Thomas Turino

Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology Music as Social Life

A series edited by Philip V. Bohlman,
Bruno Netti, and Ronald Radano The Politics of Participation
EDITORIAL BOARD
Margaret J. Kartomi
Anthony Seeger
Kay Kaufman Shelemay
Martin H. Stokes
Bonnie C. Wade

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS ChicagoandLondon

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THOMAS TURINO is professor of musicology and ,.,u
anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign. He has published books and articles on the
music of Peru and Zimbabwe and is currently engaged
in research on old-time string band music in the United
States.

The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 60637

The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 2008 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 2008
Printed in the United States of America

17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 1 2 3 4 5
For Amy,
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-81697-5 (cloth)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-81698-2 (paper) And all the happiness
ISBN-10: 0-226-81697-4 ( cloth) That quietly crept in with her.
ISBN-10: 0-226-81698-2 (paper)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Turino, Thomas.
Music as social life : the politics of participation /
Thomas Turino.
p. cm. -(Chicago studies in ethnomusicology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-81697-5 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-81697-4 (cloth: alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-226-81698-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-226-81698-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Music-Social aspects. I Title.

ML3916.T87 2008
781'.1-dc22
2007050135

@) The paper used in this publication meets the mini-

mum requirements of the American National Standard
for Information Sciences- Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI 239.48-1992.
 .
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

too numerous to name, who have chewed over this material in draft form;
their questions, confusions about my confusions, and breakthroughs were
guiding inspiration for refinement and for writing the book in the first ·
Introduction
place.
Material support for work on this book came from the University of
Illinois Research Board and a summer grant from the College of Fine and
Applied Arts.
1 Why Music Matters

Musical sounds are a powerful , human resource, often at the heart of

our most profound social occasions and experiences. People in societies
around the world use music to create and express their emotional inner
lives, to span the chasm between themselves and the divine, to woo lovers,
to celebrate weddings, to sustain friendships and communities, to inspire
mass political movements, and to help their babies fall asleep. Music is
the basis of a huge industry and can be an avenue to money and fame. It
is also a constant of everyday life, wafting through the dentist's office like
sonic wallpaper. A central thesis of this book is that music is not a unitary
art form, but rather that this term refers to fundamentally distinct types of
activities that fulfill different needs and ways of being human. At a deeper
level, I argue that musical participation and experience are valuable for
the processes of personal and social integration that make us whole.
The famous European composer Igor Stravinsky is often credited with
the idea that music has no meaning beyond itself. He was expressing a no-
tion that is held by some people about music, especially European classical
instrumental music, that it is an abstract, socially autonomous art. One
reason for this attitude is that it is often difficult to capture or translate
musical meaning with words. Like the other arts, musical sounds can be a
special kind of communication and experience that draw upon and draw
out different parts of the self. This book is a theoretical exploration of some
of the ways music is socially meaningful; it is also an introduction to some
basic conceptual models that might help illuminate why and how music
and dance are so important to people's understanding of themselves and

VlTTTT
 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS

their identities, to the formation and sustenance of social groups, to spiri- ence _<!_!eeling of oneness with others. 2 The signs of this social intimacy
tual and emotional communication, to political movements, and to other are experienced directly-body to body-and thus in the moment are felt
fundamental aspects of social life. This chapter sets the stage by introduc- to be true. Social solidarity is a good and, in fact, necessary thing. We de-
ing some of the basic theoretical ideas that will be developed throughout pend on social groups-our family, our friends, our tribe, our nation-to
the book. 'Si<jf\--==> o\)-<',...~ survive emotionally and economically and to belong to something larger
1 than ourselves. In cases where in-group solidarity supports the dehuman-
·c~
t ex izing of other groups-that is, overvaluing difference and undervaluing
I

1>'( ff\tJO \ the basic sameness of people-survival can once again be threatened (a
Why Art Matters theme taken up in chapter 7). Study of expressive cultural practices like
Although many societies around the world do not have a single concept music and dance from different societies can help us achieve a balance
translatable with the English word music, activities akin to what we call between understanding cultural difference and recognizing our common
music and dance are practiced among people everywhere and have been humanity.
throughout history. It is worth asking why this is so. The performing, vi- Anthropologist and scientist Gregory Bateson discusses the evo-
sual, language, and architectural arts are certainly sources of pleasure, but lutionary potential of the arts from a different angle (1972a). He notes
this alone does not explain why human beings everywhere and at all times that the arts are a special form of communication that has an integrative
have been moved to enact dramas, tell and write stories, make musical function-integrating and uniting the members of social groups but also
sounds, dance, paint on cave walls and on canvas, make decorative textiles, integrating individual selves, and selves with the world. Bateson argues
wear masks, adorn their bodies, and construct buildings that do far more that if normal language were all that was needed to communicate, then
than simply provide shelter. Pleasure alone does not explain why people of the arts would have withered and disappeared long ago. He suggests that
all times and places have gone to great effort to enact elaborate rituals and artists communicate through the presentation of forms and patterns that
ceremonies, or why they are universally drawn to sports, games, and more serve as integrated maps of sensations, imagination, and experience and
generally to play, the English verb used to denote music making. that it is through these patterns that we are most deeply connected to and
Some anthropologists have suggested that the arts are central to part of the natural world.
human evolution and human survival. This can be understood in several Bateson posits that, like dreams, artistic creativity flows from the
basic ways. Music, dance, festivals, and other public expressive cultural subconscious in what he calls *primary process 3 and that through the ma-
practices are a primary way that people articulate the collective identities nipulation of artistic materials-paint, stone, musical sounds, motion,
that are fundamental to forming and sustaining social groups, which are, words -this inner life is rendered in consciously perceivable forms. As we
in turn, basic to survival. The performing arts are frequently fulcrums of know from our dreams, primary process is connective; that is, it links im-
identity, allowing people to intimately feel themselves part of the com- ages and ideas that 'rationally'4 we might not think belong together. As in
munity through the realization of shared cultural knowledge and style and the strange combinations of images that sometimes come to us in dreams,
through the very act of participating together in performance. Music and the connections expressed through art flow from and create a deeper sense
dance are key to identity formation because they are often public presen- and a different type of understanding. Bateson's hypothesis is that artistic
1
tations of the deepest feelings and qualities that make a group unique.
Through moving and sounding together in synchrony, people can experi-
2. William H. McNeill (1995) suggests the term "muscular bonding" for the sense
of oneness derived from marching or dancing together in close synchrony; we might
1. Over the last three decades, ethnomusicologists have repeatedly documented add the term "sonic bonding" when this occurs through music making.
the special power of music for realizing soda! identities and cultural subjectivies 3. Terms in the text that are marked with an asterisk are found in the glossary.
(e.g. , Pefia 1985; Feld 1988; Koskoff 1989 ; Waterman 1990; Turino 1993; Stokes 1994; 4. I use single quotation marks to denote terms that are to be understood in rela-
Sugarman 1997; Radano and Bohlman 2000b; Turino and Lea 2004; Feldman 2006; tion to specific discourses, e.g. , 'rationally' in relation to modernist discourse, 'nation'
Buchanan 2006). and 'ethnicity' in relation to nationalist discourse.

