Key Components of Musical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p> Musical discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary study which is incomplete without consideration of relevant social, linguistic, psychological, visual, gestural, ritual, technical, historical and musicological aspects. In the framework of Critical Discourse Analysis, musical discourse can be interpreted as social practice: it refers to specific means of representing specific aspects of the social (musical) sphere. The article introduces a general view of contemporary musical discourse, and analyses genres from the point of ‘semiosis’, ‘social agents’, ‘social relations’, ‘social context’, and ‘text’. These components of musical discourse analysis, in their various aspects and combinations, should help thoroughly examine the context of contemporary musical art, and determine linguistic features specific to different genres of musical discourse.</jats:p>

‘Get off your arse’

“…"The study of language per se is extended to the study of language in combination with other resources, such as images, gesture, action, music and sound" (Aleyshinskaya 2013, following O'Halloran 2011). 6 This is reinforced by Way's (2017) detailed multimodal analyses of pop performances and videos. It felt therefore reductive not to employ a multimodal approach to an analysis of the choir's work, considering the distribution of its works in particular.…”

“…With regard to musical discourse, genre can be understood as a type of text (discursive genre) and a type of music (musical genre) (Aleshinskaya (2013, 3). 13 Discursive genres are particular ways of communicating, using language associated with a particular social activity , and they act as means of organising and formalising social interaction in the sphere of contemporary musical art. To illustrate the Commoners Choir musical discourse, materials were drawn from a primary semi-structured interview with Boff Whalley during August 2018; online and archive interviews already in the public domain; sound recordings of the Commoners Choir on CD, vinyl and "live" via YouTube; video recordings of live performances on http://www.youtube.com.…”

“…Aleshinskaya (2013, 5) describes musical discourse as an "ellipse" with stages of "life", including its creation, distribution, and perception. 14 The "creation of the musical product" in the case of the Commoners Choir comprises rehearsals, studio sessions, and the shooting of related video. The "distribution of the musical product" includes live performances, TV, radio and online broadcasts of performances, musical interviews and press releases.…”

“…(Ibrahim (1999, 349 -69). 44 The use of dialect words, therefore, and an insistence on a Northern pronunciation ("Bugger" to be pronounced with an "uh" sound rather than a more mellifluous "ah" sound, for example) is a similar expression of identification with and pride in a "northernness".…”

Hip‐Hop Early Literacy in K–1 Classrooms

“…We analyzed the students’ conversations using Aleshinskaya's () framework and seven genres of musical disciplinary discourse: song lyrics, live performances, musical interviews, reviews, internet forums, academic publications, and jam sessions. The data from this project exhibited aspects related to all these genres.…”