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Musical Discourse Coherence

Kramer, Emily Hope
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1336857806

Abstract Details

2012, Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, Music Theory.
In linguistics, the study of discourse coherence is concerned with identifying the connections that exist between discrete segments of text within the context of a larger discourse. These connections, or relations, contribute to the unity of the discourse as a whole and articulate a level of meaning beyond the grammatical and syntactical relationships and lexical meanings of the words themselves. In Coherence, Reference, and the Theory of Grammar, Andrew Kehler set forth a taxonomy of discourse coherence relations using as an organizing factor David Hume’s three principles of connection among ideas: resemblance, contiguity, and cause-effect. Aniruddh Patel, in his book, Music, Language, and the Brain, has suggested the possibility of applying the principles of linguistic discourse coherence to the medium of music. Following this suggestion, this study constructs a theory of musical discourse coherence by proposing a set of musical coherence relations comparable to those set forth by Kehler, situating these relations within an analytical method, and using this method in the analysis of two pieces of music: the minuet section of the second movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K. 331, and the fourth movement of Bach’s Keyboard Sonata BWV 964. This method of analysis draws upon all aspects of the musical surface of a piece, including motivic content, harmonic function, and expression, operates at all hierarchical levels, from surface-level processes to large-scale organization, and is potentially applicable to music from a wide range of genres, styles, cultures, and time periods.
Nora Engebretsen, PhD (Committee Chair)
Elizabeth Menard, PhD (Committee Member)
108 p.
Music
music theory; linguistics; discourse coherence

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Kramer, E. H. (2012). Musical Discourse Coherence [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1336857806

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Kramer, Emily. Musical Discourse Coherence. 2012. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1336857806.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Kramer, Emily. "Musical Discourse Coherence." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1336857806

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1336857806
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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.