3
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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS

patterns and forms are both the result of and articulate this integration of surable, people tend to return again and again to activities that produce
different parts of the self and thus facilitate wholeness. He concludes that this state. As they do so their skill level grows, requiring the challenges to
the integrative wholeness of individuals developed through artistic experi- increase if the proper balance is to be maintained. A second condition for
ence-the balancing of connective inner life with 'reason,' sensitivity, and activities to readily produce flow states, then, is that they have a continu-
sense-is crucial to experiencing deep connections with others and with ally expanding ceiling for potential challenges. The third key condition for
the environment, which is crucial for social and ecological survival. achieving flow is that the activity must contain the potential for immedi-
ate feedback on how one is doing, which, again, keeps the mind focused
on the activity at hand. As the fourth condition for creating flow, activities
should be clearly bounded by time and place so that participants can more
Flow fully concentrate on what they are doing and tune out 'the everyday.' The
Further illuminating Bateson's ideas about individuals' developing psychic final feature that enhances the potential for intense concentration and
wholeness through artistic experiences, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmi- flow is clear, well established goals that are reachable within the bounded
halyi has created a theory of optimal experience or fl.ow that helps explain time and place and in relation to the skills-challenge balance.
how art and music aid individuals in reaching a fuller integration of the Csikszentmihalyi notes that with the right state of mind even the most
self (1988; 1990 ). ~ r~f~ ~ e of heigh_tened_concentration, when mundane job can lead to flow if the worker continually sets her own chal-
one is so intent on the activity at hand that all other thoughts, concerns, lenges in balance with the task at hand-for example, continually increas-
and distractions disappear and the actor is fully in the present. The expe- ing the number of items handled on an assembly line in the same amount
rience actually leads to a feeling of timelessness, or being ~t~f normal of time. But certain activities seem specially designed to contain all the
time, and to feelings of transcending one's normal self. Regardless of how necessary conditions for reaching flow-sports, games, music, and dance
intense the activity is-mountain climbing or kayaking a difficult river- primary among them -and this may be another hint as to why such activi-
Csikszentmihalyi's interview research suggests that people find flow ex- ties remain universally valued in human societies. As I discuss further in
perience restful and liberating, because the problems and aspects of our- subsequent chapters, certain types of music making contain the condi-
selves that sometimes get in our way from reaching a clear, open state tions for flow in unique and particularly pronounced ways.
of mind disappear during intense concentration. Csikszentmihalyi claims
further that this open state of mind is fundamental for psychic growth and
integration.
Musical Signs and Meaning
Most people have probably had the experience of being so involved
with a particular activity that an hour seemed like minutes. Coming out Bateson's suggestion about the importance of the arts in human life can
of this state of mind, one wonders, "Where did the time go?" Such ex- also be approached by considering how music and dance create and com-
periences are examples of flow. While flow states are available to almost municate emotion and meaning through signs. The American philosopher
everyone and may be quite common for some people, Csikszentmihalyi's Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) created a theory of signs known as
contribution has been to pinpoint the particular conditions within activi- *semiotics. Following Peirce, a *sign can be anything that is perceived by an
ties that enhance the potential for reaching flow states. observer which stands for or calls to mind something else and by doing so
Perhaps the most important condition for flow is that the activity must creates an effect in the observer. Thus, any sign situation has three aspects:
include the proper balance between inherent challenges and the skill level (1) the sign or *sign vehicle, (2)the *object 5 or idea indicated by the sign,
of the actor. If the challenges are too low, the activity becomes boring and and (3) the effect or meaning of the sign-object relation in the perceiver.
the mind wanders; if the challenges are too high, the activity leads to frus- The actual effects generated by signs can range from a feeling to a physical
tration and the actor cannot engage fully. When the balance is just right,
it enhances concentration and that sense of being at one with the activity 5. Peirce used the term object to refer to whatever the sign stands for, be it a per-
and perhaps the other people involved. Since flow is experienced as plea- son, a rock, a wind direction, or an abstract idea.

