Throughout history, music has moved people in powerful ways, so much so that, at times, it leaves... more Throughout history, music has moved people in powerful ways, so much so that, at times, it leaves them speechless. They realize that it is a song, full of notes and rhythms, yet at the same time, it makes them become profoundly aware that there is something more, humming just below the surface. My paper seeks to enter into this music moment by asking why these types of moments even occur. Does music speak or communicate? If so, does it communicate something meaningful and significant? What is the mechanism by which music conveys this meaning? How can this meaning be articulated in words?
Many fields of science such as neuroimaging and psychoacoustics have revealed an empirical connection between language and music, namely that the human brain processes and understands music as communication and speech. Building upon this, I then discuss musical meaning by stating that music has both intrinsic, structural meaning, as well as extrinsic, referential meaning, and that together, these two paradigms of meaning aid the listener in experiencing the full nature of the music itself. I next introduce the field of theology, showing how throughout the Bible, all of creation has musically celebrated the presence of an immanently transcendent God. With all of these things in mind, I postulate that music has the capacity to act as a channel through which one can hear a linguistic God speaking vitality, order, beauty, depth, structure, and wonder into His creation by His Word and Spirit. The paper concludes by asserting that music has the capacity to reveal the presence of God in our everyday lives through the divine realities of hope, faith, and love.
Perhaps one of the most prevalent topics discussed among musical theorists today is tonality—spec... more Perhaps one of the most prevalent topics discussed among musical theorists today is tonality—specifically, how it is perceived aurally and compositionally. For centuries, beginning as early as the Renaissance era and continuing on through the Classical era, composers have used the reliability, strength, and balance of tonal harmony to fashion cherished masterpieces of musical creativity, using what is called common-practice tonality. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century however, the foundations of this established tonal system began to crumble with the embracing of a new ideology—modernism, championed in music by figures such as Arnold Schoenberg. In spite of radically new ideologies, composers in the twentieth century sought to return to the principles and aesthetics of common-practice tonal harmony in what is known as neoclassicism. In this paper, I will discuss the evolution of tonality by discussing the expansion of common-practice tonal harmony in the Romantic era, the embracing of new approaches to music theory and composition in the Modern era, and the reacceptance of tonal principles in neoclassicism. By outlining these and other topics of discussion, I believe that one is able to shed light on the seemingly vague topic of tonality and broaden one’s understanding of the nature of tonality in general.
Throughout history, music has moved people in powerful ways, so much so that, at times, it leaves... more Throughout history, music has moved people in powerful ways, so much so that, at times, it leaves them speechless. They realize that it is a song, full of notes and rhythms, yet at the same time, it makes them become profoundly aware that there is something more, humming just below the surface. My paper seeks to enter into this music moment by asking why these types of moments even occur. Does music speak or communicate? If so, does it communicate something meaningful and significant? What is the mechanism by which music conveys this meaning? How can this meaning be articulated in words?
Many fields of science such as neuroimaging and psychoacoustics have revealed an empirical connection between language and music, namely that the human brain processes and understands music as communication and speech. Building upon this, I then discuss musical meaning by stating that music has both intrinsic, structural meaning, as well as extrinsic, referential meaning, and that together, these two paradigms of meaning aid the listener in experiencing the full nature of the music itself. I next introduce the field of theology, showing how throughout the Bible, all of creation has musically celebrated the presence of an immanently transcendent God. With all of these things in mind, I postulate that music has the capacity to act as a channel through which one can hear a linguistic God speaking vitality, order, beauty, depth, structure, and wonder into His creation by His Word and Spirit. The paper concludes by asserting that music has the capacity to reveal the presence of God in our everyday lives through the divine realities of hope, faith, and love.
Perhaps one of the most prevalent topics discussed among musical theorists today is tonality—spec... more Perhaps one of the most prevalent topics discussed among musical theorists today is tonality—specifically, how it is perceived aurally and compositionally. For centuries, beginning as early as the Renaissance era and continuing on through the Classical era, composers have used the reliability, strength, and balance of tonal harmony to fashion cherished masterpieces of musical creativity, using what is called common-practice tonality. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century however, the foundations of this established tonal system began to crumble with the embracing of a new ideology—modernism, championed in music by figures such as Arnold Schoenberg. In spite of radically new ideologies, composers in the twentieth century sought to return to the principles and aesthetics of common-practice tonal harmony in what is known as neoclassicism. In this paper, I will discuss the evolution of tonality by discussing the expansion of common-practice tonal harmony in the Romantic era, the embracing of new approaches to music theory and composition in the Modern era, and the reacceptance of tonal principles in neoclassicism. By outlining these and other topics of discussion, I believe that one is able to shed light on the seemingly vague topic of tonality and broaden one’s understanding of the nature of tonality in general.
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Papers by Brian Cates
Many fields of science such as neuroimaging and psychoacoustics have revealed an empirical connection between language and music, namely that the human brain processes and understands music as communication and speech. Building upon this, I then discuss musical meaning by stating that music has both intrinsic, structural meaning, as well as extrinsic, referential meaning, and that together, these two paradigms of meaning aid the listener in experiencing the full nature of the music itself. I next introduce the field of theology, showing how throughout the Bible, all of creation has musically celebrated the presence of an immanently transcendent God. With all of these things in mind, I postulate that music has the capacity to act as a channel through which one can hear a linguistic God speaking vitality, order, beauty, depth, structure, and wonder into His creation by His Word and Spirit. The paper concludes by asserting that music has the capacity to reveal the presence of God in our everyday lives through the divine realities of hope, faith, and love.
Many fields of science such as neuroimaging and psychoacoustics have revealed an empirical connection between language and music, namely that the human brain processes and understands music as communication and speech. Building upon this, I then discuss musical meaning by stating that music has both intrinsic, structural meaning, as well as extrinsic, referential meaning, and that together, these two paradigms of meaning aid the listener in experiencing the full nature of the music itself. I next introduce the field of theology, showing how throughout the Bible, all of creation has musically celebrated the presence of an immanently transcendent God. With all of these things in mind, I postulate that music has the capacity to act as a channel through which one can hear a linguistic God speaking vitality, order, beauty, depth, structure, and wonder into His creation by His Word and Spirit. The paper concludes by asserting that music has the capacity to reveal the presence of God in our everyday lives through the divine realities of hope, faith, and love.