismsinfluencing the 'emitter'
(by means of biographies,etc.)and 'receiver'of certaintypesofpopu-
larmusic,we have verylittleexplicitinformation aboutthenatureof
the'channel',themusicitself.We knowlittleaboutits'signifiers' and
about
'signifieds', the relations themusic establishes between emitter
and receiver, abouthowa musicalmessageactuallyrelatestothesetof
affectiveand associativeconceptspresumably sharedby emitter and
receiver,and how itinteracts withtheirrespective socialand
cultural,
naturalenvironments. In otherwords,reverting tothequestion'why
and how does who say what to whom and withwhat effect?',we could
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music
popular
Analysing 41
say thatsociologyanswersthequestions'who', 'to whom'and, with
some help frompsychology, 'withwhateffect'and possiblypartsof
'why', but when it comes to the restof 'why',not to mentionthe
questions'what'and 'how',we areleftin thelurch- unlessmusicolo-
gists are prepared to tackle the problem (see Wedin 1972, p. 128).
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42 PhilipTagg
nomadicor agrarian X
Type of society in
which the category agrarian and industrial X
of musicmostlyoccurs
industrial X
Main twentieth-century independentof monetaryeconomy X
mode of financingr publicfunding
productionand distribution f n
of the music 'free' enterprise X
uncommon _ X
Theory and aesthetics
common X
anonymous X
Composer/author
non-anonymous X X
andhermeneutics
theory
Affect
Despite the overwhelming dominance of the formalisttraditionin
universitydepartmentsof musicology,such non-referential thinking
should neverthelessas seen as a culturaland historicalparenthesis,
bordered on the one side by the baroque Theoryof Affectsand on the
other by the hermeneuticsof music (see Zoltai 1970, pp. 137-215).
Obviously, thenormativeaestheticstrait-jacketofAffectTheory,a sort
of combinationof feudal absolutistthoughtand rationalistcuriosity,
and its apparent tendency to regard itselfas universallyapplicable,
renderitunsuitableforapplicationto the studyofpopular music,with
itsmultitudeof'languages', rangingfromfilmmusicin thelate roman-
tic symphonicstyleto punk and frommiddle-of-the-road pop to the
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Analysingpopularmusic 43
and sociologyofmusic
Thesemiology
The transferof structuralist and semioticmethods,derived fromling-
uistics,to the realmofmusic seemed to offerconsiderablepossibilities
for the understanding of musical messages (see Bernstein 1976).
However, several musicologistsof semioticbent (Lerdahl and Jacken-
doff1977,Keiler1978,Stoianova 1978) have pointedto theobvious but
overlooked fact that models constructedto explain the structureof
semantic, denotative and cognitiveverbal language cannot be trans-
planted wholesale to the epistemologyof music with its associative
and affectivecharacter(see Shepherd 1977). Unfortunately,a great
deal of linguisticformalismhas creptinto the semiologyof music, the
extragenericquestion of relationshipsbetween musical signifierand
signifiedand between the musical object under analysis and society
being eitherregardedwithintradisciplinary scepticismas intellectually
suspect or as subordinate to congenericrelationsinside the musical
object itself (see, for example, Nattiez 1974, PP. 72-3). However,
instead of establishingsuch opposition between extrageneric(emic,
referential, hermeneutic,multidisciplinary)and congeneric(etic,non-
referential,formalist,uni-disciplinary)approaches, it seems wiser to
treatthese two lines of reasoning as complementaryratherthan con-
tradictory.In this way it will be possible to establish relations (ex-
tragenerically)between given items of musical code and theirrespec-
tive fields of extramusicalassociation and (congenerically)between
these various individual partsofthe musical code as processual struc-
tures.
The empiricalsociologyofmusic,apartfromhavingacted as a sorely
needed alarmclock,rousingmusicologistsfromtheirculture-centric and
ethnocentricslumbers,and notifyingthem of musical habitsamongst
the population at large, can also provide valuable informationabout
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44 PhilipTagg
the functions,uses and (withthe help of psychology)the effectsofthe
genre,performanceormusicalobjectunderanalysis.In thisway, results
fromperceptualinvestigationand otherdata about musical habitscan
be used forcross-checkinganalyticalconclusions and forputtingthe
whole analysis in its sociologicaland psychologicalperspectives.