4 5
 INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS
CHAPTER ONE

reaction to a thought or idea in the mind; from a Peircean perspective, all would be familiar with, to the point that the music can create discomfort
human feeling, action, and thought are initiated and mediated by signs. or anxiety.
Most obviously, the words in language are signs, but Peirce's contribution Iconic processes are also basic to the recognition of patterns and form
to our understanding of musical meaning was that he provided theoretical in music, art, and indeed all phenomena. Recognition of symmetry in
tools for analyzing the nature of nonlinguistic signs and their potential the human body results from the resemblance of the two eyes, two ears,
effects. One way that he did this was by pinpointing three basic ways that two arms, two nostrils, etc. When a composer repeats a musical figure ( or
people make the connection between a sign and what it stands for (its *motive), melodic passage, or section at different points in a piece, listen-
object). The manner in which a person connects a sign vehicle with its ob- ers perceive the repetition through the resemblance with what they have
ject determines the effects of the sign in important ways and distinguishes heard before and thus begin to perceive the 'shape' of the composition -
its semiotic function. Peirce's three most famous concepts-*icon, *index, as in a piece with two sections (A and B) organized as ABA or AABB or
and *symbol-refer to the different manners by which a sign is related ABAB. The Q__ercepJ:~musical form is thus similar to the way the ico-
to its object. The vast majority of signs operating in music are icons and nicity of rhymed lines in songs and poetry allows us to perceive poetic
form through the similar and contrasting sounds of words.
indices.
- Pernaps- most important for understanding the special potentials and
effects of music, iconic signs create a special space for making imaginative
Icon connections. If the sounds of kettle drums in a piece of music make the lis-
The first way that people make the connection between a sign and what tener think of thunder or cannons or the rumble of a subway ( objects of the
it stands for is through resemblance, what Peirce called icons or iconic sign) because, for the listener, the drums sound like thunder or cannons or
signs. A drawing of a horse is an iconic sign for the animal if, through a subway, then the dru~ ~ounds function as signs of resemblance, or icons.
resemblance, seeing the picture calls horses to mind. The most basic type No!e that the composer may not have intended these particular connec-
of iconic process is the grouping of phenomena because of some type of tions and thus communication-the transference of intended meaning or
resemblance. We group types of people because of similar clothing styles, information from composer to listener-was not involved.
speech accents, and other physical attributes; we recognize dogs as a type As with maps or diagrams, iconic signs can be used to communicate in-
of animal because of some type of resemblance. We also recognize a new tended meaning or information, but in other instances the resemblances
song as belonging to a particular style or genre because it sounds like other perceived by observers may be a product of their personal history and ex-
songs we have heard; the sound of steel guitar and a particular type of periences-what I call .the internal context of the perceiver. Kettle drums
"twangy" vocal quality (*timbre) and ornamentation allow North Ameri- will probably not suggest "the rumble of a subway" to a listener who has
cans to immediately identify a new piece encountered as country music. no experience with subways, but this connection may be the first thing
because it sounds like the country songs they have heard before. Iconic that comes to mind for a daily subway commuter. The main issue for our
processes are fundamental to musical meaning in terms of style (token- purposes is that icons can spur imaginative connections of resemblance
type) recognition and are basic to our cultural classifications of most between the signs perceived and the objects stood for in light of the inter-
things, including people's identities. This kind of iconic process is usually nal context of the perceiver. Inkblot tests used by psychologists operate on
so automatic and constant that it happens low in focal awareness until we this principle; the patient is asked to use his imagination to see something
encounter something that is not easily connected to a general type that is in the randomly produced forms in order to draw out aspects of his past
familiar to us-for example, a radically different kind of musical sound and perhaps his subconscious. When people see the shapes of animals or
or a "scary noise." In daily life people habitually and continually group dragons in cloud formations, similar imaginative iconic processes are at
phenomena encountered through resemblances; a noise is usually scary work. In music and abstract visual art these same types of imaginative
only if we can't readily identify the type of thing that made the sound. iconic connections are often made; whether intended by the artists or not,
As discussed in chapter 3, some electronic music composers purposefully sounds in music may ignite the imagination by suggesting resemblances
choose sounds that are not easily iconic of sound sources that listeners with other things outside the music. A slow, bittersweet melody or an up-

7
 r-
INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS
CHAPTER ONE

beat tune can sound like what I happen to feel like at a particular time, the love "our song"), the iece might s~rve as an index for J:!i.~!J2erson, or the
music being iconic of my mood. 6 One of the great functions of music and feelings involved, when you hear it later in life. -
;the _other arts is to trigger people's imagination and feelings in this- way. We make the conn_ection between indexical signs and their objects by
Musical icons offer the special potential of inspiring imaginative connec- experiencing them together in our actual lives. Consequently indices have
tions similar to the connections we experience in dreams. a particularly direct impact; we typically do not reflect on the reality of
Iconic signs can also be used purposefully by artists to render their the object that the sign calls forth, but we simply assume its reality as
imaginings in perceivable form and to push perceivers to make certain commonsense because it is part of our experience. We may go on to reflect
connections and consider new possibilities. For example, drawings of about whatever it was that the index brought to mind, but the initial in-
spaceships and robots in science fiction books predated the actual ex- dexical sign-object connection is perceived as fact. Thus, just as icons open
istence of these machines. Artists first imagined these possibilities and us to the realm of possibility and imagination, indices have a kind of reality
then rendered them perceivable in their art; the scientists and engineers function and are of the realm of direct connection. Certain indexical signs
took over from there. The Mbuti Pygmies of the central African rainforest are interpreted as actually being affected by their objects; weathervane
iconically represent the "sound of the divine forest" by playing a trumpet (index) and wind direction (object), facial expression (index) and inner
to make animal sounds during their molimo ceremonies, thereby render- mood ( object), loud volume (index) and the high energy required for
ing the spiritual concept of the forest, as they imagine it, in perceivable sound production ( object) are examples of this causally related type that
form (Turnbull 1962). Peirce calls *dicent indices. As discussed in chapter 6, the much-debated
issue of musical authenticity can be clarified by using the concept of di-
cent index.
Index Because indexical connections are created by experiencing sign and
The second way that people connect a sign with what it stands for is by object together, and because we might experience the same sign vehicle at
experiencing the sign and object together; Peirce called this type of sign different times and in different contexts, indices potentially involve a kind
an index. Smoke is an index of fire, lightning and thunder are indices of a of *semantic snowballing. Old indexical connections may linger as new
storm, and a siren is an indexical sign for police cars and emergency ve- ones are added, potentially condensing a variety of meanings and emo-
hicles. If a person often hears the same tune played as a bride and groom tions within a highly economical and yet unpredictable sign. As discussed
march to the altar, this tune might call weddings or marriage to mind even in chapter 7, members of the civil rights movement used preexisting tunes
when heard outside a wedding situation. In advertisements, if a particular that indexed the church and progressive labor movements and set new
musical jingle is played every time the product is shown or discussed on lyrics about civil rights to these tunes. In effect what they were doing was
TV, then the jingle can come to function as a sign of cooccurrence or index combining the old associations of religious righteousness and progressive
for the product. Because people commonly hear particular styles of music politics-directly felt through indexical connection-with their events
played by particular individuals or social groups or in particular regions, and cause, thereby adding historical depth and emotional power. The
music typically serves as a powerful index for these types of identity ( chap- emotional power of indexical signs is directly proportionate to the attach-
ter 5). Music also commonly indexes the people and situations where we ment, feelings, and significance of the experiences that they index, but

