The contributors to Playing for Keeps examine the ways in which musical improvisation can serve as a method for negotiating violence, trauma, systemic inequality, and the aftermaths of war and colonialism. Outlining the relation of improvisatory practices to local and global power structures, they show how in sites as varied as South Africa, Canada, Egypt, the United States, and the Canary Islands, improvisation provides the means for its participants to address the past and imagine the future. In addition to essays, the volume features a poem by saxophonist Matana Roberts, an interview with pianist Vijay Iyer about his work with U.S. veterans of color, and drawings by artist Randy DuBurke that chart Nina Simone's politicization. Throughout, the contributors illustrate how improvisation functions as a model for political, cultural, and ethical dialogue and action that can foster the creation of alternate modes of being and knowing in the world. Contributors. Randy DuBurke, Rana El Kadi, Kevin Fellezs, Daniel Fischlin, Kate Galloway, Reem Abdul Hadi, Vijay Iyer, Mark Lomanno, Moshe Morad, Eric Porter, Sara Ramshaw, Matana Roberts, Darci Sprengel, Paul Stapleton, Odeh Turjman, Stephanie Vos

In this original and iconoclastic book, Julian Dodd argues for what he terms the simple view of the ontological nature of works of pure, instrumental music. This account is the conjunction of two theses: the type/token theory and sonicism. The type/token theory addresses the question of which ontological category musical works fall under, and its answer is that such works are types whose tokens are sound-sequence-events. Sonicism, meanwhile, addresses the question of how works of music are individuated, and it tells us that works of music are identical just in case they sound exactly alike. Both conjuncts of the simple view are highly controversial, and Dodd defends them vigorously and with ingenuity. Even though the simple view is favoured by very few writers in the philosophy of music, Dodd maintains that it is the default position given our ordinary intuitions about musical works, that it can answer the sorts of objections that have led other philosophers to dismiss it, and that it is, on reflection, the most promising ontology of music on offer. Specifically, Dodd argues that the type/token theory offers the best explanation of the repeatability of works of music: the fact that such works admit of multiple occurrence. Furthermore, he goes on to claim that the theory's most striking consequence - namely, that musical works are eternal existents and, hence, that composers discover rather than create their works - is minimally disruptive of our intuitions concerning the nature of composition and our appreciation of works of music. When it comes to sonicism, Dodd argues both that this way of individuating works of music is prima facie correct, and that the putative counter-examples it faces - most notably, those propounded by Jerrold Levinson - can be harmlessly explained away. In the ontology of music, simplicity rules.

Finding the Beat explores humankind’s ability, propensity, and enjoyment in finding the beat in live and recorded experiences of music-making through the lens of entrainment, the human capacity to perceive a beat and to synchronize to it. Anyone who has attended a concert, gone to a club, or watched a sporting event has witnessed and/or participated in tapping, clapping, or dancing along with a piece, song, or chant. It doesn’t matter who or where you are in the world—as humans we spend a lot of time taking pleasure in matching our bodily movements with a perceived beat. Drawing upon diverse examples from the North American and British rock repertoire, Nathan Hesselink demonstrates that listeners are gripped in deep, compelling, and socially meaningful ways when musicians play with or against expectations set up by entrainment. Via musicology, music theory, popular music studies, ethnomusicology, and cognitive neuroscience, he illustrates the creative, aesthetic, and participatory pleasure and wonder afforded by our collective ability to find the beat.

How do people use music to heal themselves and others? Are the healing powers of music universal or culturally specific? The essays in this volume address these two central questions as to music's potential as a therapeutic source. The contributors approach the study of music healing from social, cultural and historical backgrounds, and in so doing provide perspectives on the subject which complement the wealth of existing literature by practitioners. The forms of music therapy explored in the book exemplify the well-being that can be experienced as a result of participating in any type of musical or artistic performance. Case studies include examples from the Bolivian Andes, Africa and Western Europe, as well as an assessment of the role of Islamic traditions in Western practices. These case studies introduce some new, and possibly unfamiliar models of musical healing to music therapists, ethnomusicologists and anthropologists. The book contributes to our understanding of the transformative and healing roles that music plays in different societies, and so enables us better to understand the important part music contributes to our own cultures.

