3. . i Jaguar. v n I 3,. : 3.4.1.... 5...: . 1! I: '2... 2 . 5.. a .u.) 1?: ‘. II... .0. I... . l E). 3i.) x..\: .5... u: 3.55.7 SIS? 3.51.. V), :rii‘isxt 35:52. . I:- )1 is“ ..4i.l.|c :- ‘fi53. L. .15 f? 1.311.521 Xx : a. THESlS /I' This is to certify that the dissertation entitled EXTRA-MUSICAL ASSOCIATION AND THE FREEDOM FARM SENIOR SAINTS: THE PROCESS OF MUSIC PHILOSOPHY presented by Rick David Townsend has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph. D. degree in Music Major professor dun Date May 10, 2000 MSU i: an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0- 12771 LIBRARY M'Chigan State University PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. To AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 6’01 CJCIRC/DateDuepss-sz ~MU ICAL ASSOCIATION THE FREEDOM F ENI OR SAINT THE PROCESS OF ABSTRACT EXTRA-MUSICAL ASSOCIATION AND THE FREEDOM FARM SENIOR SAINTS: THE PROCESS OF MUSIC PHILOSOPHY BY Rick David Townsend The phenomenon of extra-musical association was explored among a group of senior citizens from a conservative protestant church setting in southern IMichigan, hoping to clarify understandings of the phenomenon's relationship to the broader musical experience. A multi-method qualitative design incorporated 1) individual interviews, 2) group forums, 3) personal observations, 4) homiletic review of historical perspectives of the phenomenon, and 5) heuristic synthesis of the findings. That synthesis suggested an additional set of questions related to the phenomenon. To address those questions, I developed a questionnaire and administered it to 277 individuals, hoping to verify the legitimacy of 15 :modalities of music response — one of which was associative. A co-analyst participated in observations and forumigroups, and assisted with final analysis of data — part of which was processed using a qualitative software program.called NUD*IST. I concluded that the lS—mode music response paradigm was appropriate, verifying that individuals respond to music through several simultaneous modalities. I also verified that the relative strengths of those modalities vary from individual to individual representing, in effect, a multi-modal range of musical personality paradigms. I further concluded that extra-musical associations are a normal, valuable part of the expressive lexicon of music, and that individuals experience the phenomenon with varying intensities - a model suggested by my co-analyst. I recommended further research to address questions suggested by results of the questionnaire, and further development of my co-analyst's theory of potential multi- intensity characteristics of extra-musical association. I hope that these findings will result in greater tolerance of differences within music education and church music communities, each of which represent multiple spheres of musical validity. I also delineated parameters for, and demonstrated multidisciplinary procedures for exploring questions of music philosophy. To My Parents To recognize a process that began before I can remember, when the New York Philharmonic, Hank Snow and George Beverly Shea made daily visits to our home. iv AC KNOWL EDGMEN TS I am thankful to all those who helped me prepare for, and prepare, this manuscript. Dr. Paul Willwerth, Central Michigan University, inspired me to seek excellence in research and writing standards. I also received an unrivaled depth of instruction and support from the members at large of my doctoral committee; including Dr. Albert LeBlanc, Dr. Judy Palac, Dr. Cynthia Taggart and Mr. John Whitwell; and from Dr. John Kratus whose music philosophy insights provided context, content, and limits. Finally, special thanks to Dr. Colleen Conway, dissertation advisor, whose tireless and insightful instruction helped bring meaning to the project and clarity to the message. I thank Pastor Richard Krage and all those involved with the Freedom Farm Senior Saints for a wonderful study environment, and for good friendship. I also thank my students and co-laborers at Maranatha Baptist Bible College who defined collegiality through their prayers, patience, and numerous encouragements and support. Finally, I will forever be thankful for, and to, my wife Linda, who has been a rock of support for 27 years - and counting. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ......................................... xii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................ xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Definitions Conservative Christian .......................... 4 Extra-musical association ....................... 5 Purpose ........................................... 6 Assumptions ....................................... 7 Research Questions ................................ 8 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE Extra-musical Association: An Affirmed Phenomenon Categories in Research ........................... 12 Extra—musical Association and Research ........... 16 Extra-musical Association and Music Philosophers .17 Extra-musical Association and Music Education ....35 Extra-musical Association and Church Music ....... 38 Foundations of Phenomenological Philosophy in Music. 53 CHAPTER THREE: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Presuppositional Parameters ......................... 62 Theoretical Sensitivity .......................... 63 Personal philosophical search .................. 65 Epistemological Positions ........................ 