-
have heard the music; if you listened to a particular song with your first
-----
6. Such sound-mood iconic relations are based in cultural musical conventions
since these signs operate to connect us to our own lives, they can be the
most "personal" and tend to have the greatest emotional potential of all
three sign types.
Like icons, indexical signs are somewhat unpredictable since they
that attribute mood to certain sound features, such as minor keys with somberness
depend on the past experiences (internal contexts) of the perceivers and
or sadness or, in Peru, slow tempos with seriousness and fast tempos with happiness.
no two individuals' experiences are identical. Differences in experience
Another musical feature such as a melodic line that rises in pitch and volume may be
more directly iconic with feelings of excitement because it sounds like what happens are all the more pronounced when people hail from different social and
in speakers' voices when they get excited. cultural groups (chapter 4). Shared experiences, however, can lead to

9
8
 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS

common indexical associations among groups of people, and the mass in the world to be meaningful; their meaning is linguistically based and
media, especially advertising, is in the business of creating mass indices. socially agreed upon. Thus symbols can operate in a relatively context-free
Nowadays musical indices are commonly created and conventionally used manner-for example, in lectures in a classroom about other things not
in the mass media. Even very young children immediately recognize the present there. These qualities make symbols contextually flexible and the
musical sounds (indices) that communicate that a scary part is coming primary sign type for general description and relatively precise theoretical
in a movie, because they have heard such sounds accompany scary parts synthesis and analysis. 7
before. No one has to tell them to shield their eyes: the reaction of timid Note that while indexical connections may be shared among people
young viewers will be direct, automatic. The effects of indexical signs are who have had common experiences, similar reactions to indexical signs
often like this. are not formally agreed upon or remotely guaranteed; there are no diction-
aries of indexical signs. Moreover, indices point to specific instances rather
than generalities and thus do not serve well for theoretical discourse and
Symbol
analysis. We need symbols to generalize and theorize generalities, that is,
The third way that signs are connected to their objects is through linguis- to make sense of the vast array of specific phenomena that we encounter.
tic definition. Words can be created and defined with other words, and Each sign type does a different type of semiotic work and has a propensity
we can assign a specific meaning to all sorts of signs ( =, +, n) through to create different types of effects.
linguistic definition. Peirce referred to such linguistically based signs as Peirce outlined three basic types of effects created by sign-object rela-
*symbols. To function for communication, symbols require not only spe- tions: (1) a sense or a feeling; (2) a physical reaction or response; and
cific linguistic definition but also social agreement; people have to agree (3) "a more developed sign in the mind" including sonic, tactile, olfac-
on the definitions of words ( documented in dictionaries) or the notational tory, and visual images as well as word-based symbolic thought. So, for
symbols of a musical score ( documented in music inst~uctionbooksy if a example, when hearing a song that one's mother used to sing around the
speaker's or composer's intentions are to be realized. The readers of this kitchen, the listener might have a vague sense of longing, or bolt upright
book will have to agree to understand icon, index, and symbol in the way in his chair, or have an olfactory image (memory) of kitchen smells, a vi-
that I am defining these terms (symbols) here if they are to understand my sual image of the kitchen, or the word-based thought "I'd better call Mom."
meaning in later chapters. Symbols, established through linguistic defini- In any of these hypothetical instances the song functioned as the sign;
tion and agreement, have the greatest potential for relatively predictable 'Mom,' 'home,' 'the kitchen,' 'childhood' were potential objects of the sign,
communication. creating the different effects described.
Symbols are general signs. When operating symbolically, the word cat To provide a way to think about the dynamic nature of perception and
does not specify a particular animal but rather the concept of "cat" in gen- thought, Peirce also outlined various types of semiotic chaining processes.
eral. If someone says "that cat" pointing to an animal in the room, then the Within one type, a given sign-object relation (a) creates an effect (a) which
words are operating with a strong indexical component of cooccurrence
to establish meaning; many words in everyday speech have this strong 7. Those interested in understanding Peirce more fully might begin by reading his
indexical connection to their objects. Thus while symbolic sign-object articles "The Fixation of Belief;' "How to Make Our Ideas Clear," "The Principles of
connections typically involve language, linguistic signs (words) are not al- Phenomenology," and "Logic as Semiotic: The Theory of Signs," all contained in Justus
ways operating as symbols. It is basic to symbolic operations that symbols Buchler's edited volume Philosophical Writings of Peirce (Peirce 1955). Carl Hausman
provides a useful discussion of writings about Peirce (Hausman 1993:xiii-xvii); his
are indexically linked most prominently to and cooccur with the other
chapter "Classes of Signs" provides a good introduction to Peircean semiotics. Haus-
symbols (words) of their definition or linguistic discourse rather than to
man's conception of the symbol, like that of many other writers, is broader than mine.
actual objects out there in the world. This is what Peirce meant when he I have written a longer article about the application of Peircean semiotics to music
stated that symbols are general signs about general objects. Symbols are (Turino 1999). That paper falls short in not exploring the importance of indexicality
signs that have other symbols as their objects. It is the strength of symbols in language, but it provides a fuller picture of the importance of both iconicity and in-
that they do not require a resemblance to or cooccurrence with things out dexicality, as well as other sign components, in music than I am able to provide here.

