The Sonic Self

Abstract

Semioticians began by looking at literature but have gradually applied their techniques to other disciplines, including music. The late Naomi Cumming, violinist and music theorist, based this consideration of the sources of musical expression on her experiences as a performer-with interesting, if rarely surprising, results. Cumming argues from the musical score and from the physical attributes of the performer toward a theory of musical analysis relying on C.S. Peirce's groundbreaking philosophy. It is worth noting, as musical theorists generally do not, that there is no such thing as analysis in music. There is only interpretation, because alternative conclusions about even the simplest music are inherent in its study. Total agreement concerning the meaning of any music is impossible. Although Cumming's arguments are on the whole reasonable, toward the end she veers off into a defense of some of the new musicology's more preposterous practitioners. Although the world of contemporary humanities scholarship is highly contentious, her book would have been better without the polemic. With appendix and notes, this volume is for upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 20 citations exist upstream.