1. Introduction: Song as Synergy of Meaning and Value
In the context of relational ontology, song emerges as a dynamic interface where two distinct systems—language (a symbolic semiotic) and music (a non-symbolic value system)—interact. While language construes meaning through symbolic systems of choice, music operates as a structured field of value dynamics. When these systems converge in song, they generate layered experiential effects that are more than additive. This paper introduces a formal typology—Veiling, Irradiation, and Drift—to account for the ways linguistic meaning and musical value co-articulate in song. These terms are not metaphorical but functional: each describes a specific mode of interaction with implications for homeostatic regulation, affective resonance, and meaning construction.
2. Conceptual Foundations: Value Systems and Affective Dynamics
Drawing on Edelman’s theory of value systems, we understand music as a non-semiotic social system that exploits affective value to simulate or support homeostatic regulation. Musical structures do not symbolise meaning but instead evoke and modulate embodied states—orientations of tension and release, threat and resolution—that mirror survival-relevant dynamics. Language, by contrast, is symbolic and paradigmatic, operating through meaning potentials actualised in context.
When the two systems interact in song, the result is a layered field where value and meaning influence one another—each shaping the listener’s affective orientation and interpretive stance. The voice, as embodied interface, mediates this interplay by bearing both semantic and affective load.
3. Voice as Interface
The voice functions as a point of convergence for music and language. It carries semantic content, but also enacts value through pitch, tension, phrasing, and timbre. The voice is not simply a channel but a dynamic modulator that links bodily states to meaning structures. In the context of song, the voice plays a critical role in realising the synergy types described below. It can soften, intensify, or subtly shift the meaning of a phrase, depending on how it enacts value.
4. A Typology of Synergy Types
The following typology outlines three core types of functional interplay between linguistic meaning and musical value in song. Each is a dynamic process emergent from the constraints and affordances of both systems.
4.1 Veiling
Definition: A functional dynamic in which musical value acts to soften, obscure, or buffer the semantic impact of difficult or dissonant lyrics.
Mechanism: Music enacts a stable or soothing value orientation—e.g. through upbeat rhythm, warm timbre, or consonant harmony—that mitigates the emotional force of the lyrics.
Function: Veiling enables the listener to engage affectively with challenging semantic content without overwhelm. It supports affective tolerance and interpretive ambiguity.
Example: An upbeat pop arrangement accompanying lyrics about violence or despair.
4.2 Irradiation
Definition: A process whereby repeated lyrical material gains new semantic intensity through musical and vocal emphasis.
Mechanism: Through musical repetition, escalation, or harmonic modulation, a lyric line accrues affective charge, extending its semantic resonance beyond initial construal.
Function: Irradiation creates emergent meaning through temporal unfolding. It intensifies affective response and expands interpretive range without altering lexical content.
Example: A chorus repeated with rising dynamics or harmonic shifts that transforms its meaning over time.
4.3 Drift
Definition: A functional phenomenon in which repeated lyrics undergo gradual shifts in perceived meaning due to subtle changes in musical context or vocal delivery.
Mechanism: Variations in phrasing, articulation, dynamics, or harmonic setting change the listener’s construal of repeated lines.
Function: Drift enacts the temporality of value–meaning interplay, allowing stable text to participate in dynamic affective movement.
Example: A refrain that moves from hopeful to resigned as vocal tone and accompaniment shift subtly across verses.
5. Relation to Systemic Functional Theory
This typology complements systemic functional linguistics by addressing the non-symbolic dimension of meaning–making in song. While SFL accounts for systems of meaning (ideational, interpersonal, textual), it has no apparatus for theorising musical value as a non-semiotic social system. Veiling, Irradiation, and Drift operate not within the grammar of language, but at the interface between symbolic meaning and embodied value.
These synergy types show how music does not "express" meaning in a symbolic sense, but co-determines the conditions under which linguistic meaning is construed, shifted, or sustained.
6. Implications and Further Directions
By formalising these synergy types, we provide a framework for analysing song as a dynamic intersystemic process. This opens pathways for:
Theorising other semiotic–non-semiotic interfaces (e.g. gesture, movement)
Extending relational ontology to multimodal experience
Rethinking embodiment not as expressive output, but as constitutive of value-realising systems
These concepts—Veiling, Irradiation, and Drift—are proposed as foundational categories for understanding how meaning lives and moves within the value terrains of song.
No comments:
Post a Comment