John Rahn's prolific activities as a composer-theorist-teacher, inventor of computer sound-synthesis software, editor of Perspectives of New Music during the 1980s and 90s, and author of an exemplary text on atonal theory are conspicuously in the foreground of the academic music-intellectual world.
This collection of essays charts Rahn's progression from the construal of music's data structures to the articulation of its experiential structures, leading to the question of its moral infrastructures and its value systems of the internal and external worlds. This book shows Rahn's remarkable intellectual evolution, culminating in the recognition that the pressure bearing on discourse can only be contained by thought formulated in the non-referential language of the arts themselves. Also includes 18 musical examples.

Where did the major scale come from? Why does most traditional non-Western music not share Western principles of harmony? What does the inner structure of a canon have to do with religious belief? Why, in historical terms, is J.S. Bach's music regarded as a perfect combination of melody and harmony? Why do clocks in church towers strike dominant-tonic-dominant-tonic? What do cathedrals have to do with monochords? How can the harmonic series be demonstrated with a rope tied to a doorknob, and how can it be heard by standing next to an electric fan? Why are the free ocean waves in Debussy's La Mer, the turbulent river waves in Smetana's Moldau, and the fountain ripples in Ravel's Jeux d'Eau pushed at times into four-bar phrases? Why is the metric system inherently unsuitable for organizing music and poetry? In what way does Plato's Timaeus resemble the prelude to Wagner's Das Rheingold? Just how does Beethoven's work perfectly illustrate fully functional tonality, and why were long-range works based on this type of tonality impossible before the introduction of equal temperament? In this new century, what promising materials are available to composers in the wake of harmonic experimentation and, some would argue, exhaustion? The answers to these seemingly complicated questions are not the sole province of music professors or orchestra conductors. In fact, as E. Eugene Helm demonstrates in Melody, Harmony, Tonality: An Introduction, they can just as easily be explained to amateurs, and their answers are important if we are to understand how Western music works. The full range of Western music is explored through 21 concise chapters on such topics as melody, harmony, counterpoint, texture, melody types, improvisation, music notation, free imitation, canon and fugue, vibration and its relation to harmony, tonality, and the place of music in architecture and astronomy. Intended for amateurs and professionals, concert-goers and conductors, Helm offers in down-to-earth language an explanation of the foundations of our Western music heritage, deepening our understanding and the listening experience of it for all. Melody, Harmony Tonality: An Introduction is the paperback edition of Melody, Harmony,Tonality: A Book for Connoisseurs and Amateurs.

The essays in this collection reflect the range and depth of musical life in the US from 1900 to 1950. Contributions consider the triumph of popular forms such as jazz, swing and blues, as well as the art music of composers such as Ives, Cage and Copland among others. American contributions to music technology and dissemination, and the role of these forms in extending the audience for music is also a focus.

John Rahn's prolific activities as a composer-theorist-teacher, inventor of computer sound-synthesis software, editor of Perspectives of New Music during the 1980s and 90s, and author of an exemplary text on atonal theory are conspicuously in the foreground of the academic music-intellectual world.
This collection of essays charts Rahn's progression from the construal of music's data structures to the articulation of its experiential structures, leading to the question of its moral infrastructures and its value systems of the internal and external worlds. This book shows Rahn's remarkable intellectual evolution, culminating in the recognition that the pressure bearing on discourse can only be contained by thought formulated in the non-referential language of the arts themselves. Also includes 18 musical examples.

An expert explains and analyzes the beloved art form An iconic symbol of Spain, flamenco has become a global phenomenon. Peter Manuel offers English-language readers a rare portrait of the music’s history, styles, and cultural impact. Beginning with flamenco’s Moorish and Roma influences, Manuel follows the music’s evolution through its consolidation in the mid-1800s and on to the vibrant contemporary scene. An investigation of flamenco’s major song-types looks at rhythm and compás, guitar technique, and many other aspects of the music while Manuel’s description and analysis of the repertoire range from soleares and bulerías to tangos. His overview of contemporary flamenco culture provides insight into issues that surround the music, including globalization, gender dynamics, notions of ownership, and the ongoing debates on purity versus innovation and the relative roles played by Gitanos and non-Gitanos. Multifaceted and entertaining, Flamenco Music is an in-depth study of the indelible art form that inspires enthusiasts and practitioners around the world.