10 11
 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS

becomes the next sign in the .chain (b),, standing for a-rrew-objeet-(~-__ different types of effects and doing specific types of semiotic work. Sym-
atinga new effect (b ), which becomes the next sign in the chain ( c), with a bols are necessary for general thought and theoretical analysis. Because
new object ( c), and yet another effect ( c), which becomes another sign ( d), the objects of symbols are other symbols, the effects of this sign type will
etc., until this line of feeling/reaction/thought is interrupted. probably be symbolic thought. The strength of this sign type is also its
Let me fill in the hypothetical example about Mom's kitchen with a true weakness; while symbols can be used to generalize, their general, rela-
story, the main action taking place in a matter of seconds. A middle-aged tively context-free quality does not help us feel or experience what they
man is relaxing in a chair, mind wandering, all well with the world. A are generalizing about. Indices connect us to our actual experiences, have
Mozart piece (sign a, object as yet unspecified) comes on the radio, ini- a reality function, and can be emotionally potent in proportion to the emo-
tially creating a scarcely noticed sense of vague discomfort ( effect a). This tional potency of the experiences called forth by the signs. The effects tend
feeling (sign b) is connected to a vague sense about his mother (object b), to be direct, automatic, "pre-interpreted," in relation to an actual object in
making the man bolt upright ( effect b); this physical reaction, complete the world and experienced sign-object relations. 9 Both feelings and physi-
with rapid heartbeat, becomes the new sign ( c), connected to a welling cal responses are typical effects of indexical signs early in the chaining
feeling that something is wrong vis-a-vis Mom ( object c), creating a sudden process, for example the anxiety felt and the hands automatically shooting
burst of word-based thought exclaimed simultaneously out loud: "Damn! up to cover the eyes when scary music is heard by a timid movie watcher.
Mom's birthday was two days ago. I forgot again!" (effect c). This sudden S~emblance, icons, allow us to make token-type connections and
remembrance (sign d) then inspires new chains of thought about how to to perceive form; they also allow for the play of the imagination. The ini-
make excuses and amends to Mom, a lifelong Mozart fan (hence the musi- tial effects of iconic signs tend to be at the level of sensual perception,
cal index), as well as chains of self-incriminating feelings and a promise to sensation, and feeling. Iconic and indexical signs are signs of our percep-
himself that he will write down everyone's birthday for next year (which, tions, imagination, and experiences, whereas symbols are more abstract
to my knowledge, he never did). 8 Peirce's insight about the dynamic chain- signs about things as generalities.
ing of signs avoids strict body-mind and emotion-thought dichotomies by Different realms of social life tend to utilize certain sign types more
providing a framework for analyzing the interactions of sense, physical than others. In academic and scientific writing and teaching as well as
reaction, and "more developed signs in the mind" -a framework crucial mathematics, symbols are prominent; academic work exercises the sym-
for understanding musical meaning. bolic, analytical parts of the self. By contrast, the arts, even the linguistic
arts, are distinguished by the preponderance of iconic and indexical signs
with their propensity to fire the imagination and create sensory, emo-
Artistic Signs and Personal Integration
tional, and physical effects. Whereas linguistic signs in everyday speech
Armed with Peirce's semiotic tools, I want to return to Gregory Bateson's may function iconically, indexically, and symbolically, the vast majority
idea that the arts are essential to human survival because they serve the of signs operating in music and dance are icons and indices. It is possible
function of integrating different parts of the self and integrating individu- for musical sounds to function as symbols, but not without the interven-
als with each other and their environment. tion of language. Symbolic instruction is not the way that most people
As suggested above, each sign type has its own potentials for creating make the connections between musical signs (sounds) and their objects,
although music students and scholars, both professional and amateur, pro-
8. This mundane description of semiotic chaining can be tested by studying
one's own processes of feeling/reaction/thought and determining the signs, objects, 9. By "pre-interpreted," Hausman (1993:88) is pointing to the objective conditions
and effects (dynamic interpretants) that made up the chain within a given instance. in the world that influence semiotic processes, but the term might also be applied
It should be noted that Peirce was more interested in a different type of linking of to the direct effects of signs when symbolic reflection is not involved. For example,
*interpretants, by which a community of observers would arrive at the final interpretant when a sergeant yells "Attention!" and a well-trained soldier automatically snaps to,
for an object, which is the "norm or standard of the truth of all prior interpretants" the direct physical effect of the sign is different from what we typically think of as
approaching the "truth" about the reality of the object. interpretation.

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INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS

CHAPTER ONE

vide special cases. 10 Rather, I would suggest that most people the world expect and interpret metaphoric expression and other iconic and indexical
over connect the majority of musical signs to their objects either through language:-Tlie singer-songwriter genre is generally framed such that the
resemblances or through cooccurrence.
11
signs in performance (the songs, body language, stage patter, etc.) are to
Different realms of social life are also framed in different ways so that be interpreted as dicent indices of the performer's actual self and experi-
we know how to interpret the signs operating. Bateson (1972b) discusses ences. The glam rock and opera genres are framed so that the artists are
the concept of *frame as a mental framework for interpreting a particular interpreted as playing a part; that is, their performances are interpreted
slice of experience. When someone winks and then says something insult- as iconic representations of possible or imaginary people, and it is under-
ing, the wink is meant to cue a frame of interpretation in which the words stood that they are not depicting themselves. 13
spoken are not be taken literally but rather should be interpreted as a joke Thus, not only is there a preponderance of iconic and indexical signs in
("joking frame").12 Everything in daily interaction is framed in some way. music and the other arts, but these social fields of practice are framed to
When two acquaintances pass each other on their way to class and one predispose us toward nonsymbolic interpretation and experience. Here is
says, "How are you?" the interchange is framed as "casual greeting;' and the key point: within the semiotic chains of effects produced by iconic and
the addressee knows that she is not expected to really explain how she indexical signs in music and art, sensual perception, feeling, physical reac-
is. This same question, however, might be framed differently when two tion, and symbolic thought may all eventually occur, thus involving and
friends make an effort to sit down to drink coffee and catch up. Here the integrating different parts of the self which are sometimes conventionally
situation plus indices of body language and tone of voice can cue a frame referred to as 'emotional,' 'physical,' and 'rational.' This type of fuller inte-
by which the addressee interprets the words as literal and sincere (she re- gration is more likely to occur in response to phenomena like music and
ally wants to know how I am). The frame of academic classes, lectures, and the other arts as opposed to fields where symbols predominate and pri-
books suggests that the signs should largely be interpreted as symbols and marily exercise the analytical parts of the self-hence Bateson's emphasis
are intended as such, to be interpreted literally. Different genres of art, on the arts for developing wholeness.
in themselves, cue particular frames of interpretation. A science-fiction Symbols tend to keep us in the realm of symbolic thought, reducing
movie or book cues us early on that the action to follow should be inter- the interplay of feeling and physical reaction and, consequently, of these
preted as fantasy; a historical novel invites us to wonder which parts of different parts of the self. This proposition can be easily tested by compar-
the story actually happened. The very genres of poetry ~nd song cue us to ing your own reaction to a typical academic lecture with what occurs in
you during a musical performance, movie, or play. Although a good profes-
sor will pepper her lecture with examples and stories that listeners can re-
10. For example, if music students are instructed that the minor-major key change
late to (indices) and may even include controversial statements that elicit
that occurs in the transition from the third to fourth movements in Beethoven's Fifth
an emotional response, the main thrust in lectures and academic books
Symphony means 'triumph,' this passage may function as a symbol for 'triumph' if
students make this connection based on the professor's linguistic definition. is usually symbolic propositions about the subject matter, which critical
11. Readers should assess this crucial proposition in light of their own experiences. students will assess at the symbolic level ("are these premises sound?" "are
They might choose a song or piece that is particularly powerful for them and then these propositions true?" "is this guy making sense?").
begin to isolate the sound features that make it so. Once this is accomplished, listeners For many people, reactions to artistic performances strike a different
can begin to analyze the prominent sound features ( e.g., vocal or instrumental timbre balance because the main thrust is not symbolic but involves a different
or tone quality, tempo, nature of the melody, rhythm, lyrics, etc.) as signs, determine type of iconic richness and "indexical truth." Depending on the genre
their objects, and think about their effects in relation to how the listener made the frame, performances likely may be judged on the degree to which the per-
sign-object connections. ceiver's imagination, physical reaction, and feelings drawn from past ex-
12. Of course the frames cued might not be accepted, and there are always frames
periences were triggered by the art. The semiotic chains set in motion by
within frames. For example, the insult leveled after the wink might still be interpreted
as literal because this interaction is framed by both actors' knowledge of their broader
relationship. If the addressee feels that the speaker did not actually mean what was 13. Erving Goffman has developed the concept of frame further in a book-length
said as a joke, protests such as "Hey, I was only kidding" will probably be of no avail. treatment (1974).

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 CHAPTER ONE _ INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS
'I

musical performance may well lead in and out of word-based thought, but
many of the effects created will probably be at the levels of sense, feeling,
and physical reaction, integrating all these aspects of the self. For those
deeply engaged in listening, dancing, or playing music, symbolic word-
I (2001). The Possible includes all those things that we might be able to do,
hope, think, know, and experience, and the Actual comprises those things
at.we have already thought and experienced. The interplay between the
~
Possible and the Actual is, in fact, basic to all experience, and yet it often
based thought may be suspended entirely during those periods in which a goes unnoticed. Even the act of taking the next breath is only a possibility
flow state is achieved and the person is in the moment. until we actually do so, yet we live with the faith that the next breath is
Iconic and especially indexical signs tie us to actual experiences, assured until we no longer live. Belief in the next breath is founded on
people, and aspects of the environment. Indices are of our lives and expe- the similarity of all actual breaths taken in moments past. We usually do
riences and thus are potentially invested with greater feeling and senses not focus on our breath or our belief in the next one until some dramatic
of intimacy and reality. Indexical experience plus a perception of iconic event occurs, like being forcefully submerged in water or having the wind
similarity with other people and forms of life is the basis for feeling direct knocked out of us. Dramatic events like these, or a fantastic vacation, or
empathic connection. Spending time in artistic activities where such signs an interesting visitor, or a tragedy like the destruction of the World Trade
are emphasized enhances individual sensitivity and ability to connect- Center, awaken us from our habitual routines, remind us that each breath
this was one of Bateson's main contentions about the evolutionary value of is precious, make us sit up and evaluate our lives anew.
the arts. In contrast, since symbols are general signs about general objects, Most of us live firmly in the day-to-day, the Actual. We have our rou-
they are by nature more indirectly connected to actual phenomena in the tines and act out of habit. We make routine decisions circumscribed by
world, so focusing on symbols makes it easier to lose touch with the actu- a repertoire of choices available within the societies and social groups of
alities represented. which we are part: I get up in the morning and decide whether I should
In a prominent symbolic discourse in the United States, trees, water, wear blue jeans or slacks that day, whether I should eat cereal or eggs for
land, and even people are often referred to as 'economic resources.' Be- breakfast or only have coffee. Some societies and positions of social status
cause this symbolic abstraction has been repeated again and again in the provide a larger repertoire of choices than others, but the vast majority of
public media, it has begun to take on an indexical reality of its own. That is, our habits and actions are learned from and similar to those of the people
the redundant indexical connection between the words trees, water, land, around us. As discussed in chapter 4, these shared habits of thought and
people, economic resources has naturalized a synonymous quality among the action and our repertoires of choices are what anthropologists generally
objects of these signs. This ideological transformation helps create public refer to as culture. Without these cultural frameworks for living we would
acceptance for corporations and governments' treating trees, water, land, not be able to get through a single day. Imagine, for example, that upon
and people accordingly-as things to be harvested, or primarily exploited waking every morning we had to invent a totally new mode of dress or
for economic purposes-without taking into account the much larger cir- new meals for breakfast without established models; we would never get
cuits of life of which they are part. Bateson argues that the continuing out of the house!
recognition of these circuits of life is necessary for the survival of life as we Much in our Actual lives is habit based and needs to be, but a strictly
know it. His argument, and mine, is that the psychic wholeness enhanced habitual life leads to stagnation and boredom. We also need the Possible-
by engagement with music and the other arts supports such empathy and dreams, hopes, desires, ideals: these are the elements of life that add dy-
recognition. namism and challenge and that make us want to keep living. If we apply
Csikszentmihalyi's model for flow to all of life, we might say that a good
life is one that has the right balance between the Possible and the Actual.
The Possible and the Actual If there are too many possibilities, it is difficult to act; if there are not
enough, life becomes dreary indeed.
A final hint as to music's importance in social life is that, like the other arts, The arts are founded on the interplay of the Possible and the Actual
musical experiences foreground the crucial interplay between the Possible and can awaken us from habit. The arts-music, dance, rituals, plays,
and the Actual, an idea suggested by my friend and colleague James Lea movies, paintings, poems, stories-are a type of framed activity where it is