71 Ontological Perspectives ......................... 72 Phenomenological ontology ...................... 73 Philosophical Perspective ........................ 75 Interactionism in Phenomenology: The Selectedm ..... 76 Symbolic Interactionism .......................... 8O Interpretive Interactionism ...................... 81 Theoretical Model for This Study Symbolic Interactionism's Contribution ........... 8S Interpretive Interactionism's Contribution ....... 86 Points of Disassociation ......................... 86 vi CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY ................................ 88 The Setting Freedom Fanm ..................................... 90 Participants Pastor Richard Krage ............................. 91 Richard Krage as co-analyst .................... 92 The Senior Saints ................................ 94 Linda .......................................... 94 Participant Selection ............................... 95 Participant Access ............................... 96 Familiarity: Advantages and Disadvantages ........ 99 The Senior Saints Meetings ......................... 100 Procedures for Data Collection Triangulation ................................... 103 Methods triangulation ......................... 103 Triangulation of sources ...................... 104 Logged Observations During Meetings ............. 107 Interview Strategies ............................ 108 Before the meetings ........................... 109 The first forum group ......................... 110 The first individual interviews .............. 113 The second forum group ........................ 115 The second individual interviews .............. 118 Travelling to Interviews ........................ 119 Recordings and Transcripts ...................... 120 Expanding the Interview: Individual Response Modes. 120 The New Questionnaire: Rationale for Questions ..... 123 ‘Verbal.Administration of the Questionnaire ......... 124 Rationale for Questionnaire Categories 1) Music as a Language of Emotions .............. 126 2) Music as a Cerebral Game, Puzzle ............... 130 3) Music as an Aesthetic Work of Art ............ 132 4) Music as Expressive Representation of Humanm .135 5) Music as Action, Whose Value is Based .......... 138 6) Music as a Personal, Phenomenologicallym ..... 141 7) Music as a Representation of a Composer'sm ...142 8) Music as an Act of Worship or Praise ......... 143 9) Music as Another (non-Worship) Type ofm ...... 145 10) Music as Prompter of Extra-Musical ............ 147 11) Music as a Teaching Tool .................... 147 12) Music as Social Phenomenon, Consideringm ....151 13) Music as an Escape from Life Pressures ...... 154 vii 14) Music as Entertainment ...................... 157 15) Music as a Stimulus to Awaken the Senses 158 16) Music Perceived in Multiple Simultaneousm ...160 Administering the Questionnaire .................... 161 Acknowledging the Senior Saint Participants ........ 164 CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS Strategies for Analysis Triangulation ................................... 165 Analyst Triangulation ......................... 165 Computer-based Analysis of Interview Information NUD*IST ......................................... 166 Coding ......................................... 169 Computer-based Analysis of Questionnaire Filemaker Pro 5 ................................. 173 Microsoft Excel 98 .............................. 174 Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS)174 Overarching Consideratins for Trustworthiness ...... 175 1. Checking for Representativeness .............. 176 2. Checking for Research Effects ................ 176 3. Triangulating ................................ 178 4. Weighting the Evidence ....................... 179 5. Checking the Meaning of Outliers ............. 180 6. Using Extreme Cases .......................... 180 7. Follow Up Surprises .......................... 180 8. Looking for Negative Evidence ................ 181 9. Making If—Then Tests ......................... 181 10. Ruling out Spurious Relations ............... 181 11. Replicating a Finding ....................... 182 12. Checking Out Rival Explanations ............. 182 13. Getting Feedback from Informants ............ 183 Designing for Trustworthiness ...................... 183 CHAPTER SIX: RESULTS ................................... 185 1. What is the Perceived Nature of Extra-musicalm a) Extra-musical Association As an Assumedm ..... 186 b) Extra-musical Association As a Culturally-m ..187 c) Extra-musical Association As a Naturalm ...... 188 d) Extra-musical Association As a Changeablem ... 189 e) Extra-musical Association As a Component ofm .190 f) Extra-musical Association As the Basis form ..190 g) Extra-musical Association Produced Throughm ..190 viii scooqmmnw h) Extra-musical Association in Vocal ............. 190 i) Extra-musical Association Not a Universallym . 192 Perceived Nature as Compared with Participantm ..193 How do Those Perceptions Compare with Participantm a) Extra—musical Association As an Assumedm ..... 193 b) Extra-musical Association As a Culturallym ... 194 c) Extra—musical Association As a Naturalm ..... 196 d) Extra-musical Association As a Changeablem ... 197 e) Extra-musical Association As a Component ofm .198 f) Extra-musical Association As the Basis form .. 199 g) Extra-musical Association Produced Throughm ..200 h) Extra-musical Association in Vocal ............. 