Chapter 4. Self-Orientation
4.1 Development of ‘Empathy’ into Self-Orientation
4.1.3 Expansion of self-orientation beyond overt reflexivity
As discussed in 4.1.2, listeners can develop conscious connections between the music and their physiological sensations, emotions, or thoughts in a way that is overtly reflexive. However, other listeners appear to describe physiological sensations and emotions as well as thoughts and opinions about the music without consciously articulating or developing connections between the music and themselves. Further, several listeners occasionally broached topics that seemed to be external to the music and themselves. One may then inquire what other strategies are available to the listener in a self-oriented reception behaviour.
To address this question, it is helpful to return to the concept of overt
reflexivity. We know that any reception behaviour is inherently reflexive because the behaviour (the object) arises from the listener (the subject) and refers back to the subject by its nature. Nevertheless, listeners can develop the relationship between themselves and the music in a conscious, interactive, fashion or not. I have observed that when listeners focus less on establishing conscious connections between the music and themselves, overt reflexivity is attenuated. I have also observed that a decrease in overt reflexivity is manifested in the tendency for listeners either to comment either on the music without reference to themselves or on their physiological sensations or emotions without reference to the music, or for listeners to broach topics that are both external to the music and themselves.
These different kinds of self-oriented reception behaviours can also be seen through the lens of Smalley’s concept of ‘intrinsic-extrinsic threads’, previously discussed in 1.4.3. To paraphrase Smalley, the concept of intrinsic-extrinsic threads can be defined, on the one hand, as the attributes and relationships the listener perceives to be inherent in a piece, and on the other hand as the relationships or experiences spawned by the listening experience that the listener perceives to be external to the piece (Smalley. 1997: 110). I suggest labelling listener discussion of emotions and physiological sensations as first-level ‘extrinsic’129 thinking, building on Smalley’s concept. This is because emotions and physiological sensations are part of a wider set of listener responses that can be brought forward by the listening experience and yet seem to be external to the piece, even if the responses might be perceived to be catalysed by the piece. I suggest labelling listener discussion of topics that ‘appear’ to be external to the piece and to listeners’ emotions or physiological sensations (e.g.
images based on fantasy or surrealism) as second-level ‘extrinsic’ thinking. As we shall see, listeners can intertwine intrinsic responses with one or both types of
‘extrinsic’ responses and all three can appear to reinforce each other to varying degrees.
Listeners can also opt to combine first and second-level ‘extrinsic’ thinking, or they may centre exclusively on one or the other. The following discussions centre on a range of self-oriented listener responses from the dual perspectives of reflexivity – or a lack thereof – and intrinsic/‘extrinsic’ topics.
129 I place inverted commas around the term, extrinsic, because all topics arise from the subject, the self, however remote they may be from the human condition.
Typo-morphological description and the overtly reflexive relationship: combined intrinsic and first-level ‘extrinsic’ topics
As discussed in the beginning of 4.1.2, listeners occasionally use typo-morphological terms to describe the sounds in the pieces as a way of creating overtly reflexive relationships between the sounds and themselves. This strategy appears in the remarks from two listeners from the Académie de Musique de Soignies in response to Roy’s Crystal Music. Listener H’s remarks can be seen in the framework of an ‘empathic’ or reflexive relationship – or as a combined intrinsic and first-level ‘extrinsic’ topic – that develops primarily in the form of an inner object: “We have the impression of finding ourselves in a draught-proofed, suffocating and at the same time mysterious milieu.
Certain high-pitched sounds add anguish” (Anderson, 2001: 40).130 This contrasts with the characteristics of a reflexive relationship in the form of an outer object – which also can be viewed as a combined intrinsic and first level ‘extrinsic’ topic – as relayed by Listener E: “All filled with little sounds. Melodious music. It makes me think of a dream that transforms into a nightmare. I have the impression of being in a city. I have the impression that it rains on [a window] pane” (ibid.: 39).131
Beyond overt reflexivity
(i) General descriptions/opinions of the music as an end: intrinsic topics
This alternative behaviour, where listeners centre only on qualities that are intrinsic to the music and do not develop conscious connections between the music and themselves, appears in the following observations from Académie de Musique de Soignies Listener K in response to Roy’s Crystal Music: “[…] Disturbing but superb landscape. All the sounds gather together in a strange harmony […]” (Anderson, 2001:
34).132 The same strategy appears in response to Crystal Music in the following reactions from two listeners at City University (ibid.: 35). Listener B observed that the piece was “[…] easier for a non-ea person to grasp, at least in the opening section which was quite calm and peaceful […]”, and Listener K noted, “[…] my attention is directed at the inherent beauty which the sounds possess […]” (ibid.: 35).
130 My translation of the response fromAcadémie de Musique de Soignies Listener H: «On a l’impression de se trouver dans un milieu calfeutré, étouffé et en même temps, mystérieuse [sic]. Certains sons aigus ajoutent de l’angoisse».
131 My translation of the response from Académie de Musique de Soignies Listener E: «Tout plein de petits bruits.
Une musique mélodieux [sic]. Cela me fait penser à un rêve qui se transforme en cauchemar. J’ai l’impression d’être dans une ville. J’ai l’impression qu’il pleut sur vitre [sic]».
132 My translation of the response from Académie de Musique de Soignies Listener K: «Inquiétant mais superbe paysage. Tout son se rassemblent [sic] en un harmonie étrange».