Contents:
Introduction, Christle Collins Judd
Grammar of Early Music: Preconditions for Analysis, Margaret Bent
Exploring Tonal Structure in French Polyphonic Song of the Fourteenth Century, Sarah Fuller
Internal and External Views of the Modes, Frans Wiering
Josquin's Gospel Motets and Chant-Based Tonality, Christle Collins Judd
Tonal Coherence and the Cycle of Thirds in Josquin's Memoresto Verbitui, Timothy H. Steele
Concepts of Pitch in English Music Theory, c. 1560-1640, Jessie Ann Owens^H
Concepts of Key in 17th-Century English Keyboard Music, Candace Bailey
From Psalmody to Tonality, Harold Powers
Tonal Types and Modal Equivalence in Two Keyboard Cycles by Mursschhauser, Michael Dodds

The baryton is a unique string instrument that provides both bowed melody and plucked accompaniment simultaneously. It emerged in the Baroque era as a solo, self-accompanying viol and was later adopted as a virtuoso melodic instrument to enhance the dramatic arias of the day. A History of the Baryton and Its Music: King of Instruments, Instrument of Kings is the only reference available on this intriguing instrument. This presents a detailed history of the baryton, guidance on playing technique, information on its design and manufacture, descriptions and photos of extant instruments, and a repertoire of hitherto unpublished music. Carol A. Gartrell details the origins and development of the baryton through the instruments that have survived, and through a unique collection of music representing different styles and genres. In addition to a bibliography and an index, the book concludes with two galleries containing an extensive inventory: the first provides detailed descriptions of all extant instruments and more than 20 photographs, while the second gallery catalogs extant manuscripts and supplies a representative selection of complete transcriptions, illustrating the range and variety of baryton music and providing musicians with previously unpublished music they could perform. Complete with a selected discography of baryton recordings, A History of the Baryton and Its Music is an interesting and necessary resource for the musicologist, organologist, and performer.

Examines how Nietzschean ideas influenced the composition of Mahler's first four, so-called Wunderhorn, symphonies. Gustav Mahler and Friedrich Nietzsche both exercised a tremendous influence over the twentieth century. All the more fascinating, then, is Mahler's intellectual engagement with the writings of Nietzsche. Given the limited and frequently cryptic nature of the composer's own comments on Nietzsche, Mahler's specific understanding of the elusive thinker is achieved through the examination of Nietzsche's reception amongst the people who introduced composer to philosopher: members of the Pernerstorfer Circle at the University of Vienna. Mahler's Nietzsche draws on a variety of primary sources to answer two key questions. The first is hermeneutic: what do Mahler's allusions to Nietzsche mean? The second is creative: how can Mahler's own characterization of Nietzsche as an "epoch-making influence" be identified in his compositional techniques? By answering these two questions, the book paints a more accurate picture of the intersections of the arts, philosophy and politics in fin-de-siecle Vienna. Mahler's Nietzsche will be required reading for scholars and students of nineteenth and early twentieth century German music and philosophy.

Translated into English by N.V. Nersessian. The study of the Armenian system of notation called Khazs (Neumes) is of significance both for Armenian and Byzantine music from a historical and aesthetic point of view.

The analysis of film music is emerging as one of the fastest-growing areas of interest in film studies. Yet scholarship in this up-and-coming field has been beset by the lack of a common language and methodology between film and music theory. Drawing on the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze, film studies scholar Gregg Redner provides a much-needed analysis of the problem which then forms the basis of his exploration of the function of the film score and its relation to film's other elements. Not just a groundbreaking examination of persistent difficulties in this new area of study, "Deleuze and Film Music "also offers a solution--a methodological bridge--that will take film music analysis to a new level.

