Le 30 juin 2017
de 14h00 à 14h30
Le Patio (université de Strasbourg)
22 rue René Descartes, 67000 Strasbourg
amphithéâtre 6
Séance précomposée - Formal, Theoretical, and Computational Models in Popular Music Analysis
Pré-acte / Acte
Auteur : Trevor de Clercq
Over the past decade, corpus studies have become a popular methodology for research on pop/rock music, afforded especially by recent developments in computing technology. Extant corpora of pop/rock range from those compiled by a single author, to those created by multiple authors, to those generated by a computer algorithm. Pop/rock music presents its own particular challenges for corpus work, since no official score typically exists. In contrast to Western art music, therefore, any symbolic representation inherently requires an intermediary analytical stage, whether done by a human or a computer. Through a critical investigation of extant corpora as well as their reported findings, this paper examines not only the benefits of this type of work with pop/rock music but—perhaps more importantly—many of its potential pitfalls. Three main aspects of this prior work are examined: 1) the nature of data collection and representation, 2) modes of data analysis and interpretation, and 3) the application and utilization of this data to appraise existing theories of pop/rock music. Although corpus studies ostensibly provide an objective measure of musical features, it is shown that a great deal of subjectivity exists within the creation of a corpus and its encoding. Classic issues such as flawed data, statistical significance, and correlation versus causation are also considered in the context of recent studies of pop/rock music. Ultimately, this paper seeks to encourage further corpus work with pop/rock music while also helping future researchers better recognize and avoid the common problems in doing so.