It is clear thata holisticapproach to the analysis ofpopular music is
the only viable one if one wishes to reach a fullunderstandingof all
factorsinteractingwith the conception,transmissionand receptionof
the object of study. Now although such an approach obviously re-
quires multidisciplinary knowledge on a scale no individualresearcher
can ever hope to embrace, thereare neverthelessdegreesof inter-and
intradisciplinary outlook, not to mentionthe possibilitiesaffordedby
interdisciplinary teamwork. An interestingapproach in thiscontextis
that of Asaf'ev's Intonation Theory(see Asaf'ev 1976), which embraces
all levels of musical expression and perception,fromonomatopoeic
signals to complex formstructures,without placing them on either
overtor covertscales of aestheticvalue judgement. Intonationtheory
also tries to put musical analysis into historical,cultural,social and
psychologicalperspectiveand seems to be a viable alternativeto both
congenericformalismand unbridledhermeneuticexegesis, at least as
practisedin the realm of artmusic by Asaf'ev himself(1976, pp. 51ff.)
and, in connection with folk music, by Mar6thy (1974). Intonation
theoryhas also been applied to the study of popular music by Muihe
(1968) and Zak (1979). However, the terminologyof intonationtheory
seems to lack stringency,intonation itselfbeinggivena diversityofnew
meaningsby Asaf'ev in additionto those italreadypossesses (see Ling
1978A). It seems wise to adopt the generallyholisticand dynamically
non-idealistapproach of intonationtheoryin popular music analysis,
less wise to adopt its terminology,at least in the West where it is still
littleknown.
There are also a number of other importantpublications within
non-formalistmusicology which combine semiological, sociological,
psychological and hermeneuticapproaches, therebyofferingideas
which mightbe useful in the analysis of popular music. Apart from
pioneer work carriedout in pre-warGermany(see R6sing 1981,n.11)
and by Frances (1958), I should mentionin thiscontextpublicationsby
Karbuhicky(1973), Rdsing (1977), Ling (1978B) and Tarasti (1978).
However, in none of these publications are the analytical models
applied to popular music; thisstillremainsan extremelydifficult area,
as R6sing (1981) points out in his critiqueof several West German
attemptsat tacklingthe problem.The difficulties are also clearlyepito-
mised by the surprisingdearth of analyticalmethods developed in the
Anglo-Saxon world.
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Analysing music
popular 45
In an interestinganalysis of a fourteen-minute LP trackby an East
German rockgroup, PeterWicke(1978) puts forwardconvincingargu-
ments fortreatingpopular music with new, non-formalist analytical
methods. Wicke's analysis poses questions arisingfroman approach
similarto thatused here. Therefore,in an effortto fillsome epistemo-
logical gaps I shall proceed to attempttheestablishmentofa theoretical
basis forpopular music analysis.
An analyticalmodelforpopularmusic
The conceptual and methodologicaltools forpopular music analysis
presented here are based on some results of currentresearch (Tagg
1979, 1980, 1981A, B). The mostimportantpartsofthisanalyticalmodel
are (1) a checklistofparametersofmusicalexpression,(2) theestablish-
ment of musemes (minimal units of expression) and museme com-
pounds by means of interobjectivecomparison,(3) the establishment
offigure/ground (melody/accompaniment) relationships,(4) thetrans-
formationalanalysis of melodic phrases, (5) the establishmentof pat-
ternsof musical process and theirrelativecongruencewith eventual
patternsofextramusicalprocess,and (6) thefalsification ofconclusions
by means ofhypotheticalsubstitution.These points will be explained
and some of them exemplifiedin the rest of this article.I shall draw
examples mainly frommy work on the title-themeof the KojakTV
series(see Tagg 1979)and on Abba's hitrecording'Fernando' (see Tagg
1981A). First,however, this analyticalprocess should be put into the
contextof a scientificparadigm. The discussion thatfollowsshould be
read in conjunctionwith Figure 2. A reading down the centreof this
diagram, followingthe bold lines, takes one throughthe process of
analysis. Down the sides, joined by thinnerlines, are the extramusical
factorswhichfeedintotheprocesses ofproductionofthemusicand, at
thelevelofideology,mustalso be takenintoaccountbytheanalyst.First,
however, let us concentrateon the hermeneutic/semiological level,
reading down Figure 2 as faras the momentof 'verbalisation'.
