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Full-Text Articles in Musicology
The Unifying Strands: Formalism And Gestalt Theory Span Centuries Of Music Philosophy, Amanda N. Staufer
The Unifying Strands: Formalism And Gestalt Theory Span Centuries Of Music Philosophy, Amanda N. Staufer
The Research and Scholarship Symposium (2013-2019)
In every age, musicians and philosophers deal with inquiries concerning musical meaning and the effect of music on the listener. Musical formalism and Gestalt theory—two theories in musical aesthetics—demonstrate that aspects of musical perception and experience are enduring and comprehensive. Musical formalism is the theory that music’s nature is innate, self-evident, able to be systematically deduced, and rational. According to formalism, musical meaning is defined by things objectively ‘there’ in the music, musical experience relies on cognition, and music is less a matter of sense than of mind. Gestalt Theory holds that music is a unified totality—the whole gives meaning …
The Unifying Strands: Formalism And Gestalt Theory In The Musical Philosophies Of Aristoxenus, Descartes, And Meyer, Amanda N. Staufer
The Unifying Strands: Formalism And Gestalt Theory In The Musical Philosophies Of Aristoxenus, Descartes, And Meyer, Amanda N. Staufer
Musical Offerings
In every age, philosophers deal with inquiries concerning musical meaning and the effect of music on the listener. Instead of answering the formidable question of musical meaning, this essay demonstrates the parallel aspects of three musical theories from ancient, Enlightenment, and modern times. Using the two criteria of musical formalism and Gestalt Theory, this essay systematically connects the philosophies of Aristoxenus of Tarentum, René Descartes, and Leonard Meyer. Musical formalism holds that music’s nature is innate, self-evident, able to be systematically deduced, and rational. According to formalism, musical meaning is defined by things objectively ‘there’ in the music, musical experience …