Musical Sense-Making and the Concept of Affordance: An Ecosemiotic and Experiential Approach

doi:10.1007/S12304-012-9144-6

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Musical Sense-Making and the Concept of Affordance: An Ecosemiotic and Experiential Approach

Journal Article•DOI•

Musical Sense-Making and the Concept of Affordance: An Ecosemiotic and Experiential Approach

Mark Reybrouck¹•Institutions (1)

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven¹

29 Jan 2012-Biosemiotics (Springer Netherlands)-Vol. 5, Iss: 3, pp 391-409

TL;DR: In this paper, the concept of circularity is used to link perception to action in a continuous process of sense-making and interaction with the environment, which is closely related to some pragmatic, biosemiotic and ecological claims which can be subsumed under the general notion of functional significance.

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Abstract: This article is interdisciplinary in its claims. Evolving around the ecological concept of affordance, it brings together pragmatics and ecological psychology. Starting from the theoretical writings of Peirce, Dewey and James, the biosemiotic claims of von Uexkull, Gibson’s ecological approach to perception and some empirical evidence from recent neurobiological research, it elaborates on the concepts of experiential and enactive cognition as applied to music. In order to provide an operational description of this approach, it introduces some conceptual tools from the domain of cybernetics with a major focus on the concept of circularity, which links perception to action in a continuous process of sense-making and interaction with the environment. As such, it is closely related to some pragmatic, biosemiotic and ecosemiotic claims which can be subsumed under the general notion of functional significance. An attempt is made to apply this conceptual framework to the process of musical sense-making which involves the realisation of systemic cognition in the context of epistemic interactions that are grounded in our biology and possibilities for adaptive control. Central in this approach is the concept of coping with the environment, or, in musical terms, to perceive the sounding music in terms of what it affords for the consummation of musical behaviour.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Affordances and the musically extended mind.

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Joel Krueger¹•Institutions (1)

University of Exeter¹

06 Jan 2014-Frontiers in Psychology

TL;DR: It is argued that musical affordances enhance the functionality of various endogenous, emotion-granting regulative processes, drawing novel experiences out of us with an expanded complexity and phenomenal character and ought to be thought of as part of the vehicle needed to realize these emotional experiences.

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Abstract: I defend a model of the musically extended mind. I consider how acts of “musicking” grant access to novel emotional experiences otherwise inaccessible. First, I discuss the idea of “musical affordances” and specify both what musical affordances are and how they invite different forms of entrainment. Next, I argue that musical affordances—via soliciting different forms of entrainment—enhance the functionality of various endogenous, emotion-granting regulative processes, drawing novel experiences out of us with an expanded complexity and phenomenal character. I suggest that music therefore ought to be thought of as part of the vehicle needed to realize these emotional experiences. I appeal to different sources of empirical work to develop this idea.

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177 citations

Cites background from "Musical Sense-Making and the Concep..."

...In sum, I suggest that, as with the performer–instrument relation, listener and music similarly form an integrated system (cf. Reybrouck, 2012)....
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...Accordingly, for an ecological, affordance-based approach to perception, what matters “is not merely the world in its objective qualities, but the world as perceived by organisms” (Reybrouck, 2012, p. 394)....
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...…music as affectively irresistible; we are drawn to it, emotionally – often in a very powerful way – in part because we immediately recognize it as meaningful, that is, as something with a distinctive activity signature that we can use or do things with (cf. Krueger, 2011a; Reybrouck, 2012)....
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...…ecological acoustics, the notion of “affordances” has not received much application in music cognition literature generally – although there are a few exceptions here, too (e.g., Gaver, 1993a,b; Reybrouck, 2001, 2005, 2012; Windsor, 2004; Clarke, 2005; Krueger, 2011a; Windsor and de Bézenac, 2012)....
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...Since music is a structured “sound-time phenomenon” (Reybrouck, 2012), rhythm becomes a key component for bodily marking the temporal development of a musical event....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Music practice and participation for psychological well-being: A review of how music influences positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment

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Adam M. Croom¹•Institutions (1)

University of Pennsylvania¹

01 Mar 2015-Musicae Scientiae

TL;DR: In this paper, it has been argued that a paradigmatic or prototypical case of human psychological well-being would largely manifest most or all of the aforementioned PERMA factors, including positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.

