Assignment #1 - Ferrara, "Introduction"

Summary – Ferrara, “Introduction”

Philosophy and the Analysis of Music by Lawrence Ferrara attempts to tackle and put into a formulaic method one of the most difficult subjects related to music and art in general – personal reactions and feelings based on what is given and what each individual interprets. Though it’s not written for the average Joe (Joe the Plumber?), Ferrara introduces readers to the system he has devised, as well as a long-standing argument between music analysts vs. music referentialists.

His “three broad classifications” for methods of musical analysis are as follows: 1)Phenomenological methods (used to describe sound-in-time), 2)Conventional methods that provide explanations of musical form (a.k.a. syntax), and 3)Hermeneutic methods (the interpretation of musical reference). These classifications will eventually be used with several others in a culminating method known as an “eclectic analysis.”

One of the more interesting points, to me at least, was the connection that theorists have made between referential meanings and psychological associations. Ferrara quotes, “if these musical references are psychological (…in the mind of the listener and not really in the music), then, they maintain, musical reference is irrelevant to the study of musical understanding.” A somewhat decent argument, but I disagree with it and will be discussing it in my reaction below. Ultimately Ferrara makes a point that is rarely heard in such a simple form: music, and art in general, is an experience that includes a variety of sources.




Reaction – Ferrara, “Introduction”

In response to the aforementioned quote comparing referential meanings and psychological associations, it is impossible to separate what is said from how it is said. In a way, I feel like I’m being stripped of my personal opinion if I can’t react to something that isn’t contextually existent (i.e., the notes on the score or the colors in the painting, etc.). Art is created for specific purposes and it has its meanings and references both on the surface and underneath it. John Philip Sousa wrote patriotic marches to invoke that emotion and spirit in people, not to show off his mastery of the duple meter. A random composer could write a twenty minute piece that consists solely of I-V7-I and that modulates through every key – it most likely wouldn’t be to demonstrate that his fundamentals in harmony and music theory are there. Perhaps prior to hearing that performance I had read an article about the ongoing wars and deaths of young soldiers in various parts of the world. After hearing this, I might feel like the composer wanted to bash me over the head and force me to believe that harmony (in every sense of the word) and purity still exists. Maybe I’d be 100% wrong for feeling that way or maybe the composer would completely agree with me. An artist will predominantly control how he says what he wants to say and will control what he is saying to a certain extent, but will likely leave the latter for the audience to grasp for themselves.