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History

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Dec 6, 2023

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Music History 1300; November 14, 2022 Music and Rhetoric The social phenomenon that I will be researching is the usage of rhetoric as a persuasive technique to portray ideas in not only a beautiful nature, but to inspire action from those who consume the content. As described by Barry Brummett, we often fail to recognize just how much outside factors influence our decisions and ways of thinking to the point where we may enjoy certain clothing pieces or stores as a result of biases accumulated over time from media consumption (2018). Rhetoric has two applicable definitions to the paper, defined by Oxford Languages as both ‘the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques’ and as ‘language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content.’ I will particularly focus on the first definition however, diving into the rhetorical techniques that composers use in their musical pieces to convey a message, as many composers leave pieces of themselves in their art (Bonds, 2020: 25). While researching, I found many connections between musical rhetoric- which is defined as studying the architecture and the structure of a piece based on its figures- and literary rhetoric; because of this I will also connect relationships between rhetoric as it pertains to literature and the same techniques translated into musical rhetoric. Many composers of classical and baroque music became masters of these techniques, which led to their work standing the test of time, but I will focus as well on how modern artists weave these techniques into their works. A few specific techniques I will touch on are anaphora (the repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses), chiasmus (a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form), tricolon (a sentence with three clearly defined parts of equal length, usually independent clauses), using volume and tempo to reflect intensity, personification, and others. In order to choose the musical pieces for the playlist, I will find music that utilizes unique techniques of musical rhetoric throughout the piece that connect to a deeper meaning that either was the intention of the artist or could be picked up on by the listener as they relate the music to their own life. This playlist will illustrate the nuances of musical rhetoric as it develops the deeper meaning behind each work of art. As exemplified through the following pieces, these complexities flourish through the distinct rhetorical techniques present in each composition.

Entry 1: Brian Grey, “She’s Not Coming Back”, Bittersweet , March 9, 2021. https://open.spotify.com/track/3YvUzk5MWDbpk8vuv1MOYZ “She’s Not Coming Back” by Brian Grey is a slow-tempoed piece that features a duet between a guitar and piano lead. The two instruments perform a solemn dance as the thin, homophonic texture accompanies a darker timbre to create a sense of longing between the two. As the song was composed recently, one main impact on society was the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the mandate for quarantine, feeling stuck at home with a partner who you may not always feel connected with would provide a similar feeling to the one portrayed in the piece. This new social dynamic could have affected the desire to create music that would resonate with others feeling a disconnection with loved ones in their lives and as such, the rhetorical technique used in this piece is the usage of tempo as a means to reflect the intensity of longing. During the beginning of the piece, the melody belongs to the guitar, which plays slow and steady notes throughout. At the time 1:45 however, the guitar plays a final riff at a much faster pace than before just moments before the piano jumps in with its own equally fast paced tremolo. This seems to show the guitar’s attempt to get in one last phrase before the piano jumps in; simulating the tense feeling of an argument between two people. The accompaniment of the drumset holding a steady tempo throughout the piece acts as a way to connect the two instruments, conveying that the piece is not an overall intense or angry work of music, but means to convey more subtle aspects of intensity between the instruments. Varying the tempo throughout the piece acts as a way to show the dynamics and wide range of emotion that two people may feel over the course of both their lives and single interactions. When composing this piece, Grey attempts to use each characteristic and the rhetorical device of tempo as a way to connect with his audience and provoke feeling and connection to the work that falls outside of simple appreciation for the beauty of the music. Entry #2: Frederic Chopin, “Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9 No. 2”, Nocturnes , 1832. https://open.spotify.com/track/1VNvsvEsUpuUCbHpVop1vo? si=431103405d204625 While many modern pieces involve messages that the artist hopes to share with their audience, during the time period of Western Art Music, specifically the romantic era, there was a new emphasis on introspection through music. Chopin wrote the more melancholy of his famous pieces in an attempt to destigmatize the expression of feeling through music. Aspects of personification throughout the piece depict the feelings that Chopin hopes to invoke in his audience. While personification is most often thought of as human characteristics and emotions given to an inanimate object, Chopin uses the rhetorical device in a different way to add human emotion into music as it had not been much seen before in music at the time. The overall slow, quiet, and sweet sound of the piece contributes to the sad longing that Chopin portrays in many of his works

to depict the difficulties of life not only for himself but for the listeners of his work. In addition, the lighter texture of the piece contributes to the loneliness that is personified. Because Nocturne No. 2 features solely a piano throughout the piece as well as little harmony in the right hand part and a simple left hand part the simple texture provides listeners who may understand the feelings portrayed with comfort in listening to the piece. The first trill at 0:43 seconds into the piece begins the slow build up that is created throughout the song but never creates that large of a climax. This is a metaphor for the tension that was not released for Chopin in his life but that is only stayed as a weight that bore down on him throughout his career as a composer. Chopin’s works were revolutionary for the time mainly due to the human emotion that became connected with each piece that he wrote. Entry #3: Faith No More, “Edge of the World”, The Real Thing , January, 1989 https://open.spotify.com/track/5mb3e18hyqxyyMLbYXy39e? si=eefd6239fc7f4790 The 1980’s was popularly defined as a time period of materialism (McKeage 1992). Because this was the era surrounding the decade in which Edge of the World was written, part of the statement of the piece includes the terrifying nature of how young people, and in this case especially young women, can be easily persuaded by older men to give up themselves and their bodies with the expectation of wealth in return. This manipulation of young women has been an issue for decades so Faith No More took the opportunity to create a work of art that displays the dystopian nature of this manipulation. Edge of the World perfectly portrays the usage of rhetoric as a way to paint a picture for the listeners. The song’s repeated usage of chiasmus, which in this case involves the repetition of similar phrases in reverse or a modified form, along with the choice of one specific minor 2nd interval (D# to E) playing throughout the piece brings out the jarring nature of child grooming in society. This has the capability to inspire a response from those who feel uncomfort from the chaotic nature of the piece. The Chiasmus of a minor 2nd interval being directly followed by a major blues note progression going down, and then a minor 2nd interval being directly followed by a major blues sounding note progression going up is played by the piano throughout each of the verses. This adds to the chaotic nature of patterns that are irregular and jarring but somehow still constant, contributing to the message of the piece. In addition, the repeated change in voice texture throughout the song highlights further the depth in the overall texture of the piece; each phrase brings a new character to the song that either adds to the chaos or helps to resolve it. At time 2:00 and 2:56 directly following the chorus, the bass guitar goes from playing smooth sounding notes to three consecutive almost sharp sounding notes in a row. These sharp and twangy notes create increased uncomfort to the listener just when the aftermath of the chorus started to even out again. The almost ridiculous sounding song

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