1. Simple Semiotic Analysis of Music
Philip Tagg Faculté de musique Université de Montréal
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music

2. Music (channel) Communication Model s t o r e o f s y m b o l s
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music
shared by Emitter and Receiver
s t o r e o f s y m b o l s
emitter only
receiver only
codal incompetence
poïetic / constructional
esthesic / receptional
‘inadequate’ encoding
‘inadequate’ response
Intended ‘message’
Music (channel)
Emitter
Receiver
‘adequate’ response
‘inadequate’ response
‘inadequate’ encoding
codal interference
receiver only
emitter only
s o c i o c u l t u r a l n o r m s
shared by Emitter and Receiver

3. 1 Elementary semiotic considerations

4. Semiotics or semiology ?
same thing!
Semiotics or semiology ?
 /  (sema/semeion) = sign
(semiotics, semiology, semantifs, semaphore, etc.)
The study of signs and of what they represent
Charles Sanders Peirce : semiotics, tripartite model
Ferdinand de Saussure : semiologie, binary model
same basic subject, different terms and models

5. Sign or symbol ? (terminological problem)
symbol (Saussure) = sign (Peirce)!
meaning: any ‘thing’ representing any other thing than itself
SIGN
symbol (Peirce) = sign (Saussure)!
a ‘thing’ representing another thing only by convention
ARBITRARY SIGN

6. C.S. Peirce: Semiosis 1, 2, 3 (1) Firstness (emission)
= process of producing and
interpreting signs
C.S. Peirce: Semiosis 1, 2, 3 (1)
Firstness (emission)
Secondness (the ‘channel’)
Thirdness (reception)
 object
The thing/idea perceived before encoding (poïetic pole)
 sign
The object (firstness) encoded
 interpretant
Sign (secondness) interpreted (aesthesic pole)
 final interpretants via connotation

7. C.S. Peirce: Semiosis 1, 2, 3 (2) Sign typology at level of secondness
Icon
Index (pl. indices)
Arbitrary sign
Sign bearing physical resemblance to its object/interprétant
Sign linked to its object/interpretant by proximity or causality
Sign linked only by convention to its object/interpretant

8. C.S. Peirce: Semiosis 1, 2, 3 (3) aspects of approach after Morris
‘Syntax and semantics, when found in splendid isolation, become perverse disciplines’ (Umberto Eco, 1990)
Syntax
Internal (etic) organisation and arrangement (‘form’) of structural elements without necessarily considering their meaning
Semantics
Links between signs and what they represent (emic) without necessarily considering their use in concrete situations
Pragmatics
Use of signs in concrete sociocultural situations (economy, ideology, society, psychology, etc.)

9. Denotation and connotation
Type of lexical meaning associated mainly with arbitrary signs
thunder (the word) = noise accompanying lighting
 diminished seventh chord = chord consisting of three contingent and superimposed minor thirds
Connotation
Non-lexical type of meaning mainly associated with indices and which relies on one or more previous levels of semiosis
thunder (the sound) = humidity, rain, danger, etc.
diminished seventh chord = horror, 19th century style

10. Connotation: smoke alarm sound = danger
Connotation: smoke alarm sound = danger! multilevel semiosis (3 causal indices, 1 connotation)
sign
interpretant
DANGER!
GET OUT!
DON’T DIE!
sign
interpretant
sign
interpretant
alarm sound
smoke
fire
1. smoke triggers alarm; alarm means smoke (causal index 1)
2. fire causes smoke; smoke means fire (causal index 2)
3. fire destroys and hurts; a fire in the home means danger (index 3)

11. Connotation & ‘polysemy’ : 2 quotes
‘The difference between denotation and connotation is not... the difference between “univocal” and “vague” signification, or between “referential” and “emotional” communication... What constitutes a connotation... is the connotative code which establishes it; the characteristic of a connotative code is the fact that the further signification... relies on a primary one.’
(Eco, A Theory of Semiotics, 1979, p. 55)
‘The thoughts which are expressed to me by a piece of music which I love are not too indefinite to be put into words, but on the contrary too definite.’
(Mendelssohn, cited by Cooke: The Language of Music, 1959, p. 5)

12. 2 Specificity of musical meaning

13. Music: axiomatic working definition
type of sonic, non-verbal, interhuman communication which,
according to particular sociocultural conventions,
can carry meaning
related mainly to emotional, gestural, tactile,
kinetic, spatial and prosodic
aspects of cognition.

14. ‘Live’ communication concerted simultaneity
 spoken language  visual arts  dance  music
concerted simultaneity
a single individual  himself/herself
   
two  individuals
an individual  a group
several individuals  inside a group
  
a group  an individual
 
several  groups

15. ‘embodying’ representation
Domains of representation and music as the ‘embodying’ cross-domain level
emotional
motoric (fine)
social
‘embodying’ representation
(music)
physical
linguistic
motoric (gross)

16. Synaesthesia and synaesthesis
sun (syn) = with, aisyhsiw (aisthesis) = perception
synaesthesia: disturbance of sensory perception by the intrusion of additional perception from another sense than that considered normal in a given situation
synaesthesis: normal perception using more than one of the five senses simultaneously
synaesthetic (adj.): relating to any type of perception using more than one of the five senses simultaneously

17. 3 Musematic analysis

18. Musician’s assumptions
Museme
term invented by US musicologist Charles Seeger (father of Pete) ‘On the moods of a musical logic’ (1960)
‘Minimal unit of musical meaning’ (cf. morpheme)
‘Musical structure’
What’s that ?
Can it exist?
Good question. We’ll have to see!
Musician’s assumptions
Changing a musical structure often produces a change in effect on listeners.
If true, there must be links between musical structures and what they communicate (their meanings, their interpretants).
If true, there must be basic elements of structuration allowing for the production of musical meaning.