(ii) General descriptions/opinions of physiological sensations, emotions, and evaluations as ends: first-level ‘extrinsic’ topics
Occasionally listeners evaluated the music in the listening experiment, or they described emotions or physiological sensations they perceived without precisely referring to the stimulus. For example, emotional overtones appear in the evaluation of Vande Gorne’s Bois by City University Listener B: “[…] On an intuitive level I dislike this, it is too threatening, violent, – very ‘masculine’, structured […]” (Anderson, 2001:
30). The boundaries between intrinsic and first-level ‘extrinsic’ discussion are more vague in this type of listening strategy. However, I have chosen to qualify this type of response from the viewpoint of the listener’s emotions, otherwise viewed as a first-level ‘extrinsic’ topic. This is because while the listener’s response is in the form of an outer object (or intrinsic topic) insofar as it centres on the music, the discursive terms are emotional in nature and may serve to better illuminate the listener’s emotions on hearing the music rather than the music itself, although the this process may also illuminate the character of the music indirectly.
(iii) General descriptions/opinions of the music and external topics: combined intrinsic and second-level ‘extrinsic’ topics
Listeners occasionally referred to typo-morphological descriptions of sounds or general descriptions of the sound world while centering on topics that appeared to be ‘extrinsic’
to the self and the piece, as if the articulation of the perception of the sounds or sound world was central to the development of the ‘extrinsic’ topic. An example, which combines an intrinsic topic with a second-level ‘extrinsic’ topic, can be seen in the succinct response to the second of Lejeune’s Deux aperçus du jardin qui s’éveille by Académie de Musique de Soignies Listener C: “A haunted house. A cartoon. […] A montage. […] I liked it a lot” (Anderson, 2001: 26).133 The same combined strategy, albeit more detailed, appears in response to The Gates of H in the following remarks from City University Listener A: “[…] temporal balance (!), regularity in periodicity, choral evidence, chamber resembles cathedral, lifts to upper reaches of the space (!), (as if mystery of other world that might exist above congregation) […]” (ibid.: 48).
133 My translation of the response from Académie de Musique de Soignies Listener C: «Un château hanté. Un dessin animé. […] Un montage. […] J’ai bien aimé».
(iv) Direct metaphorisation of external topics: second-level ‘extrinsic’ topics
Finally, several listeners elaborated on second-level ‘extrinsic’ topics without the aid of typo-morphological description, or they provided scant typo-morphological description that may have served to catalyse, develop, or sustain the metaphorisation. The second-level ‘extrinsic’ topics include physical states and activity as well as those of a literary, theatrical, social, religious or mediatic nature.134 The listener responses in Figure 4-2 support the notion of a wide-ranging scope of possible reactions. They are duplicated from Figure 1-3 in Chapter 1.
Drawing of what appears as the Devil in Hell is accompanied by written remarks,
“Represents Hell. High-pitched voices = people who die in the fire. Low-pitched voice = the devil. Morbid ambience;
sombre […]” by Académie de Musique de Soignies Listener L (ibid.: 48).
The Gates of H
Mediatic Images Drawings of what can be interpreted as Darth Vador’s mask and a light sabre, by International School of Brussels Listener N (ibid.: 40).
Crystal Music
Figure 4-2. Second-level ‘extrinsic’ topics
It is notable that listeners employed a broad spectrum of linguistically descriptive and visually illustrative means to articulate the topics in Figure 4-2, all of which appeared to be remote from the human condition and the acousmatic work in question, but which the listening experience brought forward. In such cases, a sound or the sounding flow in an acousmatic work can prompt the listener to engage in
‘extrinsic’ thinking, which can appear to evolve independently with little or no reference to the sounding flow. This is illustrated by listener remarks in (1) 4.1.3 section (ii) General descriptions/opinions of physiological sensations, emotions, and
134 This list is not exhaustive.
evaluations as ends: first-level ‘extrinsic’ topics; and (2) 4.1.3 section (iv) Direct metaphorisation of external topics: second-level ‘extrinsic’ topics in Figure 4-2.
However, this strategy, which I often use while composing albeit subconsciously, can also illuminate the listening experience and, in turn, listeners’ perception of the piece as well as their perception of themselves, or it can impart meaning to another listener experience that is ‘extrinsic’ to the piece.
In 1.3.2, I suggested that evocation could become the basis for a secondary perceptual construction, which can unfold as an intrinsic or ‘extrinsic’ topic. The process of evocation can frequently begin – or be intertwined – with the typo-morphological description or qualification of a sound or sound world, hence justifying the initial alliance of evocation with the reception behaviour sonic properties in Chapter 1. However, when listeners apprehend the sonic property or sound world, the initial perceptual construction seems to be a catalyst for them to develop a secondary perceptual construction. In this way evocation allows for diverse avenues of thought and reflection to occur and develop. I also suggested that listeners could shift the function or behaviour of a sonic property, sound world, or structure in the piece to a secondary perceptual construction of an intrinsic or ‘extrinsic’ nature.135 The complete series of perceptual vectors, the perceptual forms catalysed by the vectors, and the resulting objects will be chronicled in 4.2.
135 In this usage, the term ‘behaviour’ refers to the manner in which the sound unfolds over time and differs from the term and concept of reception behaviour.