202 i) Extra-musical Association Not a Universallym .202 Additional Category from Interviews: .............. 218 How Important does Extra—musical Associationm... 219 What Events, Emotions, Conditions and ............. 224 What are the Strengths of Effect of Varying .... 225 Can Extra-musical Associations be Learnedm...... 228 Does Extra-musical Association Function in the . 228 Does it Change with Time pr os ot a Static .. 229 If it is a Changing Phenomenon, What is the . 229 10. Do Different People Experience it in Differentm 229 Expanding the Interview: Individual Response Modes. 230 a) Is Extra-musical Association Merely One ofm ..236 b) If so, Then What are the Categories? ......... 236 c) Do People Differ in Their Makeup ............... 236 The Statistical Analysis Comparison of Means and Standard Deviations ..... 237 Comparison of Pearson Correlations .............. 242 Factor Analysis ................................. 246 Recreational domain of musical response ....... 247 Personal-emotional domain of musical response. 247 Biblically-oriented domain of musical response 250 Experientially unsupported domain of musicalm. 251 General observations .......................... 252 Pastor Krage's Contributions to Analysis ........... 254 Additional Observations Linda's Affect on the Study ..................... 261 Intrinsic Husband-Wife Reliability Check ........ 262 Independence in Senior Citizen Responses ........ 263 Problem With Written Responses for Senior ....... 263 Sensitization to Affect of Researcher Familiaricy264 ix Individual Interview vs. Forum Group Comfort ....264 Forum Group Setting as a Reliability ............ 265 The Value of Gathering Too Much Data ............ 265 Logistical Challenges and Their Solutions ....... 266 Concluding the Study ............................ 267 CHAPTER SEVEN: DISCUSSION Theorist's Contributions ........................ 268 PartiCipant's Contributions ..................... 271 Co-analyst’s Contributions ...................... 272 Non-contextual Associations ..................... 278 Expanding the Study ................................ 279 Additional Observations ......................... 281 Advantages of Phenomenological Process in ....... 283 Limits of Phenomenological Process in Music .......... 285 CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......... 289 The Philosophical Process ....................... 290 Researcher Bias ................................. 298 Participant Bias ................................ 303 Potential Drawbacks to Phenomenological ........... 305 Implications for Music Education ................ 306 Implications for Church Musicians ............... 309 Recommendations for Further Study ............... 315 Epilogue ........................................... 318 APPENDICES .............................................. 320 APPENDIX A: UCRIHS Consent Form ................... 321 APPENDIX B: Introductory Forum Group Survey ........ 322 APPENDIX C: The Maranatha Questionnaire ............ 323 REFERENCES ............................................. 324 Table Table Table Table QWNH LIST OF TABLES Descriptive Statistics of m Questionnaire ...... 238 Most Important/Least Important m Questionnaire. 241 Correlation Matrix from m Questionnaire ........ 243 Factor Analysis ............................ 248-249 xi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: NUD*IST Tree Structures ....................... 172 xii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 'Appropriateness of musical style” is an issue of great interest among many conservative Christians. The prevalent objective among conservative Christian music directors is to select musical styles that can enhance the purposes of their local churches (Baker, 1979, 1985; Fisher, 1992, 1998; Gaebelein, 1985; Garlock, 1975; Larson, 1972, 1980; Routley, 1978, 1982; Ruckman, 1980). These purposes may be realized in the context of worship services, instructional forums, fellowship events, and evangelistic settings. The activities take place in diverse settings, including church sanctuaries and fellowship halls, as well as community auditoriums and sports arenas. Musicians make decisions about appropriateness on a daily basis as they seek to match musical style to context. The prevalent view among conservative church musicians is that they must seek to match musical style to appropriate church contexts. Music which is built upon immature theoretical concepts fosters a similar condition in the listener. For example, banality and triteness are musical characteristics associated with the lightness and airiness of the more popular types of music. To the extent church music (which represents gospel meaning) is principled by such attributes, it influences the worshiper to a like banality and triteness - not just musically, but spiritually as well. A whole life (holistic) Spiritual maturity is affected by the church music we ingest. (Johansson, 1992, p. 71) Conservative church leaders seek to provide guidance to parishioners for personal selection of casual listening styles compatible with a maturing spiritual growth. Following after the church's mission to foster Christian maturity through evangelism, teaching, and worship, it is logical to assume that in enabling men and women to praise God, music ministry’s fundamental task is the maturing of the saints of God.... If maturity is God’s plan for his children, let congregations, pastors, and musicians cooperate by using music which will help enrich God's people. To its shame, the music of the church has often served to make Christians more immature than mature. That needs changing as we move into the twenty-first century. (ibid., p. 18) (C)hurch music is a powerful force in the maturation of the believer. (ibid., p. 71) Conservative Christians define maturing spiritual growth in many ways, but the concept is described clearly by the following two passages of Biblical text. Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 (King James Version) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22 & 23 (ibid.) The question of whether music can represent things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and so forth; or whether music can give a sense of love, joy, peace, or other such emotions, has been thoroughly discussed by music philos0phers and reviewed by researchers. The two Biblical references refer to daily events, emotions, conditions and environments within which music is experienced - music's context. The initial purpose for this study was to determine the effect that past contexts may have on current hearings of a piece of music. By extension, many conservative Christians ask, ”Can music's association to those past contexts, including events, emotions, conditions and environments; affect the growth and maturity of individual believers?" Thus, the selection of appropriate music becomes a doctrinal issue for church leaders who seek to guide fellow believer's maturing Christian life practices. I interviewed a group of senior citizens regarding the phenomenon of music's associative functioning, and then analyzed their descriptions of musical experiences. It was my hope to clarify thinking about music’s associative functioning. In the process, I discovered additional issues that relate to and influence the overall discussion. Definitions Conservative Christian. By conservative Christian, I refer to individuals who ascribe to the following beliefs and practices: l. The Judeo-Christian Bible is the infallible, inerrant Word of God and should be interpreted literally and plainly and should be followed by all those who put their faith and trust in Christ. 2. Conservative Christians are generally evangelical. That is, they believe that the nature of humankind is fallen and must be redeemed outside of themselves (in contrast to doing good works). This redemption can only come through the new birth that is accomplished by putting one's faith and trust in the finished work of Christ on the cross, thus securing one's eternal salvation. 3. Conservative Christians generally believe that, as a consequence of their identification with Christ through salvation, they should live and walk godly lives according to Biblical teachings. Extra—musical association. Commonly called "musical associations" within conservative Christian ranks, this refers to music's ability to prompt a re-experiencing of events, emotions, conditions and/or environments that were present during earlier hearings of a piece. Additionally, extra—musical associations seem to be style generalized, with unfamiliar pieces eliciting responses that resemble those of a familiar piece of a similar style. This does not simply refer to memories of a piece or style, or memories of the original context of musical experiences. The difference is one of intent and product. 'Musical memory' is an active mental decision that yields factual memories about events. “Extra—musical association" is involuntary, perhaps unavoidable — yielding feelings that parallel the feelings experienced during original hearings of a particular piece or style of music. P115 2088 I teach at a conservative Christian college, so research into issues of "extra-musical association" is a project of interest and usefulness to me and to members of that constituency. Constituent music directors and pastors frequently disallow pieces and/or styles of music for church use, based only on their judgment of the piece's inappropriate extra—musical associations.'...(A) hymn tune must not be tied too strongly to previous association." (Eskew & McElrath, 1980, p. 44) Also, as a member of the larger community of musicians in general, I wanted to stimulate interest in a topic that has received little, if any, formal research attention; and to provide a foundation for further discussion and study. Additionally, I desired to explore whether extra- musical associations change over time, and if they do, what are the characteristics of that change? For example, many gospel songs were derived from negatively perceived folk styles 125 years ago, but have ended up in the most conservative hymnals, thereby commanding widespread use among conservative Christians throughout the twentieth century. Also, many conservative Christian leaders now tolerate secular musical styles that were once considered to possess overwhelmingly negative associations (e.g., Elvis Presley, big band music, Gay 90s music, and so on). I wanted to examine the conditions of changes that took place in such cases. Through logged observations and approximately 40 hours of group forums and individual interviews among a specific group of senior citizens attending a conservative Christian function, I described their perceptions of the phenomenon of extra-musical associations. I also identified some of extra-musical association's activating and sustaining factors, and defined some of the limits and bounds within which the phenomenon can be applied to a constituency’s philosophies and practices. Based on knowledge derived from this study I concluded the project with an exploration of the judicious application of phenomenological and heuristic processes to music philosophy development. Assumptions I brought several personal assumptions about extra- musical association phenomenon to this project: 1. All people whose mental capabilities fall within normal ranges (and many whose capabilities do not) possess the ability to respond feelingfully to music. 