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       M U S I C          T H E O R Y         O N L I N E

                    A Publication of the
                  Society for Music Theory
      Copyright (c) 1993 Society for Music Theory
+-------------------------------------------------------------+
| Volume 0, number 2      April, 1993      ISSN:  1067-3040   |
+-------------------------------------------------------------+

  General Editor                          Lee Rothfarb

  Co-Editors                              David Butler
                                          Justin London
                                          Elizabeth West Marvin
                                          David Neumeyer
                                          Gregory Proctor

  Reviews Editor                          Claire Boge

  Consulting Editors
	Bo Alphonce		Thomas Mathiesen
	Jonathan Bernard	Benito Rivera
	John Clough		John Rothgeb
	Nicholas Cook		Arvid Vollsnes
	Allen Forte		Robert Wason
	Stephen Hinton		Gary Wittlich
					  

  Editorial Assistants                    Natalie Boisvert
                                          Cynthia Gonzales

  All queries to: mto-editor@husc.harvard.edu
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AUTHOR:  Judd, Robert
TITLE:  Commentary on Neumeyer's MTO 0.1 article
REFERENCE: mto.93.0.1.neumeyer.art

File: mto.93.0.2.judd.tlk

David's essay has a couple of "spikes" of its own at the end
([19-20]).  Two things, somewhat distinct, struck me.  1) "I suppose
it is no secret that [music theorists'] language or methods are not
designed to facilitate judgments of value, but only to support them
after they have been made.  Perhaps the most far-reaching implication
[of the essay] is that the link between the tools of technical musical
criticism and the ideology of masterwork culture is not at all
secure."  If the first sentence is true, the second is also no secret
at all.  Surely it is axiomatic that one's direction at point of
departure determines where one goes?  Value judgements would seem to
fall under the subject of aesthetics, and I wonder why DN didn't talk
more about issues of aesthetics in the essay.  (Or, for that matter,
issues of cognition: how one sound is perceived to "mean" or be apt
for some given dramatic event.)

2)  I also wonder why DN didn't raise the issue of opera composition;
I hope it's not too banal to draw attention to the close
genre-relation of film music and opera music: indeed, opera seems even
better suited to a discussion of how music supports a desired
"physical" mood, or how music interacts with drama.  Perhaps you could
comment, David?  

I agree with the final spike, "where's the real tinsel?"  Indeed, it's
not such a black-and-white, pop vs. masterwork culture, thing, as we
all know.  E.g., I may choose to study "pop" opera, e.g. Madame
Butterfly; you may choose "masterwork" opera, e.g. Salome.  Which is
tinsel?  obvious.  Why?  depends on your ideology.  But we could also
group Salome AND Madame Butterfly as "masterwork" compared to
"Showboat", couldn't we?  

Therefore, could perhaps a finer delineation of types of cultures and
ideologies than DN's binary one be drawn up?  If not, why not?

Thanks again for getting this stuff going.  I found it most
interesting, & hope others too will offer some reactions.

Bob Judd
robert_judd@zimmer.csufresno.edu
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END OF MTO ITEMS