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Abstract: In “Flourish,” Martin Seligman maintained that the elements of well-being consist of “PERMA: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment.” Although the question of what constitutes human flourishing or psychological well-being has remained a topic of continued debate among scholars, it has recently been argued in the literature that a paradigmatic or prototypical case of human psychological well-being would largely manifest most or all of the aforementioned PERMA factors. Further, in “A Neuroscientific Perspective on Music Therapy,” Stefan Koelsch also suggested that “Music therapy can have effects that improve the psychological and physiological health of individuals,” so it seems plausible that engaging in practices of music can positively contribute to one living a more optimally flourishing life with greater psychological well-being. However, recent studies on music practice and participation have not yet been reviewed and integrated under the PERMA framework from positive...

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135 citations

Additional excerpts

...…(p. 1; for further fascinating discussion on musical embodiment and affordances, see Harrison & Loui, 2014; Hutka, Bidelman, & Moreno, 2013; Keebler, Wiltshire, Smith, Fiore, & Bedwell, 2014; Maes, Leman, Palmer, & Wanderley, 2014; Reybrouck, 2001, 2005, 2012; Schäfer, Fachner, & Smukalla, 2013)....
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...Indeed, as Krueger (2014) recently argues in “Affordances and the Musically Extended Mind,” “musical affordances – via soliciting different forms of entrainment – enhance the functionality of various endogenous, emotion-granting regulative processes, drawing novel experiences out of us with an expanded complexity and phenomenal character” (p. 1; for further fascinating discussion on musical embodiment and affordances, see Harrison & Loui, 2014; Hutka, Bidelman, & Moreno, 2013; Keebler, Wiltshire, Smith, Fiore, & Bedwell, 2014; Maes, Leman, Palmer, & Wanderley, 2014; Reybrouck, 2001, 2005, 2012; Schäfer, Fachner, & Smukalla, 2013)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Playing together without communicating? A pre-reflective and enactive account of joint musical performance:

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Andrea Schiavio¹, Simon Høffding²•Institutions (2)

University of Sheffield¹, University of Copenhagen²

20 Jul 2015-Musicae Scientiae

TL;DR: In this article, a case study based on qualitative interviews with the Danish String Quartet (DSQ) is presented, where a total of 12 hours of interviews was recorded, drawing on ethnography-related methodologies during tours with the DSQ in Denmark and England in 2012 and 2013.

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Abstract: In this article we explore the role of pre-reflective, embodied, and interactive intentionality in joint musical performance. Putting together insights from phenomenology and current theories in cognitive science, we present a case study based on qualitative interviews with the Danish String Quartet (DSQ). A total of 12 hours of interviews was recorded, drawing on ethnography-related methodologies during tours with the DSQ in Denmark and England in 2012 and 2013, focusing mainly on their experience of perception, intentionality, absorption, selfhood and intersubjectivity. The analysis emerging from our data suggests that expert musicians’ experience of collective music-making is rooted in the dynamical patterns of perception and action that co-constitute the sonic environment(s) in which they are embedded, and that the role of attention and other reflective processes should therefore be reconsidered. In putting forward our view on ensemble cohesion, we challenge Keller’s and Seddon and Biasutti’s influent...

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79 citations

Cites background or methods from "Musical Sense-Making and the Concep..."

...…and ecologically embedded processes that allow music performance, coordination, and understanding (Clarke, 2005; Maes, Leman, Palmer, & Wanderley, 2014; Reybrouck, 2012), creating an unnecessary separation between categories such as ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ (Maturana & Varela, 1980; Thompson &…...
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...However, using two different explanatory models to explain what happens on both sides of the skin (‘external’ behaviour versus processes ‘in the head’) might downplay the embodied and ecologically embedded processes that allow music performance, coordination, and understanding (Clarke, 2005; Maes, Leman, Palmer, & Wanderley, 2014; Reybrouck, 2012), creating an unnecessary separation between categories such as ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ (Maturana & Varela, 1980; Thompson & Stapleton, 2009)....
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Journal Article•

Enactive Music Cognition: Background and Research Themes

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Jakub Ryszard Matyja, Andrea Schiavio

01 Jan 2013-Constructivist Foundations

TL;DR: In this article, a growing amount of theoretical research has been presented in the field of enactive music cognition, yet that is often based on neuroscientific developments (e.g., neuropsychological developments).

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Abstract: Context: The past few years have presented us with a growing amount of theoretical research (yet that is often based on neuroscientific developments) in the field of enactive music cognition. …

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61 citations

Cites background from "Musical Sense-Making and the Concep..."

