Drama as Metaphor and Method for Public Music Theory

Abstract

One of the central aims of public music theory is the encouragement of active listener engagement; in “classical music appreciation,” or the introduction of Western art music’s compositional conventions and standard concert repertoire to the public, such engagement often involves the presentation of real-time music analyses in layman’s terms. This chapter presents an interactive approach to classical music appreciation that aims to show, rather than tell, lay listeners how music may depict actions, ideas, and feelings through the interplay of sounds. Based on the principle of dramatic enactment, the approach draws upon recent studies of gesture, embodiment, and agency as well as the author’s original research on metaphorical cognition, experience as a music theory teacher, and knowledge of theatrical practice. With reference to different types of music examples and interactive activities, the chapter illustrates how drama may serve as both metaphor and method for public music theory by highlighting the phenomenological and qualitative aspects of musicking. As metaphor, drama models the cross-domain conceptual mapping between musical and human agencies by representing musical phenomena and compositional processes in direct, visceral, and gestural terms; as method, it actualizes music’s metaphorical agency through embodiment and makes the listening experience tangible and physically empathetic. The chapter also includes discussion of the practical challenges of incorporating embodiment and dramatization activities into typical musical appreciation settings, a selection of audience feedback to the approach, reflections on its strengths and weaknesses, and suggestions for its further refinement.