2. Feelingful responses, as defined by Langer (1988), often lead to other feelingful responses, and sometimes lead to a broad range of emotional responses. I consider the general inability of individuals to distinguish between feelings and emotions to be the cause of much misunderstanding of the actual nature of responsiveness to music. 3. Individuals who are not highly musically trained possess satisfactory judgment of, and experience with, music to effectively respond to well—framed interview questions on the topic of music’s associative function. 4. Observable and describable extra-musical associations exist universally among the human population. Research Questions Initial research questions included: 1) What is the perceived nature of extra—musical association? 2) How do those perceptions compare with participant narratives? 3) How important does extra—musical association seem to be to participants? 4) What events, emotions, conditions and environments contribute to extra—musical association? 5) What are the strengths of effect of varying events, emotions, conditions and environments on the ultimate strength of extra-musical association? 6) Can extra-musical associations be learned from others as a code of conduct, or must the phenomenon be a situated knowledge? 7) Does extra—musical association function in the absence of the sound of the music? For example, can simply 'seeing a particular piece of sheet music" prompt associative thoughts and emotions? 8) Do extra-musical associations change with time, or is the phenomenon a static condition? 9) If extra-musical association is a changing phenomenon, what is the nature of the conditions of change? 10) Do different people experience the phenomenon in different ways, or does it seem to be a universally experienced effect? 10 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF LITERATURE The following survey of related literature focuses on literature pertaining to the phenomenon of extra—musical association. Readers will notice that little is written about the topic from a research perspective. Instead, most discussion of the phenomenon appears within the context of theoretical models. As the review will illustrate, many professional musicians consider extra—musical association to be a prevailing mode of response to music. While little research has actually focused on this phenomenon, many researchers peripherally refer to it in, or as a basis for, significant portions of their research models. Also, church musicians, music educators and music philosophers discuss the topic from a purely theoretical point of view. Church musicians and music educators discuss extra-musical association as it relates to specific choices within their respective fields. In contrast, some current music philosophers are beginning to view music philosophy 11 through a phenomenological lens — considering the nature of music within the context of experience, rather than considering it from the perspective of music’s structural characteristics. The final section of this literature review addresses phenomenological music philosophy while focusing on perceptions of the extra—musical association experience by leading phenomenologists. Extra-musical Association: An Affirmed Phenomenon Categories in Research As I stated, researchers have dedicated little effort to the study of extra—musical association. Still, within the research community, there is much information regarding researcher's perceptions of the phenomenon. In one notable study on music and imagery, memories (including extra-musical association of prior experiences with the music) ranked second only to feelings in prompting subject response. ”Dependent variables were number of senses experienced; and whether the subject experienced kinesthetic imagery, body imagery, feelings, memories, transpersonal imagery, or healing imagery" (McKinney, 1990, p. 40). 12 Some researchers attempt a categorization of types of musical meanings. For example, Hargreaves (1981) cites an article in which the writer categorizes and recommends a vocabulary for music’s meanings. (M)usical theorists (e.g., Meyer, 1956) have long debated the extent to which musical meaning is embodied in the structure of the composition itself (cogeneric), as distinct from being designative of other nonmusical events (extrageneric). Wright goes on to delineate four types of extrageneric meaning: affective, descriptive, value and technical meanings. (p. 16) Extra-musical association would fall within Meyer's extrageneric classification. Neilzén (1981) offers a similarly conceived, but different vocabulary for music's meanings. There is equivalence between Meyer's cogeneric and Neilzén’s denotative categories, and between Meyer’s extrageneric and Neilzén’s connotative categories. This may seem to be a peculiar use of these terminologies because, in colloquial use, connotative symbols point outside of themselves to other objects. Be assured that Meyer is using the term in its historical linguistic sense when he describes l3 connotative as being self-referencing