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 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS

expected that the imagination and new possibilities will be given special For me, good music making or dancing is a realization of ideal- Pos-
license. As a result, the arts are a realm where the impossible or nonex- sible- human relationships where the identification with others is so di-
istent or the ideal is imagined and made possible, and new possibilities rect and so intense that we feel, for those best moments, as if our selves
leading to new lived realities are brought into existence in perceivable had merged. It is the sounds we are making, our art, that continually let
forms . Art is not really an "imitation of life"; it would be more accurate us know that we have done so or that we are failing to achieve this ideal.
to say that artistic processes crystallize the very essence of a good life by Being in seamless synchrony with others feels wonderful, and it is one of
dramatically emphasizing the interplay of future possibilities with experi- the main experiences that attracts me to musical performance again and
ences and things we already know from the past-all within in a specially again. I have this feeling often when playing with my son because our
framed and engrossing present. As with the next breath taken, the crucial musical habits are so similar. The ability to sync is common among family
interplay of the Possible and the Actual often goes unnoticed in daily life. groups but also in communities I have visited in Peru, Zimbabwe, Cajun
Successful artistic experiences and performances draw special attention to country in Louisiana, and Texas-Mexican communities where people grow
this interplay, wake us from habit, and thus provide that temporary sense up participating in their local music and dance styles together frequently
of a life more deeply lived. from an early age. Growing up participating in the same styles allows
This description is, itself, a rather abstract rendering of the possibili- people to form similar habits of style that facilitate musical synchrony and
ties of artistic experience-an ideal that is realizable and yet sometimes thus the deep feelings of identification that musical-dance performance
difficult to achieve. Let me offer a personal example to explain what I can create.
mean. I have been playing music with friends and in bands in the United The mass media are often celebrated for the array of musical choices
States for thirty years and, as part of my ethnomusicological activities, they provide; by now we can buy recordings, enjoy, and even learn to
have had the delight and privilege of performing music with community play styles from most places in the world and from any time during the
groups in Peru and Zimbabwe. Although I practice music alone and often twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The eclecticism fostered by the
play at home for my own pleasure, I greatly prefer to play with others. One music industry is positive in some ways, but it also has its drawbacks. Few
of the main things I seek through musical performance is a particular feel- cosmopolitan North Americans now grow up participating in the same
ing of being deeply bound to the people I am playing with. This sense is community-bound music and dance styles from infancy. With the array
created when my partners and I feel the rhythm in precisely the same way, of musical choices available, there is larger variety in habitual time sense
are totally in sync, and can fashion the sounds we are making so that they and musical sensibility, and this often makes finding people to sync with
interlock seamlessly together. The musical sound provides direct, immedi- more difficult.
ate, and constant feedback on how we are doing; when a performance is In addition to playing with my son, I have had the experience of musi-
good, I get a deep sense of oneness with the people I am playing with. I cal merging in particular bands, with particular music partners, and even
think that what happens during a good performance is that the multiple when playing with people I didn't know in, say, an old-time music jam
differences among us are forgotten and we are fully focused on an activ- session. But in many performances I have been part of, this ideal was not
ity that emphasizes our sameness-of time sense, of musical sensibility, of fully reached with everyone in the group. It is the desire for this feeling-
musical habits and knowledge, of patterns of thought and action, of spirit, sometimes actually achieved in the past, but only a future possibility-
of common goals-as well as our direct interaction. Within the bounded that keeps me playing music. Yet my desire for this ideal also leads to frus-
and concentrated frame of musical performance that sameness is all that tration when it doesn't happen and makes me particularly finicky to play
matters, and for those moments when the performance is focused and in with. Because of my attention to sonic syncing, when people aren't locked
sync, that deep identification is felt as total. This experience is akin to what in together it feels particularly uncomfortable, awful.
anthropologist Victor Turner (1969) calls communitas, a possible collec- To compound difficulties, the sense of musical sync is a subjective
tive state achieved through rituals where all personal differences of class, experience that varies among performers and among performers and lis-
status, age, gender, and other personal distinctions are stripped away al- teners. One person in a band might feel that everything is clicking along
lowing people to temporarily merge through their basic humanity. nicely while others feel that she is off. I have had the experience of audi-

