Music, in a sense, has it easy when it comes to meaning.
In language, the symbols known to us as "words" have very specific parameters in which they function. The borders are rather constrictive.
For example:
I think it's over there.
I know it's over there.
I believe it's over there.
I suspect it's over there.
I get the sense it's over there.
I saw it over there.
All very specific, indicating specific shade of meaning which get translated in a rather intellectual way by the mind. The specificity of each statement stops the mind from absorbing the THERE!ness of the statement.
In music, set meanings do not exist. Juxtapositions are forged and placed in a relationship. The mind traces the flow of that relationship rather than picking apart the structure for meaning bit by bit as it does in language. This allows the intuitive/symbolic part of the brain to run free and deal with borderless concepts.
This is why I have so much respect for poetry. Good poetry uses words to destroy their use. A good poem will evoke the same sort of intuitive functions as music does.
manniac dharma explorer
Posts: 15
(7/3/01 6:04 am) Reply
Re: Instruments do speak
I think you're right. Non-linguistic arts can speak to virtually all men; linguistic arts can only be enjoyed by a certain subset of a certain society.
Although, the ebb and flow of the spoken word can be enjoyed even without knowledge of the meaning behind the words.
Re: Instruments do speak Nous
Wow, that's something I never thought of! I always envied those who play/compose music because it seems to me to be able to evoke passion and feeling in a way that poetry never could. But when I think about it, I have read/heard poetry that has brought me to tears or made me laugh out loud. And it explains why we use music terms to describe poetry as well.
And manniac has a good point about the ebb and flow of spoken poetry - it's much the same as opera. We don't understand the words, but we feel them.
fluttersby
Dart Registered User
Posts: 12
(7/25/01 9:59 am) Reply
Re: Instruments do speak
What language would be used by these instruments?
Could they be speaking in the language of personal memories?
The "language" spoken by a soprano sax in the hands of Kenny G would not be the same language in the hands of another.
On a related topic - "Instrumental Music" - does the message/connection of a piece of music change over time?
How many people associate a specific piece of music with "The Young and the Restless" instead of Nadia Komenici and the first time a perfect score was given at the Olympic Games.
How many can listen to "Thus Spake Zarasthusthra" without thinking of HAL?
I use instrumental music as "white noise" when I am reading a book, but this only works with music which is familiar. I saw a movie - "Somewhere In Time" - a number and enjoyed the music behind the movie, yet when I attempted to read with the soundtrack on in the background I found that I could not get past the images evoked by the variations on the theme.
Re: Instruments do speak
I had never thought about that, Dart but you're absolutely right. I was trying to think of other things which function in this way and all I could come up with was the sense of smell.
Perhaps the nuances of music, and, indeed of smell, are wired into the mind along the same patterns and pathways of the memories they accompany. They appear to blend better into experience than other ways of percieving.
Re: Instruments do speak
That's what you get for working in only in oil instead of adding sound. (just jivin' ya)
My mom was affected by both music and visual art while growing up; she can still capture a pretty scene on paper.
Disney's Fantasia is a good example of the different types of associations that are possible within a mind caused by music.
I mentioned before that I often use music as "white noise" when I am reading a book. The only requirement for this use is that I be familiar with the music played and not be strongly affected by associations brought up (Nadia's Theme and the theme from Somewhere in Time STILL have a habit of breaking into my "reading hideaway" and dragging me back to the real world).
Wanderer Intervention and Flow
Posts: 30
(11/9/01 11:05 am) Reply
Re: Instruments do speak
There is definitely an immediacy to music, as if it somehow bypasses our conscious awareness and speaks directly to our emotions. Music is perhaps the most efficient form of artistic manipulation.
There are different musical languages, though. As an audience, we have expectations which guide our listening experience. In Western classical music, for example when a harmonic tension develops, we have particular expectations. When the development resolves, we are enthralled by the release. Different genres work in different ways, using different relational structures--in essence, using different languages.
While there are musicians who attempt to undermine all musical languages, most professional musicians speak a particular language, giving their audience the play of tension and release that they anticipate.
(just jivin' ya)
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