...In the approach of his seminal works on EMC, Mark Reybrouck (2005b, 2012) draws heavily on classical works in constructivism....
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...unfortunately, Actiores does not go into the often-discussed issue of what musical affordances could be (for propositions on musical affordances see deNora 2000; Clarke 2005; López Cano 2006; Krueger 2011; Reybrouck 2012)....
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...…are perceived as environmental opportunities for goal-directed actions. unfortunately, Actiores does not go into the often-discussed issue of what musical affordances could be (for propositions on musical affordances see deNora 2000; Clarke 2005; López Cano 2006; Krueger 2011; Reybrouck 2012)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Music as Environment: An Ecological and Biosemiotic Approach

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Mark Reybrouck¹•Institutions (1)

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven¹

23 Dec 2014-Systems Research and Behavioral Science

TL;DR: The distinction between discrete-symbolic representations as against analog-continuous representations of the sounds is introduced against the background of phylogenetic and ontogenetic claims, with a major focus on the innate auditory capabilities of the fetus and neonate.

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Abstract: This paper provides an attempt to conceive of music in terms of a sounding environment. Starting from a definition of music as a collection of vibrational events, it introduces the distinction between discrete-symbolic representations as against analog-continuous representations of the sounds. The former makes it possible to conceive of music in terms of a Humboldt system, the latter in terms of an experiential approach. Both approaches, further, are not opposed to each other, but are complementary to some extent. There is, however, a distinction to be drawn between the bottom-up approach to auditory processing of environmental sounds and music, which is continuous and proceeding in real time, as against the top-down approach, which is proceeding at a level of mental representation by applying discrete symbolic labels to vibrational events. The distinction is discussed against the background of phylogenetic and ontogenetic claims, with a major focus on the innate auditory capabilities of the fetus and neonate and the gradual evolution from mere sensory perception of sound to sense-making and musical meaning. The latter, finally, is elaborated on the basis of the operational concepts of affordance and functional tone, thus bringing together some older contributions from ecology and biosemiotics.

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53 citations

Cites background from "Musical Sense-Making and the Concep..."

...The question, however, is what such musical affordances are? Starting from the ecological concept of interaction with the environment, there seem at least to be three major possibilities: (i) the production of musical instruments out of sounding material; (ii) the use of playing techniques in order to produce musical sounds; and (iii) the shaping of the sound by using modulatory techniques [125]....
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References

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Book•

The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception

[...]

James J. Gibson¹•Institutions (1)

Princeton University¹

01 Jan 1979

TL;DR: The relationship between Stimulation and Stimulus Information for visual perception is discussed in detail in this article, where the authors also present experimental evidence for direct perception of motion in the world and movement of the self.

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Abstract: Contents: Preface. Introduction. Part I: The Environment To Be Perceived.The Animal And The Environment. Medium, Substances, Surfaces. The Meaningful Environment. Part II: The Information For Visual Perception.The Relationship Between Stimulation And Stimulus Information. The Ambient Optic Array. Events And The Information For Perceiving Events. The Optical Information For Self-Perception. The Theory Of Affordances. Part III: Visual Perception.Experimental Evidence For Direct Perception: Persisting Layout. Experiments On The Perception Of Motion In The World And Movement Of The Self. The Discovery Of The Occluding Edge And Its Implications For Perception. Looking With The Head And Eyes. Locomotion And Manipulation. The Theory Of Information Pickup And Its Consequences. Part IV: Depiction.Pictures And Visual Awareness. Motion Pictures And Visual Awareness. Conclusion. Appendixes: The Principal Terms Used in Ecological Optics. The Concept of Invariants in Ecological Optics.

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21,493 citations

"Musical Sense-Making and the Concep..." refers background or methods in this paper

...…are what if offers the animal, what it provides or furnishes, either for good or ill.” (Gibson 1979: 127) Animals thus perceive environmental objects in terms of what they ‘afford’ for the consummation of behaviour rather than in terms of their objective perceptual qualities (Gibson 1966, 1979)....
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...This program was mapped out by Gibson (1966, 1979) who provided a wealth of conceptual tools to describe the perceptual process in ecological terms....
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...…of their environment: “The affordances of an environment are what if offers the animal, what it provides or furnishes, either for good or ill.” (Gibson 1979: 127) Animals thus perceive environmental objects in terms of what they ‘afford’ for the consummation of behaviour rather than in…...
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...(Gibson 1979: 129) von Uexküll argued in similar lines when he considered the particular qualities or functional tones of objects....
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Book•

Metaphors We Live By

[...]

George Lakoff, Mark Johnson

01 Jan 1980

TL;DR: Lakoff and Johnson as mentioned in this paper suggest that these basic metaphors not only affect the way we communicate ideas, but actually structure our perceptions and understandings from the beginning, and they offer an intriguing and surprising guide to some of the most common metaphors and what they can tell us about the human mind.