based on culturally— based understandings, while denotative is other-referencing toward specific cultural manifestations. Cogeneric/ connotative distinctions do not, however, represent purely formalist points of reference to musical meaning. (S)emantic sciences distinguish between denotative and connotative meaning. Denotative meaning carries information based upon constructive factors of a segment.... ’Hail to the chief’ denotes the President of the United States to individuals who had never heard that piece's name.... Connotation on the other hand refers to the power of music 'to convey to listeners in the same culture a certain mood, affect or physiognomic experience". Connotations are very much influenced by the individual frames of reference. The composer often does not intend to transmit a denotative message, the music is then a non- intentional so-called expressive communication. The more “denotative” elements there are in the music, the more the interpretation of it will be guided by conventions, cultural values, education, etc. On the other hand the interpretation of the ”connotative" l4 aspects of the communication is guided by individual factors. (p. 18) Thus, Neilzén would describe the extra-musical association phenomenon as a denotative response mode, maintaining that it would be ”guided by conventions, cultural values, education, etc." As such, the phenomenon falls outside of pure aesthetic responses. Even researchers who ignore the use of official labels for sources of music's meanings commonly refer to two types of source: a) meanings from within the music itself, and b) meanings drawn from external influences. This is demonstrated in a study conducted by Brim (1978), in which subject responses were categorized by: a) their association with "situations, objects and/or experiences... and... memories,” and b) musical content. Nielzén (1982) goes on to say, ”Factors such as cultural background, musical training, life experience, personality and more occasional psychological and physical circumstances have a peripheral importance as long as these factors vary within normal limits" (1982, p. 7). Behrens (1993) agrees, stating ”The emotional content of music may then be a function of its cultural connotations." (p. 30) 15 Although 'music’s intrinsic meanings" is not the primary subject of this report, ”intrinsic meanings” represents a frequent topic of debate in discussions about meaning and music. The following statements by Giomo (1993) and Gregory (1996) illustrate this point. ”The philosophical position that guided this research project was that it is the listener who imposes affective meaning to music, this response being guided by enculturation and elicited by certain cues in the musical elements" (Giomo, 1993, p. 143). There is no general agreement as to whether these relationships between musical form and emotional feelings are due to the inherent qualitites of the music or to the learning of associations during early musical experience. (Gregory & Varney, 1996, p. 47) Extra-Musical Association and Research Researchers often cite music's associative function as a potential biasing factor for their research. '...Researchers had to consider... the possible confounding influence of familiarity, such as the subjects' previous experiences and associations with music" (Behrens & Green, 1993, p. 21). 16 Music therapy researchers note the potential effects of music's associative function as a factor when choosing music for use with a particular patient during therapy. Davis and Thaut (1989), for example, recommend that therapists recognize the importance of a subject’s familiarity with a piece of music, cultural context, and a subject's past experiences with the music before choosing musical content for use in therapy. Consequently, I view current thinking about extra— musical association to be a philosophical construct because no specific research frames the topic. Whenever researchers address the phenomenon, they treat it as an assumption rather than as a potential area for research. It seems appropriate, then, to consider extra—musical association from the point of view of prominent philosophers, music educators, and church musicians. Extra-musical Association and Music Philosophers Hanslick (1854), a 19th century music philosopher, was the first strong proponent of modern formalist music philosophy (1986). I begin with musical formalism, because of the perception that formalist modes of response to music are diametrically opposed to referential (including 17 associative) modes of response. However, Hanslick did not seek to separate music entirely from feelingful or emotive modes of response. His position was one of focus rather than being a rejection of the validity of feelingful responses to music. I share completely the view that the ultimate worth of the beautiful is always based on the immediate manifestness of feeling. However, I hold just as firmly the conviction that, from all the customary appeals to feeling, we can derive not a single musical law. (p. xxii) His desire was that attention he focused on the pure musical issues when talking about music, and that musicians recognize when they are not considering the most purely musical things. (I)f we are to treat music as an art, we must recognize that imagination and not feeling is always the aesthetical authority. The purpose of arousing such feelings in the listener, however, is no more the specific essence of music than it is the purpose of the arts as a whole. Once we grasp that the active imagination is the real organ of the beautiful, feeling will be admitted to be 18 a secondary effect in each of the arts. ...