Langer and Song

Langer and SongBy Sarah Zisser

Susanne LangerLived 1895-1985American philosopher of mind and artInfluenced by Ernst Cassirer

Langer Definition of ArtA work of art is an expressive form created for our perception through sense or imagination, and what it expresses is human feeling(168). We are dealing with the principles that have proven to be the same in all the arts(168).Expressiveness, in the one definite and appropriate sense, is the same in all art works of any kind(168). Definition of MusicOrganized SoundAppeal to tonality or essentially musical features such as pitch and rhythmAppeal to aesthetic properties or experienceThe art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion(Merriam-Webster)Langer and FormForm in its most abstract sense means structure, articulation, a whole resulting from the relation of mutually dependent factors, or the more precisely, the way that whole is put together(169).

Formal components of a SongHarmonyChord arrangementsRhythm Key-centricChord progressionSequenceMelodic structureMeter and construction

Discursive Form The use of language- We can communicate, by producing a serried array of audible or visible words or sounds, in a pattern commonly known, and readily understood to reflect our multifarious concepts and percepts and their interconnections(171). Case for discursive form: It is a highly versatile, amazingly powerful pattern(171)

Symbolic FormGoes where discursive form cannotSymbolic Form: the principle of saying one thing and meaning another, and expecting to be understood to mean the other(171). Even when we can accurately say what we want to express, we still cannot express that feeling without some sort of expressive form. Discursive/Symbolic Form in a Song- LyricsVehicle for symbolic expressionClear idea and languageWhat are we trying to say?Compatible melody and lyricsDo the words match the tone of the music behind them? Perfect rhyme/imperfect rhymeMetaphor

Expressive FormExpressive form can express what discursive form and symbolic form cannot. An expressive form can express any complex of conceptions that, via some rule of projection, appears congruent with it, that is, appears to be of that form. Whatever there is in experience that will not take the impressdirectly or indirectlyof discursive form, is not discursively communicable or, in the strictest sense, logically thinkable. It is unspeakable, ineffable It is unknowable(171).Expressive Form Cont.Expressive form is congruent with the dynamic forms of our direct sensuous, mental, and emotional life; works of art are projections or felt life(172). A work of art expresses a conception of life, emotion, inward reality. But it is neither a confessional nor a frozen tantrum; it is a developed metaphor, a non-discursive symbol that articulates what is verbally ineffablethe logic of consciousness itself(173).Expressiveness in MusicMusic sounds as feelings feel(172)The central idea is that music's expressiveness consists in the resemblance of its dynamic character to the dynamic character of various aspects of human beings undergoing emotions(Plato).

Expressive component of MusicMelodyKey qualityMajorMinorModulations?TempoIs it fast or slow? Melodic shapeDoes the melody have very few intervals or does it jump frequently?DynamicsHow loud or soft it is

My SongMy Music Background:-High School choir, voice lessons, piano lessons, Music Theory AP, director of High School Womens A Cappella group.-Current member of Aural Pleasure

With: Gabrielle Bloch (Roomate)-Chai Tunes, voice lessons

Another ExampleEric Whitacre (1970-)American composer and conductor Studied music at JulliardVirtual Choir Projects2,000 videos from 58 countries

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WhWDCw3Mng

ConnectionMusic with lyrics encompasses both expressive (melody) and discursive/symbolic (lyrics) form.What is the communication power of a work of art that has both forms?Is there another type of art that can do this?

Example-the breakdownHow do the harmonic components of the song affect the emotion being expressed?The verses are in the key of C minor and modulate to E flat major while transitioning into the chorus. Minor pentatonic scale: Major pentatonic scale: How does this affect the mood? The emotion?

Example- Expressive PLUS discursive/symbolicHow do the discursive and symbolic components of the song in addition to the harmonic components affect the emotion being expressed?If the verses in the key of C minor also have melancholy lyrics and the chorus in E flat major have hopeful lyrics, how clear is the emotion that is being expressed?

One more component?How would a live or visual performance further enhance the expression of emotion in a song?the experience of the emotion, the emotion's typical facial expression, the contour of vocal expression typical of a person experiencing the emotion, and the contour of bodily behavior typical of such a person (S. Davies 2006, 182).

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