Musical understanding

158 Pages·2015·0.96 MB·English

by  Shawn Raja Akbar

University of Iowa
Iowa Research Online
Theses and Dissertations
Spring 2012
Musical understanding: studies in philosophy and
phenomenological psychology
Shawn Raja Akbar
University of Iowa
Copyright 2012 Shawn Raja Akbar
This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/2432
Recommended Citation
Akbar, Shawn Raja. "Musical understanding: studies in philosophy and phenomenological psychology." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)
thesis, University of Iowa, 2012.
https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.a6cnxxmw
Follow this and additional works at:https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd
Part of thePhilosophy Commons
MUSICAL UNDERSTANDING: STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY AND
PHENOMENOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

by
Shawn Raja Akbar

An Abstract

Of a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree
in Philosophy in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa

May 2013

Thesis Supervisor: Professor Gregory Landini
1

ABSTRACT

The central undertaking of this project is to initiate a phenomenological theory of
musical experience. The core views expressed are that musical rhythm is the most
fundamental, and the only essential, component of the musical experience, and that the
essence of musical experience lies in attending to rhythm as communicative of a sense of
time.
In the introduction I set out the general phenomenon of musical understanding
and argue for the relevance of phenomenological description of basic musical experience
for the theory of musical understanding. I continue this work by considering Jerrold
Levinson’s concatenationist view, and indicate the need for a more adequate
characterization of basic musical experience. I then discuss Roger Scruton’s attempt to
distinguish musical from nonmusical hearing in terms of metaphorical perception and
acousmatic listening and conclude that neither provides an essential characteristic of
musical hearing. I present the theory and method of phenomenology and trace out what I
take to be phenomenologically adequate theories of sound and auditory experience. The
heart of the work explores the notion of musical time along with the nature of the
experience of rhythm and meter.
The first part of the final chapter contains an historical and critical overview of
philosophical accounts of the connection between music and the emotions, and the
related issue of whether music possesses any “content” beyond sounds and their melodic,
rhythmic, and harmonic organization. The second part considers attempts to pursue a
theoretical analogy between music and language.
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Abstract approved: __________________________________________
Thesis Supervisor

_________________________________________
Title and Departments

________________________________________
Date
MUSICAL UNDERSTANDING: STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY AND
PHENOMENOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY

by
Shawn Raja Akbar

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree
in Philosophy in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa

May 2013

Thesis Supervisor: Professor Gregory Landini
Copyright by
SHAWN RAJA AKBAR
2013
All Rights Reserved
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
__________________________
PH.D. THESIS
____________

This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of

Shawn Raja Akbar

has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Doctor
of Philosophy degree in Philosophy at the May 2013 graduation.

Thesis Committee: ____________________________________________________
Gregory Landini, Thesis Supervisor

____________________________________________________
Laird Addis

____________________________________________________
James Duerlinger

____________________________________________________

Evan Fales

____________________________________________________
Richard Fumerton
To Jennifer Marie Lewis

ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank Gregory Landini for extensive discussion on the central topics of this
work at every step of its development and Laird Addis for helping to orient me in
philosophy of music and providing critical guidance.
I would also like to thank my undergraduate philosophy teacher, Ronald
Alexander.
I thank my family and close friends for their support and encouragement during
my work on this project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Musical Experience 3
1.2 Musical Understanding and Experience 3
1.3 The Nature of Musical Understanding 5
1.4 A Word on the Title 7
1.5 Chapter Overview 10
CHAPTER 2. BASIC MUSICAL UNDERSTANDING 15
2.1 Levinson and Gurney on Musical Experience 15
2.2 Concatenationism 18
2.3 Quasi-Hearing and Basic Musical Understanding 24
CHAPTER 3. SOUND AND MUSICAL EXPERIENCE 29
3.1 Music as Organized Sound 29
3.2 Scruton on the Acousmatic Experience of Sound 34
3.2.1 Metaphor and Musical Experience 37
3.2.2 Hamilton on the Acousmatic Thesis 46
CHAPTER 4. THE PHENOMENOLOGY AND ONTOLOGY OF SOUND 50
4.1 Phenomenology 51
4.1.1 The Reductions 53
4.1.2 The Method 59
4.2 Auditory Experience 61
4.3 Theories of Auditory Perception 65
CHAPTER 5. THE EXPERIENCE OF RHYTHM 73
5.1 Preliminary Characterization of Rhythm 75
5.1.1 Rhythm and Objectual Time 78
5.2 Musical Time 79
5.3 Rhythm 86
5.3.1 The Method of Variation 86
5.3.2 Beginning Examples 87
5.3.3 Variations on Metrical Rhythm 91
5.4 Structures of the Experience of Rhythm 94
CHAPTER 6. MUSIC AS EXPRESSION AND AS LANGUAGE 98
6.1 Music and Expression 99
6.1.1 The Arousal and Expression Theories 100
6.1.2 The Representational Theory 106
6.1.3 Formalism 112
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