You know it when you hear it, but can you say what it is? How you know? Why you either love or loathe it? What makes it original or derivative? To a music that tends to render its aficionados and detractors equally inarticulate, Theodore Gracyk brings a rare critical clarity. His book tells us once and for all what makes rock music rock. A happy marriage of aesthetic theory and the aesthetic practice that moved a generation, "Rhythm and Noise" is the only thorough-going account of rock as a distinct artistic medium rather than a species of popular culture.
What's in a name? "Rock" or "Rock 'n' Roll?" Grayck argues that rock and roll is actually a performance style, one in a number of musical styles comprising rock. What distinguishes rock, Gracyk tells us, is how it is mediated by technology: The art is in the recording. The lesson is a heady one, entailing a tour through the history of rock music from Elvis Presley's first recordings in 1954 to Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994. Gracyk takes us through key recordings, lets us hear what rock musicians and their critics have to say, shows us how other kinds of music compare, and gives us the philosophical background to make more than passing sense of the medium. His work takes up the common myths and stereotypes about rock, popular and academic, and focuses on the features of the music that electrify fans and consistently generate controversy. When Elvis came to town, did southern sheriffs say that rock was barbaric and addictive? Well so did Theodor Adorno, in his way, and Allan Bloom, in his, and Gracyk takes aim at this charge as it echoes through the era of recorded music. He looks at what rock has to do with romanticism and, even more, with commercialism. And he questions the orthodoxy of making grand distinctions between "serious" and "popular" art.
Keenly attuned to the nuances of music and of all the ways that we can think about it, this exhilarating book tunes us in, as no other has, to the complex role of rock in American culture.

Theory Essentials for Today's Musician offers a review of music theory that speaks directly and engagingly to modern students. Rooted in the tested pedagogy of Theory for Today's Musician, the authors have distilled and reorganized the concepts from the thirty-three chapters of their original textbook into twenty-one succinct, modular chapters that move from the core elements of harmony to further topics in form and 20th-century music. A broad coverage of topics and musicals styles-including examples drawn from popular music-is organized into four key parts: Basic Tools Chromatic Harmony Form and Analysis The 20th Century and Beyond Theory Essentials features clear and jargon-free (yet rigorous) explanations appropriate for students at all levels, ensuring comprehension of concepts that are often confusing or obscure. An accompanying workbook provides corresponding exercises, while a companion website presents streaming audio examples. This concise and reorganized all-in-one package-which can be covered in a single semester for a graduate review, or serve as the backbone for a briefer undergraduate survey-provides a comprehensive, flexible foundation in the vital concepts needed to analyze music. PURCHASING OPTIONS Textbook and Workbook Package (Paperback): 9781138098756 Textbook Only (Hardback): 9781138708815 Textbook Only (Paperback): 9781138708822 Textbook Only (eBook): 9781315201122 Workbook Only (Paperback): 9781138098749 Workbook Only (eBook): 9781315103839

Composers, performers, listeners, critics and theorists all play vital roles in the creation of music culture; yet often each group can appear to hold widely divergent views of a musical work's aims and effects. As the title indicates, this book examines the parts played by these groups and the interaction between them. In the first of eleven essays, Robert Saxton discusses the difficulty in pin-pointing the moment of inspiration for a new composition; while Raymond Warren looks at the problems facing operatic performers, including those that arise when interpretations are suggested by the libretto but not in the music. The changing perception of the composer's art from the 14th century to the present day is charted by Wyndham Thomas, in particular attitudes towards arrangement. Two quite different views of the performer's responsibility in communicating the composer's intentions are taken by Charles Rosen and Susan Bradshaw, the latter arguing for the need to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical analysis of a work; and in two fascinating case studies, Eric Clarke and Jennifer Davidson highlight the ways in which attention to movements of the body in performance can reveal aspects of musical structure. The reception of music is tackled from a variety of perspectives in the book. In his assessment of audience reaction to Jonathan Harvey's 'The Riot', Adrian Beaumont concludes that our response is influenced by a complex web of expectations and previous musical experience. The influence of record sleeves in also determining a listener's response to music is discussed by Nicholas Cook; while Stephen Walsh and Adrian Thomas explore two milieux of critical reception - the first to the music of Stravinsky, and the second to works composed during the social-realist period in Poland. On a more personal level, Bojan Bujic's essay forms a fitting counterpart to Saxton's in his attempt to locate the ways in which we experience a new musica