Methodological
paradigm musicanalysis
forpopular
It should be clearthatpopular musicis regardedas a socioculturalfield
of study (SCFS). It should also be clear fromFigure 2 thatthereis an
access problem involvingthe selectionof analysis object (hereinafter
'AO') and analyticalmethod. Choice of method is determinedby the
researcher's'mentality'- his orherworldview, ideology,set ofvalues,
objectivepossibilities,etc., influencedin theirturnby the researcher's
and thediscipline'sobjectivepositionin a cultural,historicaland social
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46 PhilipTagg
SCFS
ACCESS Select
PROBLEM method
musico
music,, (music.) music,
RM
EE
AOIOCM
EO IMC IMC
NL EMFA H EMFA
EO PMP S PMP
UG PEMP PEMP
on aims I I on reactions
D music analysed
E in explicit terms
AO as expression
C of relationships
Emitter * Emitter: Receiver Receiver
UL- interests, * Emitter: SCFS - interests,
needs and I * Receiver:SCFS needs and
functions * AO: SCFS functions
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Analysing music
popular 47
The choice of AO is determinedto a large extentby practicalmeth-
odological considerations.At the presentstage ofenquirythismeans
two things.Firstly,it seems wise to selectan AO whichis conceivedfor
and received by large, socioculturallyheterogeneousgroups of listen-
ers ratherthan music used by more exclusive,homogeneous groups,
simplybecause it is more logical to studywhat is generally communi-
cable beforetryingto understandparticularities.Secondly,because, as
we have seen, congenericformalismhas ruled the musicologicalroost
for some time and because the development of new types of ex-
tragenericanalysis is a difficult
matter,demanding some caution,it is
best that AOs with relativelyclear extramusicalfields of association
(hereinafter'EMFA') be singled out at this stage.
The finalchoice to be made beforeactual analysis begins is which
stage(s) in the musical communicationprocess to study. Reasons for
discarding music as notation (music.) have already been presented.
Music as perceived by listeners (music,) and as conceived by the
composer and/ormusician beforeactual performance(music,) are on
the other hand both highlyrelevantto the study of popular music,
since theirrelationsto each other,to the sounding object (music,) and
to the general sociocultural field of study are all vital parts of the
perspective into which any conclusions fromthe analysis of other
stages in the musical communicationprocess mustbe placed. Never-
theless, however importantthese aspects may be (and theyarevital),
they can only be mentionedin passing here, being referredto as the
'ideological' part of the paradigm which follows the hermeneutic-
semiological stage.
Thus, choosing the sounding object (music,) as our startingpoint,
we can now discuss actual analyticalmethod.
method
Hermeneutic-semiological
The firstmethodologicaltool is a checklist ofmusicalexpres-
ofparameters
sion. Having discussed general aspects of the communicationprocess
and any formsofsimultaneousextramusicalexpressionconnectedwith
the AO, it is a good idea to make some sortoftranscriptofthe music,,
takinginto considerationa multitudeof musical factors.In drastically
abridged form(fromTagg 1979, pp. 68-70), the checklistincludes:
1. Aspectsof time:duration of AO and relation of this to any other
simultaneous formsof communication;durationof sectionswithin
the AO; pulse, tempo, metre, periodicity;rhythmictextureand
motifs.
2. Melodicaspects:register;pitchrange;rhythmic motifs;tonalvocabul-
ary; contour; timbre.
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48 PhilipTagg
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music
popular
Analysing 49
Thus using IOC means describingmusic by means of othermusic; it
means comparingtheAO withothermusicin a relevantstyleand with
similarfunctions.It works in the followingway.