19. AO IOCM PMFC PMFC Analysis Object Interobjective Comparison Material
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music AO
Analysis Object
IOCM
Interobjective Comparison Material
PMFC
Paramusical Fields of Connotation (relevant to IOCM)
PMFC
Paramusical Fields of Connotation (relevant to AO)

20. Parameters of paramusical expression
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music
Paramusical sound: chatter, chiming, clapping, rattling, applause, mains hum, vinyl crackle, engine noise, birdsong, sound effects, crying, laughing, screaming, scraping, hitting, water, wind, thunder, etc. ad. inf.
Oral language: monologue, dialogue, commentary, voice-over, lyrics, accent/dialect, vocal type, prosody, type and speed of conversation/dialogue, &c...
Written language: programme or liner notes, promo copy, title credits, subtitles, written devices on stage, expression marks and other performance instructions, &c...
Visuals
font, graphic design, layout, painting, photo, sculpture, &c…
scenario, props, lighting, clothing, &c...
dramatic action, facial expressions, gestures, &c...
camera positions, cutting speed, editing technique, fades, pans, zooms, &c…
Movement: dance, dive, drive, fall, fly, glide, hit, hover, jump, kick, lie, ride, rise, run, slide, sit, stand, stroke, stumble, sway, swerve, wait, walk, &c...
(Re-)performance venue + concurrent activity: home, concert, club, TV, cinema, church, sports, dancing, riding, driving, restaurant, hotel, office, factory, circus, street, town, country, &c...

21. Parameters of musical expression (1)
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music
Parameters of musical expression (1)
instrumentational
number/type of voices/instruments
mechanical devices: mutes, pedals, stops, plectrum, string types, reed types, mouthpieces, bows, sticks, brushes, &c...
electro-acoustic devices: microphone types & techniques, loudspeakers, echo, reverb, delay, panning, filtering, mixers, amplifiers, equalisers, phasing, flanging, chorus, compression, distortion, vocoding, dubs, &c...
performance techniques: vibrato, tremolo, tremolando, glissando, portamento, pizzicato, sul ponte, picking, strum, &c...
timbral (timbre)
vocal: booming, breathy, clean, clear, cracked, crying, deep, gravelly, harsh, hoarse, howling, growling, guttural, husky, light, melismatic, muffled, piercing, plaintive, raucous, rich, screeching, shouting, shrill, sonorous, soothing, squeaky, squawking, strident, syllabics, thin, warbling, warm, wheezing, whooping, &c...
instrumental: as for vocal + blaring, bubbling, buzzing, chiming, clanking, clattering, crashing, grating, hissing, humming, jarring, muted, ringing, rumbling, scraping, stuttering, throbbing, tinkling, whirring, whistling, &c...

22. Parameters of musical expression (2)
temporal parameters
duration: [1] of piece and relationship of this duration to other connected aspects of communication (film, rite, sports event, dancing); [2] of sections within the piece
internal order/treatment of musical events: intros, cadences, bridges, continuations, interruptions, recurrences (reiterations, repeats, recaps), sequences &c…
pulse, tempo: [1] base rate; [2] surface rate.
rhythmic texture: polyrhythm, birhythm, monorhythm, &c...
metre (rhythmic grouping of pulse, time signature, etc.), e.g. simple, compound, symmetric, asymmetric, additive, divisive, &c...
accentuation, e.g. upbeat, downbeat, syncopation, regular,.
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music

23. Parameters of musical expression (3)
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music
Parameters of musical expression (3)
tonal parameters
tuning system: how octave is divided, retuning, detuning, &c.
pitch range: average and total for each voice/part; ambitus, tessitura, &c.
tonal vocabulary: scale, mode, motifs, number and type of different pitches/notes
motivic/melodic contour: rising, falling, oscillating, arched, V-shaped, centric, wavy, terraced, tumbling strain, &c...
harmonic parameters
tonal centre (if any)
type of tonality: droned, modal, diatonic, tertial, quartal, bebop, impressionist, late romantic, twelve-tone, &c…
harmonic change as long and short term phenomenon, harmonic rhythm.
dynamics
loud  soft
sudden  gradual
constant  variable

24. Simple sign typology of music
sonic: resemblance to paramusical sound
anaphone
kinetic: resemblance to paramusical movement
tactile: resemblance to paramusical grain/touch
genre synecdoche
pars pro toto reference to ‘foreign’ musical style, thence to cultural context of that style
episodic marker
short, one-way process highlighting the order or relative importance of musical events
style indicator
item of musical structuration typical for the ‘home’ style of the analysis object
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music

25. Breughel: Massacre of the Innocents

26. P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music

27. Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music
Smetana: Vltava (Moldau)

28. Monocentric musical positioning
‘stage’
‘focal point’
‘auditorium’
P Tagg: Simple semiotics of music