Sarah Talbot

Soprano, Musician, Composer, Teacher, listener

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An Australian involved in music and musical theatre.
The Language of Music. Is it still relevant?

The Language of Music. Is it still relevant?

How does an understanding of the musical languages of the past relate to the world of the contemporary composer/songwriter or performing musician today?

by Sarah Talbot
Sarah is a Graduate of the Bachelor of Arts and Science and Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning programs at The University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She is also currently a student of the Bachelor of Creative Arts (Music) at the same university. Article was originally published as a course assignment. Adapted for online publication on LinkedIn and WordPress.

Music is a language just like the spoken or written word. It has its own constructions and morphologies. As such it has a history. With the spoken word, a person can use and understand without knowing the roots of Latin or ‘borrowing’ of words. To have a deeper meaning of language, one needs to delve into the roots and origins of matter. This enables a deeper appreciation and preserves the cultural knowledge of the subject matter. It is like-wise for music.

The following is a discussion and an analysis of how an understanding of musical languages of the past relate to the world of the contemporary composer/songwriter or performing musician today. Using musical pieces from various eras of musical history, this essay will attempt to breakdown music and redefine it into the context of language, and argue that by having knowledge of the past, can assist contemporary music in performance and compositions.

So what is the music language? 

The Encyclopaedia Britannica (2018) defines ‘Music’ as an…

“art concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form or emotional expression, usually according to cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and harmony. Music is an art that, in one guise or another, permeates every human society” . 

This is rather a broad definition as music varies depending on cultural context. Greek philosopher and mathematician, Aristotle has said…

“It is not easy to determine the nature of music or why anyone should have a knowledge of it”  (Britannica Academic, 2018).

‘Language’ is also a broad term that is defined based on cultural context. The Oxford English Dictionary (2018) offers several definitions that together can define language for the purpose of this essay. Language is; 

“The system of spoken or written communication used by a particular country, people, community; a formal system of communication by gesture; The vocabulary or phraseology of a particular sphere, discipline, profession, social group; jargon. A style or method of expression in a non-verbal artistic medium such as music, dance, or the visual arts; A community of people speaking a common language” (Oxford University Press, 2018).

The study of language, or linguistics, is able to breakdown language into components such as morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The following is a brief definition of some of these components in relation to general spoken language taken from George Yules’ textbook, ‘Study of Language‘ (2010). This writer will contextualise these definitions in relation to the musical language.

Morphology is the study of forms, more specifically the elements (or morphemes) that make up the message, which include the adding and subtraction of elements that change tense, person or meaning (Yule, 2010, p. 67). In relation to music, its morphology can include the structure and flow of the sounds (the morphemes). Whether changing key, alternating between major and minor, manipulating the intervals, or changing instrumentation; this can potentially change the overall piece, thus ‘morphing’ the overall message or intention to audiences. A contemporary example of morphing is the changing of minor to major keys of the song ‘In the End’, originally by Linkin Park (Linkin Park Official, 2009),


https://youtu.be/eVTXPUF4Oz4


and covered by Gordi (Triple J, 2017).

https://youtu.be/mPQ7y6ZYPto


The original piece was set to a minor scale, giving it a sad, depressing feel, coupled with the lyrics and heavy rock instrumentation adding to the ‘hopelessness’ and loss. Gordi’s version changes the piece into a major scale, removing the heavy rock instrumentation and replaces with folk music drones, harp and percussions, with backing vocals, giving the piece a sense of ‘hope’ or ‘struggle’ in a positive light. 

The understanding of how morphing the scales that stems from knowledge of the ‘Greater Perfect System’, the diatonic and chromatic tetrachords and the Lydian species, originating from Ancient Greece (Burkholder, 2014, pp. 15-17). Whether this knowledge is intentional or not, such elements underlie the effects of manipulation of the piece and conveyed meaning. 

The next component is the ‘syntax’ which literally means the structure or arrangement of elements. This includes the use of repeated phraseology (Yule, 2010, pp. 96-99). In musical terms, this could be the arrangement of notation, or the arrangement of pieces or movements. Forms of music have existed into the early classical periods of instrumental music.

The sonata (originating from the Renaissance) and symphony (set by the precedents of Haydn) (Burkholder, 2014, pp. 506-508, 512-516), with the combinations of fast and slow movements, is making a return in the forms of movie and television music. The works of John Williams is an example of contemporary use the symphonic form (Burkholder, 2014, p. 972). In Williams’ pieces, he has often integrated fast and slow movements (or variations), which stays true to both sonata and symphonic forms of classical music. An example is the ‘Superman Suite’ (1978) which incorporates a ‘March’ and a ‘Love Theme’ (Willlams, 2013)

Orchestra recording music for 'Star Wars' at Abbey Road Studios.

John Williams is also said to be responsible for the resurgence of the use of the ‘motif’ to illustrate characters, or what the scene is portraying on screen. Beethoven and Wagner were some of the first composers to use motives (or motives). An example would be in Beethovens’ Fifth Symphony (1807-8), with the use of the ‘four-note figure’ (Burkholder, 2014, p. 576). John Williams extends the use of motifs in music such as ‘Jaws’ (1975), ‘Stars Wars’ (1977), ‘Superman’ (1978) and ‘Indiana Jones’ (1981). This method has been utilised such as Howard Shore in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (2001 – 2003) and ‘The Hobbit’ (2012 – 2014) trilogies. Most audiences can identify the movie and characters just by the associated musical motive (Schrader, 2016).