If an analyticalapproach which establishesconsistencyof response
to the same AO played to a numberof different respondentsis called
intersubjective,then an interobjective
approach would be thatwhich can
establish consistencyof sound events between two or more pieces of
music. Establishingsimilaritiesbetween an AO and other 'pieces of
music' can be done by the researcherhimself,referring to the 'check
list'. The scope ofthe interobjective
comparisonmaterial
(IOCM) can, how-
ever, be widened considerablyby asking otherpeople to do the same.
This process establishes a bank of IOCM which, to give some ex-
amples, can amount to around 350 pieces in the case of the Kojaktitle
theme and about 130 in Abba's 'Fernando'.
The next step is to search the IOCM formusical elements(items of
musical code: IMC) which are also to be found in the AO. These ele-
ments are oftenextremelyshort(musemes), or else consistof general
sonorities or of overall expressional constants. Particularmusemes,
'motifs'and general sonoritiesin both the AO and the IOCM which
correspond must then be relatedto extramusicalformsof expression.
Such relationships can be established if pieces in the IOCM share
any common denominatorsof extramusicalassociation in the formof
visual or verbal meaning. If they do, then the objective correspon-
dences established between the items of musical code in the analysis
object (AO/IMC) and those in the IOCM (IOCM/IMC), and between
the musical code of the IOCM (IOCM/IMC) and its extramusicalfields
of association (IOCM/EMFA), lead to the conclusion that there is a
demonstrable state of correspondencebetween the items of musical
code in the analysis object (AO/IMC) and the extramusicalfields of
association connected to the interobjective comparison material
(IOCM/EMFA) - also of course, between IOCM/IMC and AO/EMFA
(see Fig. 3).
There are obvious pitfallsin this method of determiningmusical
'meaning'. Justas no one would presumethesame morphemeto mean
the same thingin two differentlanguages (forinstance, French and
English [wi:]), so itwould be absurd to presumethat,say, a Bbl3 chord
will 'mean' the same in nineteenth-century operetta (Ex. i) and in
bepop (Ex. 2).
The same kind of confusionmightalso resultin describing'What
Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor' as sad, and 'He Was Despised'
fromthe Messiahas happy, just because minoris supposed to be sad
and majorhappy - as thoughthespecificitiesofmusicallanguage were
not the most importantoperative factors.
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50 PhilipTagg
AO
IMC
IOCM
VIMC
AO
EMFA IOCM
EMFA
e--+ objective
statesofcorrespondence
--- demonstrable
statesofcorrespondence
Figure 3. Hermeneuticcorrespondenceby means of interobjectivecomparison
Example 1
rAA
rail.X
2
Example
ietc.
etc.
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Analysingpopularmusic 51
of one museme in any listeningsituation,it is suggested thathypoth-
eses of musematic 'meaning' be tested by means of a technique well
known fromsuch practices as 'majoring', 'minoring', 'rockingup',
'jazzing up' and applied by Bengtsson (1973, pp. 221ff.)to illustrate
theories on musical processes. This technique is called hypothetical
substitutionand is best explained by example.
The Swedish national anthem ('Du Gamla, du Fria'), togetherwith
most patrioticsongs and hymns(whatevertheirmusical origins*),can
be assumed to be of a traditionallysolemn and positivelydignifiedyet
confidentcharacter.Furthermore, itcan be assumed thatthereis great
intermusematicsimilaritybetween most national anthems. To test
these assumptions, it is necessary to alter the various parametersof
musical expression one by one, in order to pinpointwhat part of the
music actuallycarriesthe solemn-dignified-confident affect.Using the
firstmelodic phrase (Ex. 3) as a startingpoint,hypothetical substitution
(HS) can the
falsify theory that(a) the melodic contour,(b) the melodic
relationship of the initialupbeat-downbeatt and (c) the key and the
intervallicrelationshipof the melody to the tonicare instrumentalin
the transmissionof the assumed affectivemeaning.
