Musical Meaning Making Process

A Musical Meaning-Making Process is a cognitive process that constructs personal and cultural significance from musical experience.

• AKA: Musical Interpretation Process, Musical Sense-Making, Music Meaning Process, Musical Understanding Process.
• Context:
  • It can typically integrate Musical Structure Analysis with Personal Association Network.
  • It can typically combine Cultural Musical Knowledge with Individual Musical Experience.
  • It can typically synthesize Emotional Musical Response with Cognitive Musical Processing.
  • It can typically connect Musical Patterns to Life Themes and Existential Questions.
  • It can often employ Metaphorical Mapping between Musical Domain and Life Domain.
  • It can often utilize Narrative Construction from Musical Progression.
  • It can often engage Symbolic Interpretation of Musical Elements.
  • It can often produce Transcendent Musical Meaning Experience through Deep Musical Processing.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Conscious Musical Meaning-Making Process to being an Unconscious Musical Meaning-Making Process, depending on its awareness level.
  • It can range from being a Immediate Musical Meaning-Making Process to being a Delayed Musical Meaning-Making Process, depending on its temporal unfolding.
  • It can range from being a Simple Musical Meaning-Making Process to being a Complex Musical Meaning-Making Process, depending on its interpretive depth.
  • It can range from being a Individual Musical Meaning-Making Process to being a Collective Musical Meaning-Making Process, depending on its social dimension.
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• Examples:
  • Lyrical Musical Meaning-Making Processes, such as:
    • Protest Song Interpretation Process deriving Political Meaning.
    • Love Song Interpretation Process constructing Romantic Meaning.
    • Spiritual Song Interpretation Process finding Sacred Meaning.
  • Instrumental Musical Meaning-Making Processes, such as:
    • Program Music Interpretation Process following Narrative Structure.
    • Abstract Music Interpretation Process creating Personal Narrative.
    • Ambient Music Interpretation Process generating Atmospheric Meaning.
  • Cultural Musical Meaning-Making Processes, such as:
    • Traditional Music Interpretation Process maintaining Cultural Identity.
    • Fusion Music Interpretation Process negotiating Cultural Boundary.
    • World Music Interpretation Process building Cross-Cultural Understanding.
  • ...
• Counter-Examples:
  • Musical Technical Analysis Process, which focuses on structural elements without meaning construction.
  • Musical Skill Acquisition Process, which emphasizes performance ability over interpretation.
  • Musical Production Process, which creates music rather than deriving meaning from it.
• See: Meaning-Making Process, Musical Listening Experience, Cognitive Process, Interpretive Process, Symbolic Processing, Narrative Construction, Cultural Interpretation, Transcendent Musical Meaning Experience.

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