The madrigal and chant in choral music is also fast becoming popular in choirs, particularly in the works of Eric Whitacre. Using influences of polyphonic Gregorian chant, English style madrigals and Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ (Burkholder, 2014, pp. 52, 107-108, 260, 556), he composed music for SATB choirs, and has been one of pioneers in virtual (online) choirs (TED Talk, 2011) and merging contemporary music methods of composition with technology (Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir, 2013).  

Semantics and pragmatics in language refers to the meaning and interpretation of words, phrases and sentences (Yule, 2010, pp. 292, 294). The same goes for music in analysing components, and discerning what the musician; composer, etc. is trying to convey to the audience. 

The Written Word?

The written notation of music is just as important in understanding the various components that make up a piece. The notation is the fundamental communicative tool conveying intentions of the composer to the musician. Like the English language, music notation incorporates its own vocabulary, shorthand and gestures; and just like the English language, music has gone through an evolution from ‘Latin’ roots to the contemporary notation that we are aware of today. 

The Oxford Dictionary of Music defines notation (or nomenclature) as;

“ the methods of writing down music so that it can be performed. These are devices for which the human being long felt no need, and much of the world’s music, today and in history, has existed without notation. Systems of notation exist in other cultures, but it has been central to the history and development of European classical music” (Oxford University Press, 2013, p. 603). 

Example of Gregorian chant manuscript. One of the early forms of written music notation.

Historically, the earliest forms recorded musical notation comes from Ancient Babylon, and then reappears in the forms of ‘neumes’ in monastic scripts for religious chants. These scripts are no more than guidelines of the gestures used to accomplish the piece. An understanding was needed of the movement of pitch, whether ascending or descending (Burkholder, 2014, pp. 8, 32-38). Notation as we see it today, came about through evolution of ‘neumes’, with the addition of clefs, and key signatures, notes were given values within a period of time, which also gave rise to the time signature. From these seemingly simplistic musical concepts, notation further evolved into complex time signatures, modulations, and incorporations of multiple instruments (which have their own range of notation, shorthand and vocabulary) (Rutherford-Johnson, T. Oxford University Press, 2013). An orchestral score is more complex than a single instrument piece, and the ability to interpret is paramount in communicating intention, from the composer, to the page, to the performer. 

One only needs to see the differences in scores and notation through time, to understand the building of intricacy; Medieval music was either purely instrumental or choral, very rarely notated together. Notation was simpler and easy to understand. E.g. Perotin’s ‘Viderunt Omnes’ (Musicnetmaterials, 2016).

Classical and Romantic composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms experimented with the use of dynamics and tempo in conveying emotion. The merging of orchestra and choirs also added to intricacies. E.g. “A German Requiem” (1868) (Brahms, 1928)  

Contemporary composers merge the past forms and notation, and ‘morph’ them into new creative forms, even changing vocabulary and adding non-Western instruments. 

Why is the knowledge of the musical language of the past, important to musicians today?

Whilst many musicians claim that they do not read music, they at least have basic concepts of music structure. Like the speaking language, a person can understand the spoken word and interpret meaning, even if they cannot read or write it. Musicians today may already have an unconscious grasp of the musical language.

The at home digital studio

Many digital composing and production programs, such as ‘Sibelius’, ‘Finale’ and ‘MuseScore’, have the capacity to set inputted sound to notation for distribution needs. Manuals of such software emphasise that notation is a method of communication between composers, arrangers and producers, to the musicians and performers (Johnson, 2008, p. xvi).

Music notation has also been used as ciphers, codes and cryptograms. Music has very close associations with mathematics, so composers such as Schumann, Bach and Ravel have used music to hide names and messages within the notation, whether it be a patron, a lover, or political or religious statement, or a dirty joke (Burkholder, 2014, p. 611)(Wikipedia, 2018).

Knowledge of the musical language is also part of Western historical and cultural heritage. Even if it is not written, knowing the language is part of the process of evolution. A lot of earlier works have been passed verbally before being written down, after which has been stored and reproduced. Globalisation through time has helped spread music in its various forms. Most people would know a piece by Beethoven, or the ‘Star Wars Theme’ by John Williams. 

Music is now widely available, through online distribution. Musicians can be the professional concert performer to the amateur bedroom producer, but all need a form of communication that unites them all. This form is the musical language.

The current form of the musical language is globally acknowledged and accepted form of communication for music across cultures, spoken languages and instrumentation. A person in Germany can understand the written form of music if it was written in China or the United States, if they understand the ‘jargon’ associated.

In conclusion…

The original question was ‘how does an understanding of the musical languages of the past relate to the world of the contemporary composer/songwriter or performing musician?’ The overall answer is that the musical language is a form of communication, whether it is conscious or unconscious, written, verbal or gestural. 

An understanding of that language helps to unite the global music community. Unlike spoken languages, music has the ability to reach all global citizens, and beyond. 

No alt text provided for this image

Like all languages, music has a simplified version which becomes more complex on closer examination. The contemporary musician can get by remaining on the simplified version, however; the closer examination of music, and its associated language, allows for a more proficient (or articulate) musician or composer.

Resources for learning Music Theory (language)

Bibliography

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