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52 PhilipTagg
Example 4
(a) altered melodic contour
= 76
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popularmusic
Analysing 53
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54 PhilipTagg
relative importance of simultaneous musemes and their combined
affectualmessage, shown as a theoreticalmodel in Figure 4, can be
exemplifiedby the affectualparadigmofthefirstmelodicphrase in the
Kojaktheme (Fig. 5).
Type of
relation
Melody Accompaniment
BassOther parts
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Analysingpopularmusic 55
IM TM
(initialmotif) (terminalmotif)
M M M M
(museme)
Figure 6. 'Deep structure'of melodic phrases
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a
Pitch idea
Accentual direction
Melodic vocabulary
(Cm pentatonic)
no-cet
Deletion by
fsm
assimilation
-
1
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Accentual
emphasis --d
(by prolongation)
Decoration by
impletion%:
A 3
Accentual diffusion
Propulsive double
repetition 1
Deletion of
redundant rests E
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58 PhilipTagg
Example 5
r a ~~~L I t
i- r- 3
Example 6
ry- k
!* I
I
I
M
I I kI N 1 74 I , d
I-- -4/
4-4
Example 7
bar 1 2 3 4
,I t4 d-I
-A,
m.
3-L [I "i)
Example 8
bar 1 2 3 4
S -3-3 r--3
r---3
,
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Analysingpopularmusic 59
formand the 'intensional'blocks throughwhich much popular music
(not least rock) is structuredin a much more immediateway.*
Nevertheless, this does not mean that patternsof musical process
are a simple matterin popular music analysis (see Wicke 1978, Tagg
1979). Although block shifts(simultaneous changes in several para-
meters of musical expression) are reasonably clear in joins between
verse and chorus, A and B sections,etc., the totalmeaningof straight-
forwardpatternsof reiterationand recapitulationcan oftenbe more
than theirdeceptive simplicitysuggests. (For discussionofsome ofthe
processes involved, see Tagg 1979,pp. 217-29.) The situationbecomes
even more complex when there is incongruence between musical
processes and extramusicalprocesses (PEMP: visual images or words,
forinstance) in the same AO. Only a depth analysis of simultaneity,
staggeringor incongruenceof change and returnin both musical and
extramusical processes within the AO can actually reveal the true
nature of the musical discourse. The sortof probleminvolved here is
probably best explained by an example.
In Abba's 'Fernando',t patternsofmusicaland extramusicalprocess
seem reasonablyclear.The song has two parts:instrumental plus verse
(V), and chorus (C). The order of events is V V C V C C. By means of
musematic analysis the verse can be said to conjure up a postcard
picture of a young European woman alone against a backclothof a
plateau in the high Andes. Periodicity,vocal delivery,lack ofbass and
drums, and other musical aspects say that she is sincere, worried,
involved in a long-ago-and-far-away environment.The words of the
verse underline this mood: she has taken part, togetherwith her
'Fernando', in a vaguely-referred-to freedomfight.The music of the
chorus can be said to representhere-and-nowin pleasant, modern,
comfortable,leisurelysurroundings;the young European woman is
pleasantly nostalgic. The words are congruentlynostalgicand totally
devoid of concrete references(guns, bugle calls, Rio Grande, etc.)
mentioned in the verse. Everythingin the analysis seems relatively
simple so far,and judging fromthe words ofthe chorus,thiscould be
quite a 'progressive' song.
Therewas something in theair thatnight,thestarswerebright,
Fernando,
Theywereshiningthereforyou and me, forliberty, Fernando,
Thoughwe neverthoughtthatwe couldlose, there'sno regrets:
IfI had to do thesame again,I would,myfriend, Fernando.
* For more detailed discussion of extensionaland intensionalstructures,see pp. 29-30
above. (ed.)
t Epic EPC 4036, no. 1 in the UK, 1976. Also on LP Abba's GreatestHits Epic EPC
weeks in BritishLP charts.As a single in the USA (Atlantic45-3346)
69218, fifty-one
sixteenweeks in the 'Hot loo'. For a thoroughanalysisof'Fernando', see Tagg 1981A.
