Between sociology and aestheticism - yet another attempt to bridge over troubled waters

• I. The sociologist Peter Martin (2000) and the music historian Bo Marschner (2004) have recently criticized the Gothenburg school of musicology. The former holds that we tend to downplay the importance of sociological aspects in our studies, the latter that we – and not least myself – neglect the musical work itself. II. Before taking on this critique the article argues that there is much to be learned from research in linguistics and psychology that deals with ‘pre-social’ and ‘biological’ prerequisites for music and culture. Among others the writings of Dissanayake (2000), Levinson (2003) and Nisbett (2003) are presented. III. I then discuss what it implies that Martin’s and other contemporary sociologists (DeNora, Hennion, Grenier et al) insist on the importance of the social as the focal point where all other factors – music among them – are brought together. Included in this part is also a discussion of the benefits of the concept ‘affordance’. IV. Using Keller’s theory of linguistic signs (1998) as a point of departure the ontological status of music and the possibilities to use music as a means of communication are explored. It is argued that music in our culture has a rhetorically intensifying, emotional and limited associative dimension. V. Marschner’s epistemological outlook and views of music as an aesthetic experience, and his critique of the sociomusicological works by me are considered. His views are supplemented with a few other scholars as Said (1992). This section leads on to a concluding discussion (VI) where I try to bridge over the gap between a sociological and an aesthetic understanding of music, as both lead to an incomplete understanding of the use of and meaning of music. I argue for an understanding of music from the viewpoints of a) situation/time, b) place, c) the structure of – and d) the performance of music. To me the is to understand why and how music was used and is used in the way I from a contemporary reflexive position understand the ongoing social process, taking the writings of Elias (1929/200) to heart and mind

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Konst (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Sociology

aetheticism

Norbert Elias

Tia DeNora

Bo Marschner

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)