(F)eeling is nothing more than a secondary effect; only the imagination is immediately active. Thus we say nothing at all concerning the crucial aesthetical principle of music if we merely characterize music in general, according to its effect upon feeling, just as little, perhaps, as we would get to know the real nature of wine by getting drunk. (ibid., p. 6) Bowman (1998) explains: Hanslick's considerable disdain for musical ‘enthusiasts' does not appear to stem from their incapacity but from their disinclination to listen musically. And his contempt is directed less to the average person than to the philosopher, the critic, and the composer: people who should know better yet persist in deluding an unsuspecting public with their ill-conceived theories. ...Hanslick also draws distinctions, albeit rudimentary ones, among various ways feeling is often held to relate to music: as arousal, as representation, as expression.... Whatever is felt in the musical experience must have music as its object. 19 On this Hanslick is always perfectly clear. And the best way to assure this, he seems to have been convinced, is to insist that feeling is altogether beside the point in the experience of music. (p. 149) Bowman clarifies the roots of formalism when he asks the reader to distinguish between current perspectives of music's formal autonomy and the rejection of heteronomous viewpoints among philosophers of the ancient world. He re- explains formalist-looking perspectives of three, second- and third—century philosophers (Aristoxenus of Tarentum, Philodemus of Gadara, and Sextus Empiricus), stating that they ”challenge the idea that music contributes in significant ways to things like human character, but without mounting a further claim to formal musical self- sufficiency.’ (p. 136) According to Bowman, then, the fact that these early philosophers dismissed the value of music for social, moral, political, or metaphysical ends does not necessarily qualify them as modern absolutists - supporting music's value from purely formal perspectives. In a reflexive inclination to describe complex sets of ideals through single paragraph reductions, musicians run the risk of gross misrepresentation. ”Musical formalist," or 'absolutist' usually implies one for whom “music as 20 autonomous form” represents a rallying cry against extra- musical representations of any kind. However, Bowman's description of Hanslick's ideals present those ideals as being parallel to the ideals of Meyer and Neilzén, preferring cogeneric and connotative modes of response to music rather than entirely autonomous responses within musical form and function. Consequently, there is room for extra-musical association in the world of the formalist. It merely represents uncherished territory. Hanslick, at one point, actually enlists the phenomenon of extra-musical association in his explanation Of dance music's ability to elicit dance responses. This provides evidence for a point that I presented earlier - that philosophers and musicians alike view extra—musical association as a phenomenon to be taken for granted and erl'tpoloyed as a research assumption or as a basis for further philosophy making, rather than as an issue to be studied for its own merits. Here, Hanslick presents extra-musical association as part of music’s expressive context, but aI‘gues that the association developed because of innate I“usical characteristics, rather than the other way around. This comes extremely close to a "music as universal" 21 argument - something that Hanslick has never been accused of theorizing. It is not denied that dance music brings about a twitching of the body, especially in the feet, of young people whose natural disposition is not entirely inhibited by the constraints of civilization. It would be pedantic to deny the physiological effect of marches and dance music and to seek to reduce it merely to the psychological association of ideas. What is psychological about it, namely, awakened memories and the well—known pleasure of dancing, is not lacking in explanation, but the explanation is not at all adequate. It is not because it is dance music that it lifts the foot; rather, it is because it lifts the foot that it is dance music. (p. 54) His purpose in this was to describe a potential relationship between physiological processes and music - a I9<31§>ular eighteenth century notion. In fact, music ‘3}Lerapists and other music psychologists find information albout the beginnings of their disciplines within the pages SSurrounding this quotation. He was especially intrigued by the nervous system, and by the relationship of neurological Physiology to aesthetic response. This was 1891, and the 22 young discipline of psychology was taking its first .naturalistic steps away from its philosophical roots. In the following passage, Hanslick clarifies his perceptions of the relationship between music, extra- nuisical association and subsequent feelings. You will see, iri his first phrase, a supposition that ”feelings" and 'aesthetical principles" are not to be connected. It is tlmat supposition that defines the absolutist, and not any éiversion to feelingful response to music. Given that feeling can in no way be a basis for aesthetical principles, it is vitally important to be on guard against this firmly entrenched