Musical and Social Meaning… Part 10

Musical and Social Meaning… Part 10

Philosophers who are called Referentialists believe that music’s meaning is referential meaning, i.e. the meaning is derived either partially or completely (strict Referentialism) from outside of the music itself and that this meaning from outside of the music itself is understandable meaning in terms of real life. However, Referentialists do not always address just how music assimilates this “outside” meaning.  Since music communicates understandable meaning from both inside and outside of itself, I am what I have termed a “modified Referentialist”.

          Referentialists agree that since music derives meaning from the world around the musician, music does not have a closed meaning that is “music’s alone”.  They also deny that music is incapable of relating to real world meaning.   Still others, namely strict Formalists, deny that music communicates any understandable meaning that is related to the world that exists outside of the music itself. I am drawn to the conclusion that music derives understandable meaning from the arrangement of its formal properties, referential meaning from previous experiences with music of the same style that are triggered by mirror brain stem responses to the music, and from associations that are derived from the world (community) outside of music. Therefore, what the music triggers has the power to have either a positive or negative spiritual effect on the hearer.