Ju Sun Kim

L. Meyer, Emotion and Meaning in Music, 1956.

Review: Lippman, Edward Arthur. Musical Quarterly 43 / 4 (Oct 1957): 553-557.
Review: Kraehenbuehl, David. Journal of Music Theory 1 / 1 (Mar 1957): 110-112.
L. Meyer, Chapter 1 in Style and Music, 1989.
Review: Hall, Anne C. Music Theory Spectrum, 14 / 2 (Autumn, 1992): 209-213.
Review: Korsyn, Kevin. Journal of the American Musicological Society. 46 / 3 (Autumn 1993): 469-475.

Unit 2 Post

In his book, Emotion and Meaning in Music of 1956, Meyer considered style as a
system of expectation from cultural background, and he approach to the theory of
information that music has meaning from origin, conflict, and satisfaction of such
expectations. In the first section, Meyer also applied the psychological theory of Gestalt in
terms of the principle of pragnanz and completion. Then, he made three stages of “meaning”-
called embodied meaning - in music: 1) “hypothetical meaning” prior to listening patterns
2) “evident meaning” is occurred when each pattern became a concrete event, and this level
of meaning begins reevaluation as a feedback of control system, then 3) “determinate
meaning” originates after a whole experience. He also dealt with the concept of “noise” as a
device to distort information. After his examination of musical style, style and social process,
or preparatory sets – listeners’ beliefs, perceptions, or experiences, Meyer listed the law of
good continuation in melody, rhythm –including five basic rhythmic groups-, and harmony;
principles of pattern perception: completion and closure, and the weakening of shape; and a
variety of deviation.
Meyer probably borrowed some graphical ideas from Schenker’s even though he did
not employ the same approach of Schenkerian aspect in his examples. In chapter four,
particularly, example 46 (p.140) can be shown the melodic descending stepwise motion at the
bottom of musical work by Hindemith, Symphony, Mathis der Maler. David Kraehenbuehl
evaluates this book as “the theoretical principles are presented in a compact and lucid
exposition occupying only 82 pages of the complete work.” However, Lippman criticizes
Meyer’s approaches, because “this meaning is nothing if not an awareness of emotional
possibilities” and I agree with Lippman’s point of view. Also Lippman points out that Meyber
would better to consider “a break as a disturbance in continuity rather than as a structural
gap” in order to deliver more precise meaning of words.
Meyer’s consists of three parts in his book Style and Music of 1989, Part I: Theory,
Part II: History, Innovation, and Choice, and Part III: Music and Ideology. Particularly
chapter one, toward a theory of style, is examined at this time. Before Meyer moves forward
to his deeper ideas, he starts to define style as “a replication of patterning…that results from a
series of choices made within some set of constraints (p.3).” then, he explains some important
words in his defined sentence in his paragraphs later such as choices or constraints. Meyer
explains that “the constraints of a style are learned by composers and performers, critics and
listeners. (p.10)” Style is probably governed by syntactic constraints, and syntax makes
possible the existence of complex hierarchic structures. Meyer classified two parameters: first
parameters including melody, rhythm, and harmony and second parameters such as dynamics,
tempi, sonorities, and timbres. First parameters can be syntactic because they define closure
and make hierarchical structure whereas second ones are able to change in quantity instead of
making closure. Then, Meyer continues to explain definition and types of rules, because
“both the nature of any musical syntax and the further differentiation of parameters are
largely a matter of rules (p.16).” In his view, rules are intracultural, constitute the highest,
most encompassing level of stylistic constraints, and voice leading, dissonance treatment,
chord formation , and harmonic progression are actual examples. He divided into three types
of rules: dependency rules, contextual rules, and syntactic rules. Each type has its relevant
examples from the history of (Western) music. He, then, defines strategies as “compositional
choices made within the possibilities established by the rules of the style (p.20).” Therefore,
he suggests that patterns are prevailing compositional strategies and are with the style of the
ideology in order to become part of the common stylistic practice of a period. Meyer defined
four terms: dialect, idiom, and intraopus style and intraopus structure. If a number of
composers employ similar rules and strategies within their music, it can be called dialect. If
each composer tends to apply some constraints within a dialect, it is called idiom. “intraopus
style ” is concerned with the replication within a single work such as a motive or a theme.
Meanwhile, the pattern is with nonrecurrent and unique within intraopus style, it is intraopus
structure (ex. 1.3. Haydn’s Symphony No. 100 in G Major (“Military”) p.26)
In Style and Music, Meyer probably tried to be focused on the relationship between
musical style and psychological and cultural constraints, as Anne C. Hall stated in her review,
“Meyer’s chief argument is that composers’ choices that determine musical style are
influenced by societal beliefs and attitudes, and so changes in style can only be understood
with reference to prevailing ideologies.” Another review by Kevin Korsyn said that “Meyer
deconstructs the opposition between theory and history.” I personally agree with Hall’s
argument on second parameters. Meyer said that second parameters are able to change in
quantity; however, he did not explain them in details. However, Meyer tried to define,
explore, examine, or explain “fruitful errors” in musical style throughout this book.

Response
Gabriel Navia

L. Meyer, Emotion and Meaning in Music, 1956.

Review: Lippman, Edward Arthur. Musical Quarterly 43 / 4 (Oct 1957): 553-557.
Review: Kraehenbuehl, David. Journal of Music Theory 1 / 1 (Mar 1957): 110-112.
L. Meyer, Chapter 1 in Style and Music, 1989.
Review: Hall, Anne C. Music Theory Spectrum, 14 / 2 (Autumn, 1992): 209-213.
Review: Korsyn, Kevin. Journal of the American Musicological Society. 46 / 3 (Autumn 1993): 469-475.

Meyer provides a great introduction to style analysis in the first chapter of his book
Style and Music, after presenting his conception of style he discusses several terms and rules
which would guide us in a musical analysis. He defines primary parameters as being syntactic
and secondary as statistical and not structural. He points out that statistical parameters can
also present natural syntactic functions, such as in a dying away diminuendo, ritardandos and
textural simplifications ("natural" signs of closure). I personally like his almost
"Schenkerian" discussion about rules and strategies, the conception that Bach, Mozart and
Brahms based all their works on the same rules adopting, however, different strategies is an
interesting way of understanding the tonal system and its universal rules.

In Emotion and Meaning in Music Meyer tries to explain tonality from a more
psychological perspective. Basing his conceptions on the Gestalt Theory, his first chapter
introduces some important methodological procedures (stages of meaning) while the
following ones bring a discussion about his principles of pattern perception (The law of good
continuation, completion and closure and weakening). I agree with Kraehenbuehl's point of
view about the organization of the book, however, as Lippman points out, the work presents a
few problems, such as the exaggerated use of jargon and some psychological musical-
emotion connections.