Characterizing Idiomatic Organization in Music: A Theory and Case Study of Musical Affordances
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Date
2009-07
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Empirical Musicology Review
Abstract
A theory of idiomaticism is developed and illustrated using music for B-
flat valve trumpet. Physical measures were collected from two trumpet performers and
used to construct a computer model of the instrument/performer. Using this model,
several works composed by both trumpet virtuosi and non-trumpet players were
analyzed. A conceptual distinction is made between measures of performance difficulty
(how hard it is to play a particular passage) and measures of performance idiomaticism
(how well suited a passage is to a specific instrument). Methods for characterizing both
difficulty and idiomaticism are described. In general, the results suggest that detailed
modeling of the mechanics of performance can help to pinpoint aspects of musical
organization that arise from performance idioms or affordances. Repercussions for
ethnomusicology, historical musicology and music analysis are discussed.
Description
Keywords
idiomaticism, performance, difficulty, modeling, Gebrauchmuzik
Citation
Empirical Musicology Review, v4 n3 (July 2009), 103-122