...read moreread less

Abstract: People use metaphors every time they speak. Some of those metaphors are literary - devices for making thoughts more vivid or entertaining. But most are much more basic than that - they're "metaphors we live by", metaphors we use without even realizing we're using them. In this book, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson suggest that these basic metaphors not only affect the way we communicate ideas, but actually structure our perceptions and understandings from the beginning. Bringing together the perspectives of linguistics and philosophy, Lakoff and Johnson offer an intriguing and surprising guide to some of the most common metaphors and what they can tell us about the human mind. And for this new edition, they supply an afterword both extending their arguments and offering a fascinating overview of the current state of thinking on the subject of the metaphor.

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17,091 citations

"Musical Sense-Making and the Concep..." refers background in this paper

...There are, in fact, current conceptual developments in cognitive science which argue for the inclusion of the body in our understanding of the mind (Anderson 2003; Johnson 1987; Lakoff 1987; Lakoff and Johnson 1980, 1999; Varela et al. 1991)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Metaphors We Live by

[...]

Max Black, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson

01 Jan 1981-The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

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Abstract: People use metaphors every time they speak. Some of those metaphors are literary - devices for making thoughts more vivid or entertaining. But most are much more basic than that - they're \"metaphors we live by\", metaphors we use without even realizing we're using them. In this book, George Lakoff and Mark Johnson suggest that these basic metaphors not only affect the way we communicate ideas, but actually structure our perceptions and understandings from the beginning. Bringing together the perspectives of linguistics and philosophy, Lakoff and Johnson offer an intriguing and surprising guide to some of the most common metaphors and what they can tell us about the human mind. And for this new edition, they supply an afterword both extending their arguments and offering a fascinating overview of the current state of thinking on the subject of the metaphor.

...read moreread less

11,114 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Metaphors We Live by

[...]

John M. Lawler, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson

01 Mar 1983-Language

TL;DR: Lakoff and Johnson as discussed by the authors present a very attractive book for linguists to read, which is written in a direct and accessible style; while it introduces and uses a number of new terms, for the most part it is free of jargon.

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Abstract: Every linguist dreams of the day when the intricate variety of human language will be a commonplace, widely understood in our own and other cultures; when we can unlock the secrets of human thought and communication; when people will stop asking us how many languages we speak. This day has not yet arrived; but the present book brings it somewhat closer. It is, to begin with, a very attractive book. The publishers deserve a vote of thanks for the care that is apparent in the physical layout, typography, binding, and especially the price. Such dedication to scholarly publication at prices which scholars can afford is meritorious indeed. We may hope that the commercial success of the book will stimulate them and others to similar efforts. It is also a very enjoyable and intellectually stimulating book which raises, and occasionally answers, a number of important linguistic questions. It is written in a direct and accessible style; while it introduces and uses a number of new terms, for the most part it is free of jargon. This is no doubt part of its appeal to nonlinguists, though linguists should also find it useful and provocative. It even has possibilities as a textbook. Lakoff and Johnson state their aims and claims forthrightly at the outset (p. 3):

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7,812 citations

Book•

Steps to an Ecology of Mind

[...]

Gregory Bateson

01 Jan 1972

TL;DR: Gregory Bateson was a philosopher, anthropologist, photographer, naturalist, and poet, as well as the husband and collaborator of Margaret Mead as discussed by the authors, and his major work will continue to delight and inform generations of readers.

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Abstract: Gregory Bateson was a philosopher, anthropologist, photographer, naturalist, and poet, as well as the husband and collaborator of Margaret Mead. With a new foreword by his daughter Mary Katherine Bateson, this classic anthology of his major work will continue to delight and inform generations of readers. "This collection amounts to a retrospective exhibition of a working life...Bateson has come to this position during a career that carried him not only into anthropology, for which he was first trained, but into psychiatry, genetics, and communication theory...He ...examines the nature of the mind, seeing it not as a nebulous something, somehow lodged somewhere in the body of each man, but as a network of interactions relating the individual with his society and his species and with the universe at large."--D. W. Harding, New York Review of Books "[Bateson's] view of the world, of science, of culture, and of man is vast and challenging. His efforts at synthesis are tantalizingly and cryptically suggestive...This is a book we should all read and ponder."--Roger Keesing, American Anthropologist Gregory Bateson (1904-1980) was the author of Naven and Mind and Nature.

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7,679 citations