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 INTRODUCTION: WHY MUSIC MATTERS
CHAPTER ONE

ence members telling me that my band was sounding particularly good on tural formations. In chapters 2 and 3 I suggest another way of breaking up
a night that I felt was particularly problematic. Conversely, I have genu- the notion of 'music' as a unitary art form by outlining four distinct fields
inely commended friends on their performance only to find that it felt of music making. In chapter 2 I discuss two fields that pertain to real-time
terrible to them. This lack of shared awareness of how things are going performance-participatory and presentational music making. In chapter 3
only makes me feel worse, since my goal is an identity of sense and sen- I suggest two distinct fields that pertain to the making of recorded music-
sibility, expressed through musical sound but also recognized collectively high fidelity music and studio audio art. Within the four-fields framework,
during and afterward. Like the good human relationships they index, good each field is differentiated by its own frame of interpretation, values, re-
musical relationships are difficult to achieve and require continual work sponsibilities, practices, sound features, and distinct conceptions of what
to sustain. Ideal human relationships emerge only in those special mo- music is.
ments-of music making and dance, of lovemaking, of sports teamwork Through selected case studies ( chapters 5-7 ), I suggest that different
and timing, of seamless conversation, of comprehended silences, of ritual types of societies and cultural cohorts value certain musical fields over
communitas-and then they are gone. others due to broader systems of value and social goals. Chapter 5 de-
Often when bands break up there is emotional fallout like that follow- scribes participatory performance in Zimbabwe. It also traces the rise of a
ing a romantic breakup. Reasons for this include the experiences of inti- new cultural formation in that country during the twentieth century and
macy achieved and then lost, as well as the desire for an ideal of Possible with i! the emergence of presentational and high fidelity music making in
musical/social relationships left unrequited. But just as a desire for the a place where formerly only participatory performance existed. Chapter
Possible gets most people dating again after a breakup, it always inspires 6 is a description of old-time music and dance in the United States and
me to search for a new band, to seek those musical situations where I have investigates a cohort-specific participatory tradition that provides an alter-
experienced merging or near merging before, and to maintain those musi- native to major trends in the broader capitalist cultural formation. Chapter
cal relationships that have been the source of so much joy. 7 looks at the semiotics of musical signs within two political movements:
Nazi Germany and the civil rights movement in the United States.
Intent listening to a presentational performance or to recordings can
create flow experiences. Listening can create imaginative experience as
This description of what I look for in musical experience is just one per- well as draw one deeply into one's own life and history through indexical
sonal account. Other people may approach the Possible in music by lis- musical signs. Without diminishing the importance of music listening, I
tening to recordings and letting their imagination or feelings hold sway. would suggest that music making and dancing provide a special type of
Others may use computers to fashion sonic images, new sounds that have activity for directly connecting with other participants, for the intense
never been heard before and were only initially possibilities in the com- concentration that leads to flow, and for an even deeper involvement with
poser's imagination. Others may turn to a musical performing and record- the sonic signs that create effects of feeling and physical reaction and thus
ing career in the hope of possible fame and fortune. One of the central personal integration. Building on these thoughts, in chapter 8 I make a
themes of this book is that music is not a single art form - that musical series of suggestions about the potentials of new cohort creation and about
goals, values, practices, experiences, effects, and social functions are ex- participatory music making as an experiential model for fashioning alter-
tremely varied. native social futures and richer individual lives.
In order to make sense of this diversity, in chapter 4 I outline a series of Ultimately, this book is meant to provide a series of basic conceptual
models for thinking about individual subjectivity, identity, and the dynam- tools and ethnographic examples for thinking about music and dance so-
ics of cultural difference as these intersect with musical practices. The cially and for thinking about individual subjectivities, social groups, and
concept of habits serves as the fulcrum for this discussion, and I develop social movements musically. I draw on ethnomusicological fieldwork
a distinction between *cultural formations and *cultural cohorts, the latter and musical experiences over a period of thirty years in Peru, Zimbabwe,
being more specific interest/identity groups existing within broader cul- and the United States. I also draw on the ideas of many scholars, but I

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 CHAPTER ONE

have attempted to integrate and present them in a way that will be useful
and accessible for anyone-hopefully with a beginner's mind. Armed now
with ideas from Bateson, Csikszentmihalyi, and Peirce, let the arguments
Participatory and
that I make symbolically in the following chapters be tested through each
reader's own indexical experiences. I will be satisfied if something here
triggers new ways to think about those experiences.
2 Presentational Performance

Because we have the one word - music- it is a trick of the English language
that we tend to think of music making as a single art form. Certainly we
know that there are different kinds of music. We have a lot of words, rang-
ing from rather broad ones-folk, popular, classical, world music-which
are meant to encompass everything, to ever more specific labels-(rock)
roots, psychedelic, alternative, grunge, glam, punk, ( metal) heavy metal, speed
metal, death metal. Musical categories are created by musicians, critics,
fans, the music industry, and academics alike. These labels are used to
distinguish styles and products, but they tell us little about how and why
people make the particular music they do and the values that underpin the
ways they make it.
Regardless of the category in question, when North Americans down-
load a song or go out to buy a CD they believe that they are purchasing
music. This belief points to a culturally specific conception of what music
is. When people buy a photograph of a person, they understand that it is
only a representation of that person, not the real thing. Older indigenous
Aymara musicians with whom I worked in Peru during the 1980s treated
the recordings that they made of their festival music as we might use
photographs. After a festival was over, they often listened together to the
recordings that they had made on their boom boxes, largely to remember
and replay what had been happening in the festival at that point. That is,
they used the recordings much as North Americans might use snapshots
of a recent vacation-to show friends and remember the special times that
were experienced. The recordings were a representation of a celebration
and of social interactions realized in a special way through playing music

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