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6o PhilipTagg
The only trouble is that the musical element correspondingto this
nostalgia and longing to returnto the exoticenvironment(Ex. 9) is a
highlyambiguous museme, fornotonlyis itsfallingtritone(markedx)
a stereotypeof 'longing' (forIOCM see Ex. loa, b, c) but also a typical
pre-cadentialsign of the imminentrelaxationof tension (see Ex. 11a,
b). A depth analysis of the patternsof musical process in 'Fernando'
reveals that when the ambiguous museme occurs at the startof the
chorus it has a clearly longing character(Ex. 9), since it cannot be
pre-cadentialwhen it not only initiatesthe phrase but also the whole
section. However, when it recurs at the end of the chorus, it still
admittedlystartsthe melodic phrase but it is at the same time in a
typicallypre-cadentialposition of announcing relaxationof tension
and thereforeno real longing.This is because itoccurstowardstheend
ofa much longerbut equally well-entrenchedmusicalprocess, thatofa
familiarVI-II-V-I circle-of-fifths finish (Ex. 12). This means that,
whereas the words say 'If I had to go back and fightforfreedomin
I
Latin America, would', the music expresses the affectiveattitude'I
for
maybe longing something here at home butI'm reallyquite content
with things as they are.'
There was somethingin the air that night, the stars- were bright.
Example io
a. Bach, MatthdusPassion(1729), 'Ich will bei meinem Jesuwachten'
Cm F7 B? E?7 x Ab7-5 x
O,
MW OHMF pop441
SI, [IF-,-_.
Adagio x
Sx
You ne-ver close your eyes a -ny more whenyou kiss my lips
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music
popular
Analysing 61
Example 11
a. Njurlingand Dahlqvist, 'Skepp som m6tasi natten'(1924). In SvenskSchlager,
ed. F. G.
Sundelof (Stockholm1968)
A7 D A7 x D
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62 PhilipTagg
critique
Ideological
This partofthe studyis strictly speakingoutside thejurisdictionofthe
type of 'textual analysis' sketched above. However, it seems import-
ant, ifonlyin passing and by way ofsummary,to pose a fewquestions
arising out of the sort of musematicanalysis illustratedthere. These
questions also put the analyticalmodel into a broader perspective.
The results of the detailed musematic analyses of both Kojak and
'Fernando' (Tagg 1979, 1981A) showed that this mainstreampopular
music was able to carrymessages which, at a preconscious, affective
and associative level of thought,were able to relatetypesof personal-
ity,environmentsand events to emotional attitudes,implicitevalua-
tions and patterns of affectiveresponse. In the case of Kojak, for
example, the music was found to reinforcea basically monocentric
view of the world and to emphasise affectivelythe fallacythat the
negative experienceof a hostile urban environmentcan be overcome
solelyby means ofan individualistattitudeofstrengthand go-it-alone
heroism. In 'Fernando', a similarsortof monocentricity prevails,but
the threatand worryepitomisedby oppression, hunger and rebellion
under neo-colonialism are warded off by the adoption of a tourist
attitude(most strikinglyexpressed in the spatial panning, which has
'ethnic' quena flutes in the stereo wings and the West European
vocalist up centrefront- a HS reversingthese positions could have
been interesting!)and by nostalgic reminiscences heard against a
familiar'home' accompanimentof 'softdisco' (these elementsgaining
a repressive,Angst-dispellingupper hand).
Obvious questions arising fromsuch results are of the following
type.How do 'emitter'and 'receiver'relateto theattitudesand implicit
ideologies which seem to be encoded in the analysed 'channel'? Start-
ing with the 'emitter'we might ask how, as far as the 'emitter'is
concerned, the conception and composition of these affectivelyen-
coded attitudes are influenced by the circulationof capital in the
popular cultureindustry.Does thisconnectwiththedemand forquick
turnoverand the creationof 'product' capable of elicitingimmediate
audience reaction leading to such turnover?If so, how aware is the
'emitter'of these pressures? Is there any conscious or unconscious
self-censorshipat this stage? It seems probable, forexample, thatthe
productionofmuch filmmusic,includingtitlesand signaturetunes,is
influencedby a need to followwell-entrenchedstereotypesofaffective
code, in termsofboth musematicstructuresand the implicitattitudes
conveyed by such structureswhen connectedin a stereotypicfashion
to extramusicalphenomena (see Tagg 1980). Can such tendencies
really be seen as a sort of evil conspiracyand as the reflectionof a
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Analysingpopularmusic 63
conscious ideological positionon thepartofthe'emitter'?Is itnotmore
likelythattheyshould be attributedto the objectivesocial and cultural
position ofthe 'emitter'in relationto the musicbusiness, the 'receiver'
and societyin general?