The second half of the eighteenth century witnessed a flourishing of the string quartet, often represented as a smooth and logical progression from first violin-dominated homophony to a more equal conversation between the four voices. Yet this progression was neither as smooth nor as linear as previously thought, as Mara Parker illustrates in her examination of the string quartet during this period. Looking at a wide variety of string quartets by composers such as Pleyel, Distler and Filtz, in addition to Haydn and Mozart, the book proposes a new way of describing the relationships between the four instruments in different works. Broadly speaking, these relationships follow one of four patterns: the 'lecture', the 'polite conversation', the 'debate', and the 'conversation'. In focusing on these musical discourses, it becomes apparent that each work is the product of its composer's stylistic choices, location, intended performers and intended audience. Instead of evolving in a strict and universal sequence, the string quartet in the latter half of the eighteenth century was a complex genre with composers mixing and matching musical discourses as circumstances and their own creative impulses required.

Most music we hear comes to us via a recording medium on which sound has been stored. Such remoteness of music heard from music made has become so commonplace it is rarely considered.
Musical Performance: A Philosophical Study considers the implications of this separation for live musical performance and music-making. Rather than examining the composition or perception of music as most philosophical accounts of music do, Stan Godlovitch takes up the problem of how the tradition of active music playing and performing has been challenged by technology and what problems this poses for philosophical aesthetics. Where does does the value of musical performance lie? Is human performance of music a mere transfer medium? Is the performance of music more expressive than recorded music? Musical Performance poses questions such as these to develop a fascinating account of music today. musicians - but via some recording medium on which sound has been stored.

Unlike other books on the philosophy of music, Stan Godlovitch considers music from the vantage point of active music-making. Rather than looking at the composition or the perception of music, Musical Performance considers playing traditions which have developed physical mastery to serve expressive ends. These traditions have been challenged by electronic technology which has made live, human performance seem a mere transfer medium. After developing a full model of traditional performance, Stan Godlovitch asks how well performance proper has stood up, and where (if anywhere) its unique value lies.
This radical new evaluation of music making in the past and future will be essential reading for students of aesthetics, the philosophy of music, as well as musicologists and performance specialists.

This collection of essays aims to reflect the views of music scholars who bring critical theory to bear on the theory and analysis of music. The essayists intend to avoid fixation on aesthetics and focus instead on the social and psychological concerns that are sometimes considered marginal to the subject. In general, this text is a response to the question, "Must the practise of music analysis and music theory always re-inscribe the ideology of aesthetic autonomy?" It is hoped that these responses should appeal not only to cultural theorists but also to a larger audience engaged in critical theory.

This text presents an integrated approach to the study of rhythm and movement notation. These subjects, usually studied in isolation, are here combined to enhance the study of each. A complete course in rhythm notation is provided, along with cross-references to Labanotation, which are designed to help the reader learn both subjects more quickly and thoroughly. The text is punctuated with maxims to help readers consolidate their learning, and "symbol cluster", a technique for reading music notation and Labanotation with increased speed and overall comprehension. Assignments in each chapter, featuring integrated work in rhythm and dance, point readers towards varied applications of their learning, moving them beyond theoretical understanding. The assignments begin simply, with studies in beat division and walking, and progress to work with a variety of metres, and cross-phasing of movement and music. More advanced assignments include music and dance phrasing; rhythmic and movement composition, and the step-by-step analysis of a complete work of dance and its relation to music. A CD accompanies the book.

Sonic fiction is everywhere: in conversations about vernacular culture, in music videos, sound art compositions and on record sleeves, in everyday encounters with sonic experiences and in every single piece of writing about sound. Where one can find sounds one will also detect bits of fiction. In 1998 music critic, DJ and video essayist Kodwo Eshun proposed this concept in his book "More Brilliant Than The Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction". Originally, he did so in order to explicate the manifold connections between Afrofuturism and Techno, connecting them to Jazz, Breakbeat and Electronica. His argument, his narrations and his explorative language operations however inspired researchers, artists, and scholars since then. Sonic Fiction became a myth and a mantra, a keyword and a magical spell. This book provides a basic introduction to sonic fiction. In six chapters it explicates the inspirations for and the transformations of this concept; it explores applications and extrapolations in sound art and sonic theory, in musicology, epistemology, in critical and political theory. Sonic fiction is presented in this book as a heuristic for critique and activism.