view concerning music and feeling. We mean here not the conventional prejudice made possible by the fact that our feelings and our mental images are frequently misled by verbal texts, titles, and other merely incidental associations of ideas (especially in church, military, and theatre music), which we are wrongly inclined to ascribe to the music itself. Rather, the connection between a piece of music and our changes of feeling is not at all one of strict causation; the piece changes our mood according to our 23 changing musical experiences and impressions. (ibid. p. 6) However, one short, introductory passage describes his Exasition in action - a position built on extra-musical association: Only on the basis of a number of ideas and judgments (perhaps unconsciously at moments of strong feeling) can our state of mind congeal into this or that specific feeling. The feeling of hope cannot be separated from the representation of a future happy state which we compare with the present; melancholy compares past happiness with the present. These are entirely specific representations of concepts. Without them, without this cognitive apparatus, we cannot call the actual feeling “hope" or ”melancholy"; it produces them for this purpose. If we take this away, all that remains is an unspecific stirring, perhaps the awareness of a general state of well-being or distress. Love cannot be thought without the representation of a beloved person, without desire and striving after felicity, glorification and possession of a particular object. Not some kind of mere mental 24 agitation, but its conceptual core, its real, historical content, specifies this feeling of love. ...A specific feeling (a passion, say, or an affect) never exists as such without an actual historical content, which can only be precisely set forth in concepts. ...(T)he definiteness of feelings lies precisely in their conceptual essence. (ibid., p. 9) Hanslick has one more position that relates to this :study. Two of my research questions relate to the changing Imature of our responses to music: 7) Does it change with time, or is it a static Condition? 8) If it is a changing phenomenon, what is the nature (Di? the conditions of change? (see page ten) Concerning this topic, Hanslick states: Nowadays we can scarcely understand how our grandparents could regard some particular musical sequence as a precisely corresponding impression of a particular state of feeling. Evidence for this is the extraordinary difference between the reactions of Mozart’s, Beethoven's, and Weber's contemporaries to their compositions and our own reaction today. How 25 many works by Mozart were declared in his time to be the most passionate, ardent, and audacious within the reach of musical mood-painting. At that time, people contrasted the tranquillity and wholesomeness of Haydn's symphonies with the outbursts of vehement passion, bitter struggle, and piercing agony of Mozart's. ...Particularly from Rochlitz come many such (to us) astonishing quotations regarding Mozart’s instrumental music. He characterizes the charming Menuetto capriccio in Weber's Sonata in A-flat major as the ”uninterrupted outpouring of a passionate, vehemently agitated spirit, yet held together with admirable firmness." (ibid., pp. 6-7) Langer (1957), reflecting Hanslick's influence, describes the presence of various associations, both cOnnotative and denotative, but demonstrates little respect for referential issues pertaining to music. But similarly, nothing can prevent our falling back on mental pictures, fantasies, memories or having a Spharenerlebnis of some sort, when we cannot directly make subjective sense out of music in playing or hearing it. A program is simply a crutch. ... It does 26 not mean that the listener is unmusical, but merely that he is not musical enough to think in entirely musical terms. (p. 242) The significance for this topic is in the inclusion of time word "memories" as a substitute for subjective sense nuaking in music. That paragraph is about musical responses, SC) her ”memories" must mean more than mere remembrances. Meyer (1952) sought to describe, within the context of :fomnalist perceptions, the relationship between music's sstructures and humankind’s expressive perceptions of it. In EH3 doing, he had to differentiate among various modes of responding to music. While his theories tend toward ftxrmalistic explanations, they embody a strong sense of past experience with music and the effects of that e-‘>-E]r;>erience on our emotional responses to music. Here he tléilks about “past experience" with music in two different czorlntexts. First is the immediate memory of recent events within a piece - as with the return to "A" in bar form. He clontinues: The phrase “past experience” also refers to the more remote, but ever present, past experience of similar musical stimuli and similar musical situations in other works. That is it refers to those past 27 experiences which constitute our sense and knowledge of style. The phrase also comprehends the dispositions and beliefs which the listener brings to the musical experience... as well as the laws of mental behavior which govern his organization of stimuli into patterns and the expectations aroused on the basis of those patterns. (Meyer, 1952, p. 36) In a later work, Meyer (1994) includes extra—musical éassociation as an important component of musical eXpression. He describes three aspects of musical enjoyment: a) the sensuous, b) the associative—