Turning to the receiving end of the communicationprocess, we
mightask how the musical statementofimplicitattitudesprevalentin
society at large affectsthose listeningto such culturallyeclecticand
heterogeneouslydistributedtypes of music as titletunes and middle-
of-the-roadpop. Are the attitudesand behaviour patternsimplied in
such music as Kojakand 'Fernando' actuallycapable ofreinforcing the
attitudesand behaviour patternsimplied by prevailingsocial tenden-
cies of monocentricity, privatisationand idealistindividualism;or are
these messages merelyreceived at a distance as entertainingreflec-
tions of an outdated mode of relatingto currentreality?Obviously,
reception of such 'consensus music' (Hamm 1981) will vary con-
siderablybetween different cultures,subcultures,classes and groups.
Thus, whereas parts of the 'fourth audience' (ibid.) maywell be able to
identify with the affectiveattitudes towards love, family,societyand
nature (on 'nature' in music, see Rebscher 1976, R6sing 1977, Tagg
1982) presented in such TV music as Kojakor in such middle-of-the-
road pop as 'Fernando', itis clear thatmanywill be unable to identify.
This raises yet another question: how does the lattertype of listener
relate to prevailing ideologies and attitudes both in music and in
society at large?
Analysingsubculturalmusiccodesin industrialisedsociety
The way in which 'counter-cultures'and subculturesexpresstheirown
stand, profile and group identityin extramusicalterms has been
documented in numerous studies (see the work of the Centre for
Contemporary Cultural Studies at the Universityof Birmingham).
However, the musicalcoding of such identitiesand attitudesis an
underdeveloped field of study. There are admittedly numerous
accounts of trendswithinAfro-American music,but few of these deal
with the actual musical code of the counter-cultureor subculturein
question. This could be because no real theoryyet exists which ex-
plains how theprevailing attitudes,patternsofbehaviourand ideology
of late capitalism are encoded in the musical mainstream of popular
musics such as signaturetunes, Musak, advertisingmusic, middle-
of-the-roadpop and rock, etc. In fact it appears that the study of
popular music has, with very few exceptions (such as Mihe 1968,
Czerny and Hoffman1968, Hamm 1979, 1981, 1982, Gravesen 1980,
Helms 1981), shown a remarkable bias towards tributaries or
offshoots,while strangelyignoringthe mainstreamitself.
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64 PhilipTagg
It is difficultto refrainfromspeculatingabout possible reasons for
such bias. Perhaps thereis a tendencyamong intellectualmusiciansor
musically interestedacademics to be criticaltowards the stereotypic
encoding of mainstreamattitudesand ideas in our society. If so, it
seems naturalthatsuch researcherswill be morelikelyto identifywith
musics 'contradicting'this mainstreamand thus be motivatedto ex-
plain the 'contradicting'position theythemselvesassume ratherthan
the 'contradicted'which theyleave shrouded in mystery,an inacces-
sible, unidentifiedenemy. But itis hard to understandhow the popu-
lar music researcherwill ever be able to explain his 'music in opposi-
tion' (or even how 'music in opposition' will be able to develop a valid
strategy)iftheideologies encoded in themusicalmainstreamare notto
be touched.
This was put terselyby WilliamBrooksat Keele Universityduringa
seminaron Afro-Amercan musicin1978.He expressedtheopinionthatit
is no use trying to find out whyChuckBerryis so greatifyou do notknow
whyPerryComo is so successful. How, one wonders,can thetruevalues
of Sonnevi's 'contradicting musical exception' (see p. 48 above) be
realised ifthe face of the 'prevailingmusical norm'is neverdemasked.
