Generalities about Signs, Neumes, Periods and Development Sentences

Abstract

Semiotics is the dimension of meaning. It studies the structure of symbols and signs and their associated meanings. We will start by introducing the basic principles of semiotics: the different levels of symbols and the structure of musical symbolism. We will then discuss philosophers and linguists that studied semiotics, and explain their theories as they relate to music. We will apply the theories of Ferdinand de Saussure, who is perhaps the most influential scholar of semiotics, to analyze and exemplify music as a symbolic system. In an overview of more contemporary analyses of symbolism in music, we will discuss the HarmoRubette software and Riemann harmony. Additionally, we will discuss the Babushka Principle of semiotics, which leads into such topics as connotation, motivation, and metatheory.