Analytical methods developed along the lines of the model
presented here may perhaps contribute to this demasking operation.
Whetheror not theymightthen be applicable to subculturalmusical
codes, such as Tyneside workers' song, reggae or punk, is another
question. The problemswould be numerousand can be generalisedas
follows. (1) Detailed genre definitionswill need to be made (for a
possible method, see Fabbri1982 and his contributionin thisvolume).
(2) Acceptable stylecriteriawill need to be established on the basis of
the musical traitsaccepted and rejected by musicians and listeners
belonging to the subculture. (3) The subcultural musical code will
probably need to be considered as a potential carrierof particular
socialisedrelationshipsbetween members of the musical subculture
and the musical mainstream- this presumablyreflectingcomparable
extramusical relationships - rather than as carrier of quasi-
universalisedattitudesand relationshipstowardsan apparentlywider
and vaguer set of general,individualised experience (see Wicke and
Mayer 1982). Such considerations seem to imply that the model
presented in this article will require some alterationbefore being
applied to the analysis of subcultural popular musics.
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Analysing music
popular 65
suggestthatthesortofhermeneutic-semiological analysispresented
herecan providesome insightand act as a basis forunderstanding
'whatis beingcommunicated' and 'how'.
Now it is truethatmy analyticalmodel has been distilledfrom
detailed,almostmicroscopic studiesof individualpieces of popular
music.Suchmicroscopic investigation was carriedoutin orderto test
thoroughly the scientific
viabilityof certain hypothesesand intuitive
analyticalpractices.It resulted in of
pieces writing(300 pages fora
one-minute titletheme,sixtypages forfourminutesofpop!) fartoo
cumbersometo be used as modelsfornormalteachingsituations.
However,thisdoes notmeanthatthebasictechniquesproblematised
and testedin thiswayareunusableinnormalcircumstances, notleast
because theneed to testand developthesemodelsevolvedfromthe
practicalproblemsof teachingpopularmusichistoryat a teachers'
trainingcollege,wheretherewas certainly no timetospendmorethan
a fewminutestalkingaboutsinglepiecesofmusic.
The methodsof interobjective comparison,of establishing corres-
pondence between the IOCM and its EMFA and thenbetween the
musicalcode of the analysisobject(AO/IMC)and the extramusical
fieldsof associationconnectedwiththe interobjective comparison
material(IOCM/EMFA)(see Fig. 3) can be carriedout by anyone
willingto exercisetheirsynaesthetic and associativecapacitiesas well
as theirintellect.
Any musician can carryoutsimpleHS (hypothetical
substitutions)and, witha tape recorder,tape, a razorblade and a
reasonableear, anyonecan evenmanageto reassemblea processual
HS. Anyonewitha bitofimagination cansingbitsoftuneinthewrong
order,or substitutenew continuations, and therebydiscoverwhat
actuallymakesthemusicsay whatit says.
In otherwordstheanalysisofpopularmusicshouldin no way be
considereda job reservedfor'experts'(althoughI will admitthat
describingits mechanismsmayrequiresome specialistknowledge).
The sortofanalyticmodelpresentedhereshouldratherbe seenas an
efforttounderpincognitively thatformofaffective andimplicit
human
communication whichoccupiespartsoftheaverageWesterner's brain
duringone quarterofhiswakinglife.(Can anyotherformofcommu-
nicationrivalthis,quantitatively?)
Analysing popularmusicshouldalso
be seenas something whichcounteracts 'splitbrain'tendencies,resists
thesortofmentalapartheidadvocatedby thenewspapersquotedat
thestartofthisarticleand breakstheschizophrenic taboosprohibiting
contactbetweenverbaland non-verbal, explicitand implicit,public
and private,collectiveand individual,workand leisure.Analysing
popularmusictakesthe 'fun' seriouslyand is itselfbotha serious
business and a lot of fun.
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66 PhilipTagg
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